Kento paced nervously back and forth, throwing an occasion glance in the direction of Cye and Amy's still forms. Alosha was watching for any changes, but so far nothing had happened. Kento's thoughts were jumbled in his brain, mostly because of his worry for his friend. This was taking way too long. Would it really work? Cye just couldn't be taken out that easily, could he?
Kento spun on his heel and prepared for another round of treading the earth when Rowen lost it. "For God-sakes, Kento!" he exclaimed incredulously. "Can't you sit down? I'm going to go insane if you don't stop!"
Regarding Rowen angrily, Kento snapped, "Well, I'm gonna go nuts if I don't do something!"
Ryo quickly stepped in to prevent what might have become a full-blown fight. "Calm down, both of you! This isn't solving anything!"
"But..!" Kento protested.
"I don't want to hear it! Or from you either, Rowen," he added sharply when Rowen attempted to get a word in edgewise. Ryo was close to clobbering both Rowen and Kento himself.
Kento sat on the ground with a huff next to Venus, and Rowen turned his back on him. He put a fair distance between himself and the others. The blue-haired boy sighed wearily as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Sage standing behind him.
"Don't be so short with Kento," Sage said.
Rowen scowled and pulled away from Sage, walking forward a few feet. "That dork doesn't seem to realize that he's not the only one worried about Cye."
"He knows it, Rowen. But for someone who's so smart, you're the one who's not realizing something."
Not particularly in the mood for Sage's pearls of wisdom at the moment, Rowen faced him and gave the blond boy a `shut-the-hell-up` kind of look. "Yeah? And what might that be?"
Sage caught the full meaning of Rowen's glare, but he brushed it aside. "Out of the five of us, Cye is the one closet to Kento. Don't you think that it was be very traumatic if Kento lost that friendship? He can't relate to anyone else the way he can with Cye, and he's afraid he won't have that anymore." Sage lowered his eyes and said quietly, "Besides, it's no different than what I would be experiencing if this had happened to you, Rowen."
Rowen blinked, startled by those words. "What?"
Sage shook his head with a small chuckle as he spoke. "I may not show it that often, but you mean a lot to me. Your friendship is a major part of my life." Sage's voice tightened slightly with emotion, enough so for Rowen to notice. "Maybe that's the problem with me. I don't let the people close to me know how I feel about them."
Rowen looked at Sage, suddenly wondering if he had been looking at this situation the wrong way. His anger toward Kento now seemed unwarranted, even selfish. Sage had that ability, to make people see the full scale of things. Rowen swallowed hard and stepped forward, putting his arms around Sage's neck in a compassionate hug.
"Rowen?" Puzzled, Sage peered down at Rowen's blue hair with his visible eye. The abrupt embrace had taken him by surprise.
Rowen sniffed and whispered sheepishly, "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell at Kento, or you. It's just that you guys are all I have. I can't afford to lose any friends." He didn't let go of Sage; he couldn't bring himself to look his friend in the eye until he had said everything he had to. The idea of Cye dying had frightened him badly, and had brought back some insecurities he thought he had been rid of. "Before I became a Ronin, all I knew about studying and school work. The concept of friendship was foreign to me. Then I received my armor, and I meet you and the others. Suddenly, I was surrounded by comrades. To tell you the truth, I was terrified. I didn't know how to be a friend, or how to keep one. At first, I didn't have to worry so much about it because of the battle with Talpa. But when things quieted down, I found myself wondering if there was any reason why you and the others would want to hang around me anymore. There's nothing about me that would make people want to stay my friend." Rowen fell silent, embarrassed at his display of fear and childish worry. Then he felt Sage wrap his arms around him to comfort him.
"You idiot," Sage said, laughing lightly. "It's because you're the way you are that we love you so much. Do you really think that after all we've been through that any of us would abandon you now? That I would? You're my best friend, Rowen. I'll never leave you alone."
"Thanks," Rowen said gratefully, lifting his head and looking at Sage now with a small smile. Sage gave him a pat on the shoulder.
"And don't worry, we're not going to lose Cye. He's a lot tougher than any of us think."
Rowen nodded, and was about to pull away from Sage when someone cleared their throat loudly. Both boys turned to see what it was.
