Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Vamps and Ronins ❯ Nightmares Running Wild ( Chapter 7 )

Vamps and Ronins

Chapter Seven: Nightmares Running Wild

By: Tiasha

~

Hands on a windowpane

Watching some children laugh and play

They're running in circles

With candy canes and French braids

Inspired to question

What makes us grown-ups anyway?

Let's search for the moment

When youth betrayed itself to age

Creed, "Never Die"

~

Rowen allowed his gaze to linger on the young green-haired woman who had just recently passed out. After he volunteered to stay and keep Robyn company, Cody had also volunteered to stand guard. A while later, Cody had fallen to her knees, crying out in pain while clutching her chest and tears streaming down her slender face before passing out. Robyn had also clutched her chest in a similar manner but merely yelped at the pain and said it had felt like heartburn. If that was so, then what had caused Cody to pass out?

Rowen glanced at the unconscious young woman before turning back to Robyn, noting the uneasy, accusing glance she was giving him. He frowned and spread out his arms in a gesture that meant innocence.

"What?" he asked her defensively. Her expression turned to annoyance as she scowled at him.

"You didn't feel that...did you," she accused. He gave her an odd look. Feel what? He had felt something in his armor but no physical pain. Perhaps this pain had felt more than heartburn after all; perhaps it had to do with the armors...but if so then why did Robyn feel pain?

"Robyn...what happened in Tokyo?" he asked, deciding to change the subject. She still had not explained everything to them and he was beginning to feel slightly hurt by this. Didn't she trust them?

Robyn averted her gaze as she played with the edge of the hospital sheet and frowned in concentration. It seemed like forever before she finally spoke.

"I'm not really sure...it all happened so fast," she began somewhat slowly. "I had decided to do a little sightseeing and went into a few shops. I found one antique shop and was almost drawn inside...like something was calling me. When I went in, I looked around for a little while then found this pile of marbles. One marble was kinda covered by the others and it was a bright yellow. For some reason, I bought it. Then the shop-owner gave me this wooden cross and said "May God be merciful and watch over you." Then he told me some weird story about the cross having protected many young girls in the far past and that it was the wood that had spared their lives...not the symbol itself. I just thought he was trying to scare me or something so I left with my stuff. Next thing I know, this guy confronts me and says he wants Apollo...of course that guy was Scott..."

"Sounds to me like this marble is actually an armor," Rowen guessed, watching as Robyn paled. Robyn couldn't be a ronin...could she? Was that why she had been drawn to it?

"Rowen...does this mean......what I think it means?" she whispered and Rowen winced at the tone of her voice. She was afraid. In the time that he had known her....she had never shown a lot of fear; yeah she had gotten scared a couple of times...but not this. This was a bit more than that, not quite true fear, but certainly more than what he had ever seen.

"I don't know..." he replied quietly.

"You are a guardian," a feminine voice stated, and Rowen turned to see Cody holding her chest. A look of discomfort flitted across her face as she moved to sit in one of the two chairs near Robyn's hospital bed.

"And what is that?" he asked.

Cody looked at him strangely, "Exactly what it means. She guards Apollo until he has chosen."

"Chosen what and how am I supposed to protect an armor?" Robyn asked, clearly annoyed by Cody's information, or lack there of.

"You are its transportation, and when it has decided on a bearer, the armor will let you know."

Rowen chuckled as Robyn pouted and saw Cody smile gently, which surprised him a bit. Cody had seemed indifferent through the whole 'gathering'...much like her sister, Mariko. Yet, now she was acting extremely kind and understanding towards Robyn, almost as if the indifference was a facade she put on whenever an emotional barrier was needed. He watched as she sought words to comfort the now-pouting red head.

"I was...never good at explaining things of this measure of importance. Perhaps you should wait to ask your questions for Mariko to answer."

"Why do you two hate each other?" Rowen heard Robyn ask and he grimaced at her bluntness. That was a habit she was never going to get rid of, and at times, it really got on all of their nerves. Other times, it just left them in surprise.

