Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Warrior Call ❯ Need to Find ( Chapter 25 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: Janime

Ronin Warriors

Warrior Call

By Janime

Part Twenty-five "Need to Find"

"It would have been much easier if she had killed herself."

Yurei turned her head to look at the short man standing before her. "Don't you think I already know that, Shikaizen?" she said. "Why else would I have taunted her as I did?"

"You didn't succeed," Shikaizen said.

"Did I expect the Warlords to stop her?" Yurei snapped. "And you better be careful about what you say, unless you want to go back into the pit I brought you from."

"No, your Highness."

"Very well then."

"But you must act quickly," Shikaizen advised, "the Ronin Warriors and the Warlords will come after you. And if they can't remove you from the Dragon Child's body-"

"Then they will have no choice but to kill me," Yurei chuckled. "That will be their greatest mistake. Now if you'll excuse me, Shikaizen, there is someone I have to check on."

Shikaizen bowed and disappeared.

Yurei leaned back in the stone chair, shutting her eyes. Slowly, she began to pull inward then felt herself floating down. She opened her eyes, looking over the terrain of Jessie's mind.

"A universe does exist in a person," Yurei said and started walking. She went deep into Jessie's mental plain, finally coming upon the unconscious Dragon Child. The six Nether Spirits that surrounded her looked at Yurei as she approached.

"Have you found it yet?" Yurei asked. Slowly, the Nether Spirits shook their heads. "Keep looking."

Suddenly the Nether Spirits glowed fiercely. Yurei turned to her right and couldn't help smiling.

"Well, well, look who's here," she said. "I never would have dreamed that your link with the Dragon Child still existed, Kaosu."

The Ancient One stood with his arms folded across his chest. "I have always been there when she needed me."

"You can't protect her forever, monk. Neither can Wildfire. This is not the High Council." Yurei smiled at this reaction. "Oh yes, Grey Wolf, I have seen that far into her past lives. Very quick thinking on your part to send Marin to the Mars Kingdom and have everyone believe that the queen had given birth to twins."

She turned away from him and looked at Jessie. "What is it, Kaosu? Why do you keep trying to separate them? They're either born in the same bloodline or born too far apart to reach each other." Yurei turned back to Kaosu. "Till now. What's their little secret that you're hiding? Does that Cavern Watcher know?"

Kaosu remained silent and stood where he was. Yurei straightened. "If you're not going to say anything, why don't you leave?"

"You're so much like your father, did you know that, Yurei?" Kaosu said. "He wanted power and look what it cost him."

"Don't you dare speak of my father," Yurei hissed. "Once the emperor is resurrected, you can say goodbye to your precious Ronins and Warlords, as well as the Mortal Realm."

"Why must you continue this madness?"

"You said it yourself 'the battle between good and evil is never ending.' No matter what, as long as time flows, the war will continue. History does repeat itself, monk."

"I know." Kaosu stepped back. "Don't underestimate the Dragon Child's power, Yurei. She might be too powerful for you to handle; and it might cost you both." He left Jessie's mind.

"Stupid, monk," Yurei muttered.

A golden glow surrounded Jessie. The Nether Spirits looked at Yurei and nodded.

"Very good," she said and returned to consciousness. She opened her eyes and stood up. "Shikaizen!"

"Yes, your Highness," the demon appeared.

"They found it," Yurei said. "I shall return after she gets it. This may take a while."

"Of course, princess," Shikaizen bowed and Yurei disappeared.

~*~*~*~*~

"Ah, Paris," Anubis sighed wistfully. "I can't tell you how much I love the Astral Plain."

"Forget about the Astral Plain, Anubis," said Ryo. "What about Jessie?"

Anubis leaned back in his chair, picking up the wine glass. "Yurei isn't as strong as Talpa but she is powerful." He sipped the wine and looked at Ryo. "She can't be removed. Yurei has to leave Jessie's body of her own choice."

Ryo groaned and leaned his head on the table.

"There's nothing we can do, is there?" Asked Kayura.

"At this moment, no," Anubis set down the wine glass. He dabbed his right index finger into the liquid and ran it around the glass rim, listening to it sing.

Ryo grabbed his hand making him stop. "That's getting annoying," the Ronin leader let go of the spirit's hand.