The Ronins and Sailor Scouts were staring at them with raised eyebrows. Even Alosha, Whiteblaze, and Tuxedo Mask had dumbfounded expressions. "Uh, is there something that you two want to tell us?" Ryo asked, indicating Sage and Rowen's little hug.
"Yeah," Jupiter said stonily, crossing her arms stiffly. She wasn't liking this one bit.
Rowen's face became bright red as he quickly let go of Sage and backed up, but the holder of the Halo armor managed to keep his composure. "Just some male bonding," he replied easily, running a hand through his hair.
"Oh!" Everyone exclaimed in unison, all of them visibly relaxing.
Rowen had to stifle a laugh; only Sage could pull that off. He began to follow Sage back to the others, giving Alosha a faint smile. She nodded in reply, then suddenly she gasped in horror and shouted, "Rowen, behind you!"
"Huh?" Rowen whirled around, startled. His eyes widened as he saw a deadly blast of purple energy streaking toward him. Just before it hit him, something flew in front of Rowen and exploded as the energy slammed into it. He landed flat on his back and threw up his arms to shield his face as bits of rock and grim fell over him. He uncovered his eyes as soon as it cleared and quickly jumped to his feet, not waiting to figure out what the heck had just happened. Rowen raced over to the other Ronins and Sailor Scouts.
"You okay?" Ryo asked as the archer joined them.
"Yeah. What happened?" Rowen took a brief moment to glance at Ryo for an answer while his eyes darted around for signs of another attack.
"I'm not sure. Something fired at you from out of nowhere. Kento threw a rock in the way just in time."
"Kento?" He stared down at the remains of a boulder that had been thrown in the path of the blast meant to kill him. Rowen turned and meet Kento's eyes. The other boy grinned broadly, and Rowen smiled back. Kento apparently didn't hold a grudge against him for their earlier argument. "Thanks."
"No prob!" Kento replied easily.
The Ronins hurriedly armored up, then Ryo knelt down next to Whiteblaze and said, "Okay, boy. Do you know where the enemy is?"
The tiger sniffed the air and snarled menacingly in the direction of a large patch of bushes. Sailor Mars focused that way and frowned at what she sensed. "It's back," she reported grimly.
"You mean the thing that possessed Cye before? Hicoyu?" Venus asked.
"Feels that way," Sage agreed, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.
Jupiter scowled angrily. "Bad timing, too. Mercury hasn't come back yet and we don't know if she got Cye."
"We're just going to have to improvise," Tuxedo Mask said simply. He looked over at Sailor Moon. "Some of us will have to protect Cye, Mercury, and Alosha while the rest fight."
"An excellent plan," a rasping voice commented, "but it will do you no good." A black mist floated out from where Whiteblaze had sensed the evil vibes and took human form. Hicoyu grinned at the shocked expressions of the Ronins and scouts; he wasn't really the most pleasant of sights to see. He caught sight of Cye and made a disgusted noise in his throat. "So, you're trying to save your friend? I guess I'll kill him first and finish the job."
Kento took a threatening step toward Hicoyu. "You do anything else to Cye, and I swear I'll rip your damn heart out!"
"An interesting idea, considering I have none. But you're welcome to try."
"Fine!" Mars lifted her hand, and fire trailed from her fingertips. "Mars Celestial Fire, Surround!" She held her arms out in front of her with her palms pointing forward, and rings of fire shot from them. Hicoyu didn't move a muscle, but merely narrowed his eyes. The circles of flames halted five inches from him, then turned a dark green and streaked back at the teens in a razor blade manner.
There was a frantic scattering of people as the rings zipped past them, nearly grazing their skin. Rowen strung an arrow and energy built up along the projectile. "Arrow Shockwave!" The arrow glowed a brilliant golden color as it streaked toward its target. To no avail, Rowen's attack was stopped before it reached Hicoyu and thrown back at the Scouts and Ronins on a larger scale.
"I think you'll find me to be more of a challenge than those weaklings you fought before," Hicoyu taunted mockingly.
"This is no good," Sage declared. "Anything we throw at him, he blasts it back at us."
"Maybe we just need a stronger attack," Venus suggested.
Hicoyu sneered at that, but Sailor Moon and Ryo's ears leapt to those words. A stronger attack?
The Holy Grail!
The Armor of Inferno!
Sailor Moon and Ryo were just about ready to summon their next stage of transformation, when Alosha suddenly shouted out. "Everyone! Look!"