A shadowed expression fell across Cody's face and Rowen wondered why that question had caused such regret and sorrow. It was a simple question, so what was the matter with the answer?

"No, we don't hate each other. It is hard for sisters to hate each other, and amazingly we have still come to love each other, even through everything that has happened. Our parents were slaughtered by a gaki and I swore vengeance against him. My dear sister had befriended him for a time being, though she caused him more annoyance when he could barely tolerate it. She....she also adopted a new family as her own...and.........and I felt that she was shaming our parents...but then I was only fifteen," Cody explained with a slight far-away look in her eyes. "I as a grown person, can now understand why....but it still hurts."

"And that's why Mariko said she considered Anubis her father. Now it makes sense," Rowen mused to himself. "But what Ryo talking about?"

Cody chuckled, "It appears that Mariko is still the key to their hatred. From what I recall, she was what kept them civil towards each other." She then frowned, "I wonder what Anubis actually told him. I have a feeling he used memories to support whatever he told Wildfire."

"Cody," Robyn began, "what just happened? You passed out and I had this majorly sharp pain in my chest. Kinda like heart burn, but way worse."

Rowen raised an eyebrow as Cody looked out the large bay window across the bed and behind him. She bit her lower lip in concentration or contemplation before sighing, obviously reaching some type of conclusion. Her shoulders drooped as she continued to stare out the window.

"What I am about to tell is not to be repeated to anyone, not even the other Ronins. All of us newer Ronins know because of our armors and Josh knows because Julien was his brother," said Cody firmly, looking both of them in the eye...though her gaze seemed to linger a bit longer with Rowen's.

Rowen nodded his head.

Robyn also nodded, "All right....why do I get the feeling that this is what Mariko said would be discussed later?"

"Because it is."

"Oh."

Rowen chuckled softly at Robyn's answer; at least she was feeling better. A day or two ago, she was so weak it took most her strength to sit up and have a fifteen-minute conversation. And her voice had been so hoarse that they were all amazed in how quickly she had recovered it. Cye had even inquired if Sage had helped heal her, but he had said no. Rowen had wondered if Sage had said that just so he would not be asked why; however, he had dismissed that thought by Sage's attitude from their conversation earlier that day.

"About five years ago, my sister had been working at a nightclub...which was sometimes called the 'whore club' or 'whorehouse' and was the owner's favorite subordinate. She served as his primary assassin because of her skills and....because of her armor. I still to this day cannot understand how she was able to hold her stomach with what he had her do at times. But I suppose serving under Talpa would harden any soldier into at least keeping his lunch.

One night during her waitress shift, two young men sat down at one of her tables, watching the crowd of dancers casually and the drunks a bit too intently. Well, the two men turned out to be gakis. She sensed them because of her armor and they sensed her because of her armor as well. But the three of them had something in common, they were weary of so much killing, weary of spilling so much human blood....and they somehow became friends.

During her off shift hours Mariko would go and visit the two gakis; they would explain the concepts and the nature of all gakis and she in turn gave them a level of trust they had never received from a mortal. Eventually, about six months later, one gaki began to fall in love with her and she also began to fall in love with him. Mariko and the gaki eventually came to love one another. As odd as it sounds, they honestly did love each other. She always said that it was just like loving the real person, only now he was a gaki. You see, the person's personality and beliefs still live on after being assimilated by a gaki. So if one did not know better, you would never suspect a person to be a gaki. I had the pleasure of meeting this gaki my sister loved at one point.......before he was destroyed by those we are now fighting against."

Robyn raised an eyebrow at Cody's explanation, "And what does that have to do with the pain we felt?"

Cody frowned slightly, "The two gakis were Julien and Joshua. When Julien was murdered in front of Mariko's eyes and her not being able to do a single thing to save him, her soul was in anguish. And that pain was then relayed to our souls through the other new armors. We all felt her pain and anguish as well as hatred."