"You're hiding something," said Kayura, "aren't you?"

Anubis looked at her. "What makes you say that?"

"Because you tend to fidget in some way when you are hiding something."

"Always have and always will."

"So what is it?" Ryo asked.

Anubis leaned on the table closer to his friends. "I honestly don't know exactly, but Kaosu is very disturbed."

"About what?" asked Kayura.

"He won't say, none of the Ancients will. All I've heard is that the Circle is nearing completion."

"Didn't Kaosu say that in September?" Ryo said.

"He said that 'the Circle shall be complete.' Now it's nearing completion."

Kayura sighed. "When we find Yurei, is there anything we should do?"

"Just one," Anubis rose from his chair. "Don't let her goad you into killing her." He vanished.

Ryo looked at Kayura. "What was that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know," she shook her head. "Let's get out of here."

The two returned to consciousness, rose from the chairs and left the dining room.

"I knew one day she'd snap," Leon's voice came from the living room.

"Shut up, Leon," said Twyla. "Why are you being so difficult and not accept what we've just told you?"

"I knew Jessie was nuts the day I met her," Leon smirked. "I was the one who said that she was most likely to be committed after graduation."

"Leon!" Joana glared at him.

"As for the rest of this, I've concluded that I am dreaming."

"How about I snap your neck so that you can dream permanently?" Sage narrowed his eyes. He looked up as Ryo and Kayura entered the room. "Anything?"

"Not much," said Ryo.

"Where are Dayus and Cale?" Asked Kayura.

"On the roof," Rowen answered, "talking to…Sekhmet."

"How come he's been up there since you guys came home?" Gwen asked.

"Because Sekhmet has the hots for Jessie," Casey said.

"WHAT?!" All other non-Armor wearers shouted. Sage left the room.

"I think I'll have a talk with Cale when he comes inside," Kayura said.

"He didn't tell me, I overheard him and Dayus when they walking by the bathroom."

"Wait a minute!" said Twyla. "Back-up! You mean Sekhmet as in the green-haired, beady-eyed, Warlord of Venom likes Jessie?"

"The very one," said Casey.

"Oh boy…" said Joana.

~*~*~*~*~

Cale looked back and forth between Dayus and Sekhmet as Dayus tried his best to say something to cheer up Sekhmet. And the Illusion Warlord was not succeeding.

Sekhmet walked away from them and sat next to the chimney. Drawing his right leg up, he wrapped his arms around and rested his chin on his knee, staring out at the forest.

How could they understand? Besides, Kayura and Mia, Jessie had extended her friendship to him. He had confided in her and she never turned away.

But Jessie was in love with Sage.

Sekhmet closed his eyes. He was immortal, and the one selfish desire he had was for someone to share eternity with.

Dayus had Kayura and for the time being Cale had Casey. It wouldn't be surprising if Cale would try to find a way to make Casey immortal.

If only… Sekhmet thought. Is it possible that Jessie's power is strong enough to-

"Uh, Sage," said Dayus, interrupting Sekhmet's thought. "What brings you up here?"

The Halo Ronin looked past the two standing Warlords to the one by the chimney. "Would you two mind if he and I had a talk privately?"

"Of course not," said Dayus as he grabbed Cale's arm and dragged him to the other side of the roof.

"What are you doing?" Cale hissed quietly.

"Getting out of here."

"And miss them fight? Are you crazy?!"

"As much as I would love to see the fireworks," Dayus said. "Fixing the roof is much easier than to fix the two of us."

"Point taken," Cale said and the vanished.

Sage walked over to the Warlord, stopping a few feet away. Sekhmet looked up at him. "Are you going to throw me off?" He asked.

"You can fly so there isn't any point to do it," Sage said. "But it has crossed my mind."

"I'm not surprised," Sekhmet lowered his leg and set his hands flat on the roof. He looked out at the trees again.

Sage looked down at the shingles, not wanting to ask the question that was burning inside his mind since their return to the house. "Do you love her?"

Sekhmet was caught a little off guard. He knew that Sage would ask him if he did love Jessie, but he didn't expect to hear it this soon. The Warlord waited before answering. "She loves you."

"That's not what I asked."

"I know, but it's probably easier for you to hear."

"Perhaps," said Sage. "But I do want to hear it directly from you."