There was a collective set of gasps from everyone as the Ronins and Sailor Scouts whirled around and saw why she was yelling. Alosha had moved back from her two charges she had been watching over with a relieved expression as one of them sat up and got to his feet. Then the girl next to him stood as well.
"Cye!" the Ronins exclaimed happily.
"Mercury!" the scouts chimed in. Then they stopped as they saw the glazed-over, but serene look in both their eyes. Cye's kanji of Trust and the sign of Mercury were burning on their foreheads. The teens had seen Sage, Jupiter, Kento, and Mina display similar behavior, right before something was blown into oblivion.
"Run!" Ryo shouted, and they all hightailed it to a safe distance. Rowen grabbed Alosha on the way and carried her with him.
"Here we go again," Kento said, out of breath as he and the others watched anxiously.
Cye calmly raised his hand and his trident appeared out of thin air. The dull glow from Hicoyu still hung about it, but when its proper owner grasped it, the light-blue radiance blazed forth once again. He didn't even bother transforming into his armor, not that it seemed to concern him at the moment. He aimed it at Hicoyu as Mercury lifted her hands in front of her, a small swirling blue vortex forming between her palms. Icy mist seeped out of the void, hanging about their ankles. The light-blue glow spread over both their bodies. Neither of them needed any prompting whatsoever.
"Blizzard Surge!" With that said, Cye's trident suddenly blasted forth a flood of water. Hicoyu immediately tried to halt it, and for a moment, the water hovered in place. Then it snapped free of his hold and rammed into Hicoyu. But rather than knocking him down, it twisted around, tumbling and spinning him until he was encased in a bubble of water.
Wordlessly, Mercury stepped up and fired the energy she had gathered in her hands at the sphere. It engulfed the bubble and turned the liquid to ice. Then the frosty globe literally imploded; it shrank down to nothing and disappeared in a bright flash of light. Nothing of Hicoyu was left.
These children were becoming quite a handful. Despite himself, Trem had to admit that he had underestimated these warriors. They had very impressive powers for such young people. With the loss of his minion Hicoyu, Trem decided that a new strategy was required. He would have to play dirty to beat Alosha and her friends. And this time, he would do it himself to make sure it went right. A faint sneer played upon his face before he stood and vanished from sight...
Mercury's eyes fell shut as she collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. Her lack of energy caused her to detransform back to her school uniform. Cye, on the other hand, was not drained in the least. If anything, he felt stronger than ever. He tossed his trident into the air and it disappeared as he quickly knelt down and checked on Amy. She seemed to be alright, and he took a deep breath of relief. Cye was also mildly surprised to find that the wound in his chest was gone. I must have Sage to thank for that, he thought.
"Cye?" The English boy looked behind him to see the other scouts and Ronins cautiously approaching. Ryo tentatively asked him, "Is it you? I mean, really you?"
"Of course!" Cye replied with a light laugh, his sea-green eyes sparkling merrily. "What, didn't you think I would make it? Come on, have a little more faith!" Then his eyes widened in horror and he attempted to bolt away from the approaching onslaught. But he was too late as Kento caught him in a bone-crushing hug.
"CYE!!!!!! I can't believe it!" Kento exclaimed happily, ecstatic to see his friend. "I'm so glad to see you!"
"Me...too..." Cye wheezed, feeling like his lungs were going to pop. He started to turn a disturbing purple shade at that point, so Sage quickly tapped Kento on the shoulder.
"Take it easy! He nearly died, you know!"
"Yeah, okay," Kento agreed reluctantly, releasing Cye.
Cye panted heavily for a few minutes, then straightened up and regarded Sage gratefully. "You saved me again," he said jokingly, giving his chest a pat. He turned to the girls and his other friends, who were now in their normal clothes. "Thank you. Thank you all."
Serena shook her head, smiling. "No, it was Amy. She risked her life to bring you back."
"Yes. I owe her a lot." There was an unmistakable look of affection and fondness as he knelt down next to her. "Amy," he whispered, gazing at her beautiful, sweet face. Not caring who saw him, Cye gathered Amy in his arms and lifted her up. He said nothing as he patiently waited for her to wake up.
The Ronins and the Scouts all exchanged looks and silently headed away from the pair, giving them their space. Kento glanced over at Mina as they went, commenting, "Guess they don't need any encouragement now, huh?"
