Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Dream a Little Dream - The Battles Between ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
"Ryo's fine Mia, it's just that I know what is coming up in the next few days and you need to be ready to handle some stiff emotional backlash." She headed out the door when Ryo looked out and saw Cye doing a handstand, using Kento for a base.

As the day progressed Ryo was kept resting as he took the brunt of the attack on Talpa. The others were in much better shape and so they were all eager to look after him and help however they could.

As evening came Crys knew that two of the guys were due back from a quick grocery run into town when she timed it something odd impinged on her senses. She couldn't tell if it was just her getting used to the odd pong that the evil of the Dynasty seemed to give off, or whether she was gaining some genuine abilities by her stay here in this universe but what ever it was, it set her on edge.

Trying to play it cool was not as easy as it looked for her and as she tried to stay calm, she knew that the others were in trouble. "Sarenbou." She hissed softly. She could feel Anubis wondering what was going on and realized that he had been meditating when she felt the trouble. Reassuring thoughts were sent his way as she fielded strange looks and questions from those still in the house.

"It's nothing guys, I just think that we should all be on our guards for a while." Waving off the need for complete worry the two missing Ronin walked in the door looking about as deflated as week old road kill.

"You met Sarenbou." Was her only comment to the surprised pair.

"How'd you know?" Sage asked

"I already told you guys that I already know this time line. I know what he is after too. He is after Ryo's white armor." Looking over at Mia she asked. "Mia, you have the most sway with Ryo. Keep him from fighting Sarenbou if at all possible. He isn't ready to take that monster on yet."

From the look in the other woman's eyes she knew that Mia had already made that assumption. Looking to the guys she knew that they were already made up in mind that they would protect Ryo.

"Ryo has to fight him some time. I just want him to be stronger than he is right now. That fight with Talpa and his first run with the Inferno armor took more out of him than he is ready to admit. It is going to take a lot out of you all too. But with Ryo's nature and the nature of the armor, it is going to hit him a lot harder once he realizes that in order to fight he has to take your powers from you to create the Inferno."

As she sat and calmly explained the nature and the power of the armor, she realized that they weren't quite ready to believe her on the entire tale. However they knew Ryo well enough to trust her when she said that he would try to fight before he was ready. As they didn't want to see their friend and leader hurt they agreed with her for the time to let her help direct the fights and plan the battles to come.

Surprisingly enough she kept out of the actual planning. She only gave them the information she thought they would need to plan the battle out and then backed out of the circle to let Mia and the others do the actual planning.

When she was asked for her opinion she shrugged. "I can not interfere too much. My code forbids me to interfere with another time line unless I am asked to help. I have been asked to help only so far as to give the information you all will need to win your battles. It is entirely up to you how you use that information in the future."

"Just be careful. Sarenbou is a deadly enemy and will be difficult to defeat. But rest assured, if you all stick together, it will happen."

As she retreated to the room Mia prepared for her for the night she knew that by morning most of the battle would be decided. As she started the meditation that Anubis had ingrained in her she thought about everything she had been through. She was a coward when it came to battle. She hated fighting and she hurt far to easily since she had stopped fighting.

She was slowly regaining her strength to withstand pain, torture and battle. But it was a strength she would have rather been able to do with out. "Oh Anubis, where are you?" She asked to the sky as she looked out of the window.

Little did she know, but Mia had followed her upstairs and was listening just outside of her door. As Crys had left the living area Mia knew that something was troubling the young woman. Trying to find out information about Crys was harder than finding out information about the enemies they were fighting.

Now she had an idea that perhaps Crys liked Anubis a lot. If that was the case then it was quite possible that the Warlords were all alive, especially if the Ronin all survived Talpa's destruction. The question now was whether or not Anubis, and more importantly Crys were still wholly on their side or not.

Knowing how closed Crys could be about her past and about events that were taking place in her world. It was still hard to believe at times that Crys was from another world. But as they listened to her and found that she was right in her assessments of the situations, she knew that the woman was slowly gaining their complete trust.

As Mia moved on from the room she was surprised to see Ryo moving about and out of his room. As she raised her eyebrow in question of why he was up and about Ryo shrugged. "Why are you up Ryo, you should be resting."

"I heard you up here and I was wondering why you had stopped at Crys's door. She's making you curious and if my advice is worth anything, you'll leave her alone when she wants to be alone."

Mia almost took umbrage at the comment when Ryo interrupted her. "I am not too worried about what I have seen about her. However there is still a lot we don't know about her and with her being gone for so long after that battle with Talpa, we don't know what she is capable of now."