"So are you saying that it was Mariko's pain you felt tonight?" Rowen asked, frowning as Cody shook her head.

"No, Mariko was a trained samurai, trained to keep her emotions balanced. What Robyn and I felt was a mortal's agony, an untrained mortal. This agony was erratic while Mariko's had been orderly, not indecisive."

"So what are you suggesting?"

"My guess would be that this mortal is a child."

"Why a kid?" Robyn asked, cocking her head slightly to the side.

"Even an adult has some degree of control over their emotions, but a child…"

"But a kid who is so young and doesn't understand what's going on…they let their emotions run wild," Rowen finished for Cody, seeing where her reasoning was coming from.

"Bingo blue-boy," she said, miming a fake gunshot with her hand. Rowen frowned at the name she had called him. He barely knew this person and she was already calling him names?

"Sorry," she apologized politely. Rowen shrugged it off…Robyn had called him worse things, before they had even really known each other.

"So that was a little kid? How many armors are there?" Rowen heard Robyn ask.

Cody shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, "No clue."

Rowen rolled his eyes, "Great. We're supposed to fight an enemy and we don't even know how many there are."

"Not all the armors are enemies, 'tis just Dragon. However," Cody paused, "we must not let any untrained armor wearer fall into his hands. He'll train them to be a mindless killer."

"What?!"

"Even a little kid?" Robyn asked.

Cody nodded, "A child is even better than a teenager. Teenagers have their own set of mind but a child…a child is the perfect type of clay to be shaped into the pottery of one's choice."

~*~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~~~*

Her lungs hurt but the pain in her hands were beginning to fade as Mariko raced home. She knew Scott would take Matt there. Home was the first place they all went to when they were hurt. She continued to race to the apartment district of Toyama, dodging around people and narrowly missing an elderly woman.

After ten more minutes of non-stop running, Mariko could see the apartments looming over head and smiled. It wouldn't take her more than three minutes to get home now. She burst through the lobby of the apartment building they lived in and did not bother to pause and wait for the elevator; she raced on up the twelve flights of stairs, pulling out the keys and hurriedly trying to unlock the door.

Once in, she closed the door and locked it before moving to the living room upon hearing muffled sobs. Her heart leapt to her throat as she saw the young purple-haired boy curled into a fetal position in the middle of the floor. She saw Scott nearby, keeping vigilance by the window and an eye on the front door.

Carefully, Mariko sat down next to Matt and reached out to touch his head gently. His muffled sobs paused long enough for him to look up at her, his beautiful sapphire eyes wide and watery. He moved so swiftly that she barely had time to catch herself from falling over as he wrapped his arms around her and cried. She tenderly pulled him into her lap, rocking both of them and whispered words of comfort as he shook slightly.

Guilt rose in her as she continued to comfort the boy. Mariko looked down at Matt to make sure she was right. Yes, his armor had changed his image to a young ten-year-old boy and not the twenty-eight-year old from earlier that night. How often did a man cry? Very rarely and Mariko knew that Matt had to have been in serious pain for him to cry like this.

The guilt continued to swell as his sobs echoed in his ears; how much could a person take? A young seven year old who becomes a vampire because he was going to die and would now live for hundreds of years, gaining an armor at thirteen and then this? She had stubbornly tried to be there for him ever since he had joined them; she had even left a few of her more favored lectures to be there for him, comforting him.

Matt had confided that no one had been there for him when he had become a vampire and that was when she had promised him that she would always be there for him. It was her nature to love and care for her friends and perhaps partially because of her armor. Mariko always aspired to give hope to everyone, no matter how dismal the situation. Hope was her kanji, she couldn't go against it.

"Mari…" she heard him whisper. She patted his back comfortingly and he looked up at her.

"Now," she began, smiling slightly, "are you all right? Have you finished your good cry?"

He frowned up at her, "Sadist."

She shrugged nonchalantly before allowing her thoughts to wander. She bit her lower lip. Had Robyn felt that? Were both Cody and Robyn all right?