Mina giggled, thinking that Amy would be in for a pleasant surprise when she woke up. "Maybe not. We'll just have to see."
Amy stirred slightly, having a sense of warmth and calmness. She noticed that her pain was gone and was glad for that. Her eyes opened and a moment of blurred vision greeted her before she could see. Her surroundings were different; she wasn't in the cave anymore, and that awful man was gone. Amy sighed in relief, and something shifted under her. It was then that her brain registered several other important facts to the things around her.
Her head was leaning against something firm and comfortable, and it rose and fell in a rhythmic pattern. There was a soft, thudding sound emitting from it. Also, strong but gentle arms were folded around her, supporting her to a sitting position. She nearly panicked for an instant, but managed to keep cool. Carefully, she lifted her head to look owlishly at who was holding her. The person felt her movement and glanced down. Their eyes meet at the exact same time, and Amy almost fainted again.
Cye's expression filled with gladness when he saw that she was awake. "Thank goodness," he said, breathing a sigh. "I was worried about you."
Amy stared wide-eyed, having a brief moment where she seriously considered that she might be going insane. But she quickly discarded that idea. It was far too real for this to be in her head. "Cye?" she asked softly, barely able to get the word out.
Cye smiled his wonderful, innocent smile at her. "Yeah. It's me," he confirmed. Suddenly realizing that they were very close to each other at the moment, he blushed appropriately and said, "Um, can you stand?"
Amy was unable to think of anything to say. It was all so overwhelming for her to take in. But it was true; he was really back. Finally, she managed to get out a faint, "I think so."
"Good." Cye helped her to her feet and stood himself, brushing the dirt from the ground off his pants. As he turned to face her, he was startled to see tears spilling down Amy's cheeks. "Amy, what's wrong?"
She wiped at her eyes, smiling although she was crying. "I...I'm just so glad to see you," she said, sniffing sheepishly.
"I'm glad to see you too," Cye said truthfully.
Amy abandoned all her scientific reasoning at that point. A sob escaped her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She was struck by the terrible fear that he might disappear again, that something would happen to take him away.
At first, Cye wasn't sure what to do. But he did have a fairly a good idea of how he should act. "It's ok," he said quietly, gently stroking Amy's hair to reassure her. "I'm so sorry I scared you like that. And I'm sorry for what he...what he made me do." Cye paused, sensing that his bashfulness would be hitting him at full blast in a very short while. His brush with death had taught him that he must never again put off saying things that needed to be said. So to him, it was now or never. "Amy, when I was trapped inside my mind, I heard what you said when Hicoyu was hurting you."
"You...you heard?" Amy stammered. She abruptly pulled away from Cye to stare at him in shock.
"Yes. It was what helped me escape from that place." Cye was silent for a moment, then he said, "And I feel the same way."
"I...I don't understand."
He mentally gulped, but it didn't show. Gently putting his hands on the sides of her face, he lifted her head so that she was looking straight into his eyes. Amy's face was anxious and a little puzzled. Amazingly, Cye's cheeks were maintaining their normal color rather than flushing brightly. "I...I love you, Amy."
Amy actually had to think about what Cye had just said for a few seconds. He...he loves me? No, that can't be right. Why would he love me? This isn't real; I must be delusional. But when she examined his expression, there was nothing but sincerity in it. "But..." she whispered, several tears of confusion and disbelief brimming in her eyes.
Cye lightly wiped the wetness away with his thumb. He could see that she was overwhelmed and a bit scared at the moment by this new information. The last thing he wanted to do was frighten her away, so before he released her and his feelings of panicked shyness took over, he pulled her toward him and kissed her on the forehead in a gesture of tenderness. "Thank you, for saving my life." Then he turned and began walking in the direction that the others had gone.
Amy was frozen in shock. Her brain had totally gone numb on her, so it wasn't going to be any help. But her heart was practically screaming at her. `Go after him! He said he loves you! And you love him, right? What are you waiting for?!` She gasped, finally snapping out of her daze. "Wait!"
He glanced over his shoulder and, seeing her expression, asked, "Yes?" His tone was half hopeful, half nervous.
"Do...do you really love me?" She spoke in a small voice that trembled slightly.
His answer was shy and simple as he turned back to face her. "More than I have anyone else."