Sekhmet rose to his feet and looked at the Ronin. "Over four hundred years ago I lost the woman I loved. My entire village was destroyed. You have no idea what it was like to see everyone slaughtered. Two centuries later I found someone else. I believed that she would be with me. But I lost her too. She died in my arms."

Sekhmet turned away. "I promised myself that if I ever found someone again I wasn't going to let go." He sighed and looked at Sage. "But Jessie loves you. I know she hasn't said it out loud but she does. As long as she's happy, I can let go."

Sage looked at the Warlord with mild sympathy. "And your hope that Yurei mentioned?"

"I think you can guess what it is, Sage," said Sekhmet.

The Ronin nodded and went back inside the mansion.

Sekhmet leaned against the chimney and closed his eyes.

The arrows were deep; he couldn't remove them without causing more damage. She was in so much pain yet she refused to cry out even though the tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Just hold on," he told her. "You'll be alright."

"Sekhmet," she coughed, blood spurting from her mouth. "It's…it's t-too late…"

"No!" The Warlord held her tight. "Ayame…don't die on me."
Ayame raised her hands up to her chest and broke three arrows as close to her skin as possible. She took Sekhmet's face in her hands and brought him towards her.
Sekhmet could taste her blood as they kissed but he didn't pull away. Ayame's hands slipped from his face, leaving crimson streaks. She smiled at him. The life faded from her dark brown eyes and they slid closed forever.

Sekhmet held Ayame to him and threw his head back in an anguished howl.

"Ayame…" Sekhmet whispered and wiped at the tear that ran from his eye. Her eyes, Sekhmet thought, were dark brown. So are Jessie's. Is it possible-

"Sekhmet."

The Warlord turned and looked at Ryo. "Are you okay?" Ryo asked.

Sekhmet nodded. "I just had to do some thinking."

The Ronin leader looked at him with concern. "Come on. Kayura wants to talk to all of us."

Sekhmet nodded and followed Ryo.

~*~*~*~*~

Yurei stood on top of the volcano looking over the edge to the lava below. She closed her eyes, making sure the Nether Spirits inside her were ready.

"Here we go," Yurei floated above the lava. "It's all up to you now, Dragon Child."

She closed her eyes, pulling herself inwards. Her body started to fall. The lava divided, as if the volcano was welcoming her. A bright light surrounded her as she disappeared into the depths, and the lava returned to its original state.

~*~*~*~*~

"Just how do we get Yurei out of Jessie?" Asked Gwen.

"Maybe the Sleeping Beauty scenario," said Casey. "As for which prince- hey!" She yelped as Cale picked her up and put her over his right shoulder and left the room.

Cale walked up the stairs, ignoring Casey's demands to be put down. He went inside the guest room, shut the door and dropped Casey on the bed. Before she could sit up, Cale moved on top of her and held her down.

Casey looked at him. "This is a little forward."

"When will you learn to keep your mouth shut?"

"What?"

"First you announce that Sekhmet happens to like Jessie and then that remark about which prince," Cale moved off of Casey and stood in the center of the room.

"I was only kidding," Casey sat up.

"You have very poor timing."

"She did the same thing to me."

"I'm the only one here interested in you, Casey."

"Oh, gee, thanks, Cale. I knew you loved me."

"Jessie has two men interested in her," Cale ignored the sarcasm. "And she isn't here right now. You're not embarrassing Jessie by dragging this out--you're embarrassing Sage and Sekhmet."

"Since when did you become an expert?"

"When I fell in love with you."

Casey turned her head and looked out the window. "Sage is in love with Jessie," she said after a while. "I can feel it from him. It's like there's something inside that you can connect to, but I know I'm not the one who can. When he gets close to Jessie, it's stronger."

"You can feel his emotions?" Cale asked.

"Yeah."

"When did it start?"

"After we got home from the caves."

"Halo…"

"What about Sage's Armor?" Asked Casey.

"Not just his Armor," said Cale. "All the Ronin Armors. Ryo and Jessie could sense each others feelings; it became stronger over time but after she wore Wildfire it increased very quickly."

"You mean that the reason I can feel Sage's emotions is because of Halo?" Casey asked in disbelief.

"I believe so," Cale said. "It might be possible that it also happened with the other Ronins."