That shut Mia down for a few moments as she chewed on that thought. She had welcomed the woman who was still helping them back into her home with out any questions. The guys still basically trusted her but apparently Ryo had seen something in Crys during his last talk with her that would make her a potential danger to them all if she were pushed too far.

Ryo grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed back to bed. Even if he wouldn't admit it to his friends, he was still wiped out from that run in with Talpa and the ending of the battle.

What he didn't notice was that his friends were gone from the house. As he slept Crys was in the other room trying to time out how long it would take for Sarenbou to come for Ryo.

She knew how long the guys had been gone and she also knew that it took some time for them to get to the spot on the highway where they would meet up with Sarenbou. Until then she would just keep an eye on the skies and especially for any odd lighting and the moon for reflections.

She only hoped that the guys wouldn't over tax their strength in trying to keep Ryo safe now that they knew what they were up against. She could also only hope that Sarenbou would not learn of how they found out about him. She wanted to help more but she knew that these trials before the next battle with Talpa were going to be all-important.

Calling on the small amount of power that the staff had left her with she quietly left the house and headed towards the Lake of the Mitama. She knew that she would need the Jewell and if she could get it before Talpa was aware that the Ronin knew of it then that would be score one for them all.

Little did she know though that as she left she was being watched by Mia, who could only wonder why she was leaving at that particular time when they were all headed into danger.

The woman however reassured herself that this stranger to them all had mentioned several times that she knew this time line, even with her interference the generalities had not changed. After they got back from defeating Sarenbou she was going to have to have a long talk with them all about how far they were going to trust the woman that kept fading in and out of their lives.

Running faster than she had thought possible Crys arrived at the Lake of the Mitama faster than she had originally thought. She thanked the Kamis that there was a map stand just outside of town where she could get a map and directions to the lake. Looking down she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Startled she grabbed the wrist and twisting a bit to throw her weight into the throw she tossed the hand's owner over her shoulder. As he landed in front of her he was smirking as she was breathing heavily still crouched from her throw in another ready position to fight if need be.

When she realized who it was she smiled and relaxed a bit. "Baka, you should know better than to go sneaking up on people like that in the dead of the night."

"Yes, but women who don't know this area should not be out wandering either." He chuckled even as she growled at him. It was then that he noticed that she was not unarmed and that her blade was cleverly hidden in the folds of her shirt at her back.

"I am here to get something that will be very important in the battles to come. I need your help to get it." She finally dropped her guard the rest of the way, trusting that it was indeed Anubis.

"You wouldn't be referring to this lake now would you?" Anubis teased her lightly.

"No. I can't tell you about it either until we are safe. If any one that would be spying on us found out that I know about this then both of our lives would be in danger more than they already are." She looked down saddened again.

"And I am not ready to lose you yet." She whispered.

Anubis was slightly taken aback at the admission that she cared beyond the gratefulness she had shown in the weeks before she left him again. Nodding he faced the lake and asked. "So what is it that we need to do Crys?"

Pleased that she had his support even when he shouldn't even be this close to the Ronin she pointed down to the lake. "In the middle of that lake is a Temple of the Ancients. We need to uncover that temple and enter it. To do all that we will need the power of the Ancient's staff.

Anubis nodded and as they walked down the path to the temple that was created by the parting of the waters of the lake he saw that she had been telling the truth about the temple in the lake and was more inclined to believe her about the other pieces of information she was dropping so mysteriously.

When they reached the temple entrance it was obvious what needed to be done to gain entrance. When they touched the stairs Crys smiled and muttered to herself. "I always thought that to be a handy thing." As the corridor illuminated.

Anubis's sharp ears caught the comment and stored it away as another piece of information about her that he would have to question her about in detail later on.

"We must move quickly. With respect to the ancients there is not much time." She chivvied them both along even as they looked at the various armors that lined the walls and the murals that told of spectacular battles.

Moving towards the center of the main chamber she was amazed at the likeness of the one that she had seen those years ago. Looking up she saw the mural depicting the nine Ronin armors encircling Hariel's White Armor of the Inferno.

As she reached out to take up the Jewell of life she heard the voice about them ask for their help in keeping the sacred gem safe. However even as Anubis relaxed some, Crys's hand reached back to her blade.

"Watch yourself Anubis. I have an uneasy feeling that something is going to happen." Even as she spoke the soldiers of Talpa surrounded them.