~*~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~~*

Karasu watched the throng of people moving to the beat of the music as he idly held his shot of vodka in his hand. He was tired of all this, Gods was he tired. That seventeen year-old had reminded him how cruel he was…killing to survive. He downed his shot in one gulp and placed it on the bar counter, motioning for the bar tender give him another.

He surveyed the people entering the club now, musing how careless some were and how magnificent others were, magnificent and innocent. He stiffened slightly as his eyes made contact with another. Those gold eyes were cruel and cold, much like Gaea's when he'd destroyed her parents. The owner of those gold eyes moved towards him and sat down next to him.

"Karasu…" the young man said casually. It took him a moment to recognize the young man.

"Hello Hidoro," said Karasu, grinning, "Or should I say Joshua?"

"Which ever."

"Very well then…what brings you here?"

"Certainly not a fight. Any one worth getting rid of?" Joshua asked, turning to look out at the masses of humans in one smooth motion.

Karasu eyed him suspiciously but recognized that look of hunger…the soul gaki had gone too long with out feeding. Sighing, Karasu friendly pointed out a few possibilities and watched as Joshua nodded in approval.

"Thanks," the soul gaki said, ordering a drink in the process.

"Josh," began Karasu, fidgeting slightly, "Do you remember what Phoenix said? About no one controlling another's destiny?"

He watched as the young man nodded. Karasu was not used to seeing Joshua in a different form and the handsome Puerto Rican before him unnerved him slightly; the soul gaki preferred the façade of Joshua to any other but Karasu understood the soul gaki's reasoning…Joshua's appearance would be too noticeable here.

"Yes…what about it?" Joshua asked, not sure where this was going.

"Does that apply to me as well?"

Joshua looked at him in surprise before frowning, "Why wouldn't that apply to you?"

Karasu opened his mouth to reply but found that he had no good reason. "I've killed to survive…Dragon provides me with my meals," he finally said.

Joshua shook his head.

"That isn't the right reason," Karasu stated, hanging his head slightly.

"Dragon is going to fall after the upcoming battles, Karasu."

"I know…I've suspected it…"

"All right then."

There was an almost uncomfortable pause between the two, until Joshua spoke again.

"How has your master been fairing?"

"Quite well actually…there's another one of those blasted armors again, isn't there?"

Karasu watched as the man next to him nodded. Sighing, he idly swirled his drink around in its confines. He had suspected something had happened…and why else would Josh be here? The soul gaki was keeping an eye on Dragon during the others' moment of vulnerability.

"I'd like to help if possible," Karasu suddenly said and he held his breath as he waited for Josh's answer.

"I figured you would," said Joshua after a moment's thought.

Silence passed between them again until Joshua stood, finished with his drink.

"I'll tell Mari you said hello," the soul gaki stated, and Karasu recognized the hidden meaning in the phrase. He would tell Phoenix about his wish to help.

"If you would please…" Karasu began, catching Joshua before he made his way towards one of the possibilities the former had pointed out, "give Gaea my deepest apologies?"

"Sure thing."

Karasu watched the soul gaki move to a darkened corner and shift into a gorgeous Puerto Rican woman with gold eyes. Turning around to the bar counter, Karasu downed his last shot of vodka, ignoring the Puerto Rican woman who cajoled the drunken kidnapper to step outside with her for good.

I want out of this as soon as possible…Dragon, you're not going to survive this…you truly are an idiot.

~*~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~~~*

Cye's eyes darted across the darkened walkway as he closed the distance between himself and Toyamahospital, his body tense and alert. Mariko had warned him about the habitual feeding time of vampires and the knowledge did nothing to comfort him as he walked alone; in fact, he rather wished to be facing Dynasty soldiers…at least then he knew how to defend himself. The current situation left him feeling somewhat helpless…he had no idea how to really defend himself against a vampire or gaki, and with that being the case…how was he supposed to protect Robyn?