"Well I can think of two couples that it's good for," Casey smiled. Can't say much for Rowen and Twyla, though. But it just may be the element they need.

~*~*~*~*~

"Mom, it's hot," Jessie mumbled, "please turn on the air conditioner." She rolled onto her back and something jabbed her in the lower spine, making her yelp.

Jessie sat up and rubbed the now tender area. She opened her eyes. What am I wearing and where am I?!

Rising to her feet, Jessie winced at the pain that pulsed from her upper left arm. She pulled apart the tear above the metal arm guard, seeing the bandages and a little blood that had soaked through the linen.

"How did-"

Sage swung his blade, cutting the unprotected spot of her upper left arm.

"No…" Jessie whispered. "He couldn't have…Sage wouldn't…do that…to me…"

But it was true. Somehow she knew that the memory was true. Why would Sage to that to her?

Jessie reached up to her throat, only to find the necklace Sage had given her wasn't there.

"I took it off before I went to bed," she remembered. "the dream I was falling…and now I'm here." Jessie sighed. "Kaosu, what's happening to me? Heh, I'm starting to sound like Kayura."

The ground began to shake and Jessie leaned against the wall, thinking, Now I know how you felt last month, Sekhmet.

The vibrations soon stopped and Jessie took a deep breath. "Okay, you don't want me here. I get the picture." She started walking.

Why is it so hot? Jessie thought wiping the sweat from her face. She stopped at the sight of lava flowing along the path. "Yeah, that would explain it…"

Looking across the lava, Jessie saw several large rock platforms going across, leading to an opening in the wall. Jessie sighed. "Not much of a choice."

She took a few steps back then ran full speed to the edge, she jumped and landed safely on the platform. "Phew, that wasn't too bad."

Jessie continued to jump from platform to platform. When she was three leaps away a lava bubble popped and some landed on Jessie's cloak, catching fire. Jessie immediately unclasped the hook and let the cloak fall, watching it burn to cinders.

That was too close, she thought and made it across the rest of the way without any more problems.

Jessie continued down the pathway, unable to shake the feeling that she wasn't alone. The odd part about it was that she couldn't focus on exactly which direction the feeling was coming from--it was all around her.

Why can't someone else get all the attention for a change? Jessie couldn't help thinking. I hate being the cause of stress. Oh great, dead end.

She sighed and was about to turn around when she noticed something against the wall. Cautiously, Jessie walked towards it. The closer she got the better she could see it.

An altar had been carved into the wall of the volcano. It was about four feet wide and jutted out about two feet in the middle. Two half arches were on the sides and in the center was a nine pointed star with a carving of the Jewel of Life in the middle.

"Kami-sama…" Jessie breathed as she stared at it with wide eyes. She had seen this altar before, from the Ronins and Warlords memories. "Sekhmet, you had it down to a T."

Walking closer, Jessie reached out and lightly touched the edge of the altar. A small bright light appeared then faded away, leaving a small metallic orb on the altar.

No…way… Jessie thought as she took the orb into her left hand.

December 17, 2003

Hey there!! Jan's sometimes typist here!! Just thought I'd take this moment and tell you guys to leave her lots of reviews. And if she gets any flames I will hunt you down the way the U.S. Army hunted down Saddam and do not nice things to you while still not violating the Geneva Convention.

Happy Holidays!

Kyanite
~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, I know, it's short but I hope this will tie you over until I get past my writer's block. From now on, I am not giving out anymore possible updates. I said I'd have this done in September but I hit the writer's block and also misplaced my notebook when I rearranged my room. Found notebook, asked Kyanite to type up what I had written so far, and here it is. Incomplete but here.

I couldn't resist bringing Shikaizen in. I needed another bad guy and I couldn't invent one like I did Kuriyami.

Forgive me please for being late.

And do not email me via the @excite address. For some reason, it won't let me log in. Please use janimelee@yahoo.com

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, minna!

~Janime

11/02/2004

Guess who! Okay, I decided to leave this chapter as it is, however did some minor editing and gave it another title. But I have some great news.

I'm passed my writer's block!

So expect to see the next chapter, which will be titled "Similarity", between Christmas and New Year's Eve.

(::looks skyward, hands folded:: Ancient One, help me.)

Janime