For that was what he was truly worried about…Robyn's safety.

A sudden scream filled the streets and before he knew it, Cye was running towards the sound, turning a corner and stopping dead in his tracks.

A menacing cloud of red, dense fog floated in the alley, hovering over a terrified man. As Cye watched the man disappear within the dense fog and his final scream resounding in his ears, he finally realized what Mariko had been trying to convey. When soul-gakis took their fog shapes…they were impossible to destroy.

Cye was brought back to the present situation as the fog moved, almost turning, and felt his breath catch in his throat. A pair of red eyes seemed to be staring at him, urging him to run, scream…die.

In a flash his subarmor was on and he took a fighting stance, not allowing those eyes to intimidate him. Especially with the hospital being so close…he couldn't let it get near the hospital. He tensed as the fog began to shape and form the figure of a young woman; the fog solidified and Cye found himself in front of a tall blonde with red eyes.

She calmly walked towards him and stopped, looking at him with an expression of admiration. Flipping her lose hair over one shoulder, she walked past him and down the street, away from the hospital.

In fact, it seemed as if she was checking the perimeter of the Toyama Hospital area.

"Tell your Red to do some research on vampirism," was all she said as she changed into a bank of red fog once in the alley across the street.

Confused, Cye stood and waited a few moments in case she came back. Banishing his subarmor, he hesitantly turned and continued to the hospital. What had that been about? Who was she? That couldn't have been Joshua could it?

~*~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~~~*

Scott ducked behind a building as he saw a young Puerto Rican woman with gold eyes flirt determinedly with a drunk man in an alley near a twenty-five and over club. He recognized those gold eyes and prayed that they would not look his way; otherwise he would have to come up with a damn good excuse as to why he was here at this particular club. He did not have one, at least not a trustworthy one.

Besides, he had a few things to discuss with a certain Tregarde, like a certain redhead's safety, and he wanted it to be private. Stealthily, he moved towards the club and entered through the back door, sighing in relief once inside. From what he could tell, Joshua had not noticed him, but Joshua was in the middle of feeding and he usually focused on his prey when he prolonged his meals, which he usually did.

He caught sight of the flesh gaki Karasu, and frowned. He was not supposed to be here! IF that gaki saw him, his cover would be blown and his allies would rip him to shreds! He cursed his luck. Why was this happening to him? He had had to give Mariko some stupid excuse about why he needed to leave, he had then escaped another soul gaki that was running around the city, he had slipped past Joshua unnoticed, and now he had to try and reach Tregarde without catching the flesh gaki's attention!

This was not his night.

Curse Lady Lucky, that's what I say, he thought to himself, frowning.

Seeing an opportunity arise when Karasu turned his head, Scott ducked into a corner and made his way up a flight of stairs as quickly as possible. Now all he had to do was survive this meeting and the Dragon's wrath. Scott knew that Tregarde was going to be unhappy with this newfound…situation. Scott did not want any of Tregarde's henchmen around Red. Robyn did not need that stress and besides…she was one of the few who seemed to not care about him having to manipulate and kill people in order to live.

Her openness towards others and attempts to be friendly were what had changed his mind about her in the first place. Scott had originally thought that she was just another stupid mortal who had no grip on reality. Who would have guessed that her friends were the original, or orijinaru as Mariko called them, Ronins? He certainly hadn't.

Steeling himself, Scott prepared for the tongue-lashing he knew was going to come. He would not allow 'no' to be the final answer. He owed Robyn that for all the kindness and joviality she had shown towards him. He owed her that and more; however, this was all he could do for her at the moment.

Sorry Red, not everyone is what you want to believe they are…

~*~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~~*

Rowen looked up, slightly surprised at Cye's wide eyes. His hair was windblown but there was no wind outside, which meant he had to have been running. His chest was also heaving up and down. He heard Robyn gasp slightly.

"Cye?" Rowen inquired worriedly. Granted he and Cye had not gotten along well together in the past but Cye looked like he had seen Talpa come back with triple the army!

Panting still, Cye leaned against the now closed hospital door to Robyn's room. He was looking at Cody curiously.

"Was Joshua, that is the soul gaki's name right, supposed to be watching this area of Toyama?" Cye asked between breaths. He was watching Cody intently and Rowen turned to look at the new Ronin expectantly.

The young woman who beared the armor of Gaea frowned in concern, "No, he was not…why?"

Rowen watched as Cye moved to the window and closed the curtains as if to keep anyone from knowing that they were there in the hospital room.

"Cye…stop acting like you saw a ghost and spit out what's bugging you," Robyn said in warning tone and Rowen had to suppress a chuckle as the bearer of Torrent was slightly startled at the young redhead's bluntness. Not that he should be; they had all established long ago that she was blunt!

"I saw…a bank of red fog…" Cye took another breath before continuing, "and it turned into a person-a blonde woman-who told me to tell you Robyn that you should study vampirism. Then she walked across this street and turned back into fog."

Study vampires? How did this woman know about all that was happening?

"What color eyes did she have?"

Rowen looked at Cody strangely; what did eyes have to do with all of this? Rowen could tell from the look that Robyn was giving Cody that she completely agreed with him.

Cye seemed to be un-phased by the question however, for he quickly answered it. "She had red eyes…I could see them when she looked at me from that bank of fog."

Cody chuckled breathlessly, "Be happy you're alive! You just survived an encounter with a soul-gaki in its most deadliest form!"

"A thing of fog?" Robyn asked doubtfully and raising an eyebrow in a manner that meant she was not convinced at all.

Cody nodded. "Yes, you can't destroy them when they are a bank of fog. It is possible though, if you destroy them in their human state, what ever THAT maybe."

"So who was that I saw?!" Cye asked almost hysterically.

He really needs to get some rest, thought Rowen as he noticed how ragged Cye was beginning to look. Maybe he will once Robyn gets a bit better…

"I do not know…not Joshua, that's for sure. You would have seen gold eyes if it was him," was all Cody said as she stood. She grabbed a denim-colored cloak with silver and extremely pale pink embroidered ribbon and place it over her shoulders. "Tis late and I should be going. I'll inform Mariko of this new…visitor of Toyama. Sleep well, don't worry. We'll have someone watching the hospital perimeter for tonight."

Rowen looked at his watch; it was later than he had thought, an hour later since every one had left at five after eight that evening. Shrugging, he stood as well and stretched his arms above his head, hearing a few joints pop here and there.

He smiled reassuringly, "You want me to start telephone tag and tell the others too?"

Robyn shrugged her shoulders, "Doesn't matter to me."

Cye nodded, "Just so they'll know what's going on should something happen."

Nodding, Rowen said his good-byes and made his way out of the hospital.

Upon leaving the building, he spotted Cody standing off next to another building not a block from where he was, hand placed upon the side of the brick and concrete, as if hurt. Cautiously he walked over towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder to gain her attention.

Her maroon eyes looked up and met his crystalline blue ones and for a moment, Rowen thought he saw a flicker of emotion in her usually dull and emotionless eyes. It was with her shuddering breath that he concluded that she was in pain.

Rowen asked what was wrong but her only answer for him was to look at the building and hang her head. It was a few moments before she spoke in a hushed tone, voice wavering.

"They killed a tree to place this building here. The tree was very old…hundred of years old…"

He frowned at this. She was upset because of that?

Wait a minute! Gaea is earth…that's why……she's connected to the earth and when the earth is in pain, she's in…

Another suppressed sob escaped the forest-green woman's lips as she proceeded to say something in a different language. The words were spoken in a chant-like state, a prayer perhaps. Maybe a safe departure prayer?

"I never really liked hospital's because the doctors don't believe in herbal medicine as much as tribal doctors do," she confided in him. "My sister and I are Native American in heritage and our father was supposed to be studying here, learning new herbal medicines and the such. I gained his love for that while Mari gained mother's love for art and Asian cultures."

His guess was now beginning to seem accurate.

"So, does that mean you are against all modern doctors? 'Cause I seriously doubt that a tribal doctor could have concocted a medicine to relieve my brain malformation," he joked lightly. She smiled and removed her hand from the building, standing erect and alert.

"No…not entirely. I admit that modern doctors are useful for some things…but not all." She bowed slightly and said good night, turning to leave.

"If you ever need to talk to some one and vent about modern technology, let me know. I hate the light pollution the city causes," Rowen offered, feeling compelled by some unknown force to do so.

A gentle smile appeared on Cody's face and Rowen could not help but smile back. Both she and Mariko had a soldier façade they hid behind in battle for obvious reasons, but Mariko seemed lighter about using it. Cody gave the impression that she preferred to keep herself distant from others…kind of reminded him of a blond friend he had.

She nodded in acceptance of the offer and flipped the hood of her cloak up, walking down one street opposite the way he was going. Rowen watched her for a moment until she disappeared in the darkness before heading home quickly to begin calling the others and relay the info about this new gaki.

~*~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~~~*

Chun Fa grabbed another crayon with her small chubby hand and began to color a smiling sun on her partially white piece of paper. There was already a stick figure with red hair and a smaller stick figure with dark blue hair standing outside in green grass and smiling flowers. She wanted to hurry and finish so she could give it to Kento before her bedtime came.

Though she was STILL a bit skeptical of Robyn, Chun Fa liked her. She was no longer worried about Robyn taking Cye's attention away from her and she had to give the older girl some credit. She was no fool when it came to babysitting. Besides, she could read stories in the best voices!

Setting down her yellow crayon, Chun Fa admired her artwork for a moment before grabbing an array of colored crayons and going to the kitchen where Mama Faun was. She scrambled up to the kitchen counter using a step stool and placed her picture and crayons on the counter, looking at Mama Faun expectantly.

Mama Faun paused in her cleaning the kitchen and looked at her daughter, a slight questioning smile on her face. "And what are you up to little one?" she asked, moving towards her daughter.

"Mommy," Chun Fa began, picking up a blue crayon, "how do you spell 'Get Well'?"

Mama Faun's smile grew wider; already knowing the answer, she asked, "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I am making a picture for Robyn. Kento said she was sick, and I was happy when I got a picture when I was sick."

"All right. G-E-T and then W-E-L-L," Mama Faun spelled slowly, allowing Chun Fa to write each letter in a different color. "Is that it?"

"How do you spell Robyn?"

"R-O-B-Y-N."

Chun Fa smiled happily and wrote her name on the side of the picture, "Thank you!"

Happy that her picture was finally done, Chun Fa raced out of the kitchen to find her oldest brother. She stopped as she found him on the phone in his room. Waiting quietly and patiently, she waved shyly at him to catch his attention.

---

"Yeah, okay. I'll call Ryo in just a sec. Channy wants something," and with that Kento was off the phone and looking at her curiously.

Chun Fa bounded into her brother's room and jumped on the bed, bouncing as she handed her picture to him.

"It's for Robyn because she is sick," she explained as he took the picture, continuing to jump on his bed. He looked at the picture for a minute and grinned, nodding his head.

"I'll give it to her tomorrow, okay?" he offered.

She grinned back, "Deal!"

Chun Fa bounced one more time and then left her brother to call his friend Ryo. She felt very happy that she could do something for Robyn finally. After all, Robyn had been the one to tell the scary man in the closet to leave. And he hadn't been back since.

~*~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~~~*

Ryo sat up straight from where he had been lounging on the couch, flipping through channels on the TV uninterestedly. Now, he was definitely not interested in the TV. There was another threat?

"You're sure? Another gaki?" he asked Kento.

"Well, that's what Ro told me and he says that that's what Cye told Cody," came the reply.

Ryo groaned and laid his head in his hand. This just kept getting better and better.

"How's Robyn taking all of this?"

"Rowen says she didn't care."

"Come on Kento, we all know her better than that."

"Yeah but-never mind, look, I'm just doing the telephone tag. Don't forget to call Sage before he goes to bed."

"Okay, see ya tomorrow Kento. Take care man."

"Yeah, it's my turn to read Channy a story so I better go."

Ryo chuckled, "Tell the squirt I said hi."

"Will do."

With that Ryo hanged the phone back in its cradle and flopped back down on the couch, taking the TV off mute. Worry filled his thoughts as he recalled what Kento had said. Robyn had not cared.

They all knew that she cared even if she denied it and Ryo was not sure how bad she was actually taking it. She was supposed to be getting out of the hospital soon though, it had been a few days and she was looking much better. Her spirits were back and high as usual so she would be fine in no time, if this whole situation did not drive her to paranoia or something.

Heaving a heavy sigh, the bearer of Wildfire picked up the phone and dialed Sage's number, hoping to catch him before he went to bed.

~*~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~~~*

Sage glared crossly at the ringing house appliance. Who would be calling now at this hour? He quickly came up with a reasonable answer to that. His mother was either calling to let them know she would be home late, or she had to stay the whole night. Half-heartedly, he moved to answer the annoying contraption when the answering machine did not pick it up. He was slightly surprised when he found it was Ryo.

"Ryo? What's wrong?" he asked placidly.

"Kento just called and told me that there is another gaki runnin' around the city," replied Ryo wearily.

Sage nodded though Ryo would never know. He could understand how Ryo felt because in fact felt very much the same. He had been battling with himself about where Robyn stood with him. Yes she was his friend…but should he try to get to know her a little more like the others had? He found her exasperating most of the time with her childish antics but he dismissed most of it as her own way of making up for a childhood she never had and deserved to have.

"Do the new Ronins know who this new one is?" he asked. One could never be too cautious.

"No, not from what I can tell."

"All right then, I'll call Rowen and let him know."

"Rowen already knows. He called Kento and Cye already knows cause he told Rowen."

Sage frowned; he had been the last to know? He rolled his eyes; did he ever feel this special before or what? "Fine, I'll see you all tomorrow then."

"Okay, night Sage."

"Yeah, good-night Ryo."

Sage hanged the phone up and proceeded to pack his school belongs back into his book-bag, then headed to his room. Changing into his pajamas, his mind meandered over the new set of information. Perhaps he should meditate before going to sleep. It would certainly help clear his mind and then maybe those dreams would not plague his sleep this time.

He lit a candle, placed it in the middle of the floor and sat in a lotus position, concentrating on purging his mind of the scattered thoughts that were running a mile a second.

It was an hour or so later when he pulled himself from meditating and into bed. He prayed that the dream he had had since the day Cye had told them that Robyn had not called, would not come back. It was about as scary as the one he had had when she first arrived. Sage frowned before he fell asleep. HE was always losing sleep because of her.

He found himself in a void of darkness and he had to suppress a shudder as the darkness threatened to sweep over his existence. He moved around, searching for something in the total, black void. He paused as he heard faint sobbing, and the sobs sounded frighteningly familiar. He moved stealthily toward them, unable to see anything in the void.

His efforts were suddenly ineffective as he came up against an invisible wall. Not one to give up so easily, Sage moved along the invisible obstacle in hopes of finding an entrance. He paused as excruciatingly pain-filled screaming abruptly reverberated in his ears.

Those screams…those screams were so familiar…

His heart clenched in a way it had only done once before and that was when Robyn was helpless to fight off Nago. Those screams were the same when Nago had placed the redhead's hand on Ryo's molten hot armor chest plate and burned her hand raw. Throat convulsing, Sage pounded on the invisible wall in futile attempts to reach his female companion. There was one last final scream from her before a charred skeleton appeared before him, frozen in a grotesque form of fear and terror.

"No…" he whispered, "Robyn, I'm sorry."