Without her knowledge, tears once again flooded her vision, but this time they were joyful tears. A radiant, elated smile lit up her face. "I love you too," she said in a choked tone.
Cye looked both happy and relieved. "Amy..."
She took a few slow steps toward him, then broke into a run. Cye held out his arms and Amy threw herself into their embrace. Warmth and contentment washed over her as he folded his arms around her waist. This was right; this was what she had wanted since the moment she woke up and saw his kind, handsome face. Just to remain with him. Forever. "Please, don't leave," she whispered, not caring about anything now except being with him. "Whatever happens, just stay with me. I can't bear to ever lose you again."
He nodded, closing his eyes. It was so undescribably wonderful to hold her like this. Cye had wanted to do for a long time. His shyness had vanished, thankfully leaving him alone for the time being. For the two of them, just being together like this was the most natural, endearing feeling in the world. It was like they had both found the missing halves of themselves.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. A loud crash broke them out of their peaceful moment, and they both jumped in fright and whirled around at the source of the noise. A tree branch that Mars's fire rings had halfway sliced through had broken off and fallen to the ground. Cye and Amy stared at the charred wood for a second, then burst into awkward laughter.
Amy caught her breath and sighed, still giggling a little. "Goodness, don't we make a pair?"
"I guess so," Cye agreed. He glanced up at the sky and frowned at the darkening horizon. "We had better catch up with the others."
"All right, but there's still something I'm a bit confused about."
Cye tilted his head to one side in that absolutely adorable manner that only he had. "What?"
"Well," she said, "when I went into your mind to find you, there was a little boy there. He had your hair and eyes, and even your accent!" Amy peered at Cye in puzzlement. "Who was that kid?"
He blinked, then what she was saying dawned on him. "Oh! Um," he responded sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, "that was me, actually."
"You?!" Amy was stunned, but now that she thought about it, the child had looked like an exact twin of Cye, only younger. "But how?"
"I'm guessing that since I was so weak, my spirit took the shape of a child because it's the only form I could maintain at the time. Of course, I didn't know anything about you or my powers at that stage of my life." He shrugged and added, "But I could be wrong. It was my first trip in my subconscious, after all."
"Then who was that man who attacked me?"
"That was the combination of my worst fears and insecurities in the form of my old rival, Sekmet." When Amy gave him a perplexed look, he explained, "Sekmet was one of Talpa's dark warlords. He was my main opponent, and we clashed many times." His expression darkened a bit as he talked.
Amy put her hand on his shoulder and apologized. She hated to see him upset. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
Cye brightened considerably as he refocused on her. "It's all right. You risked your life to find me. The least I can do is tell you what you want to know."
"I'd do it again in a heartbeat," she said, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze.
He smiled and stood, lifting her up with him. Still holding hands, they both walked together back to the others.
When Cye and Amy caught up with the Ronins and Scouts, they were both fairly ambushed by a barrage of inquiries. Amy was pulled away from Cye and surrounded by her friends.
"Ok, so what's the deal with you and Cye?" Mina demanded.
"Did anything happen?" Serena asked excitedly.
"Come on, give us the details!" Lita exclaimed.
"What did he say? What did you say?" Raye asked. Amy shrank back as best she could to escape their scrutinizing glares, but she couldn't seem to make herself disappear.
Meanwhile, Cye was under heavy interrogation himself.
"Did you finally tell her?" Sage asked.
"Did you kiss her?" Kento questioned.
"What did you two do?" Ryo chimed in. Even Rowen had ganged up on Cye, but he refrained from asking anything of the overwhelmed English boy.
"Uh, well, I, uh..." Cye stammered.
Darien and Whiteblaze were the only ones who had not pounced upon Amy and Cye the second they had joined the group. Darien looked at the girls, chittering like a bunch of squirrels. He finally sighed and gave Whiteblaze a slightly exasperated glance. "Least you don't have to deal with that." The tiger threw him a `you wouldn't think so, would you?` kind of look, and then motioned his head toward the four equally shameless boys. Darien saw that and chuckled. "Yeah, okay. I guess there's no point in trying to understand it, is there?" Whiteblaze growled in agreement. Humans. Go figure.
Done! ::big grin:: Come on, did you actually think I would kill off Cye? He's way to sweet to die! Next chapter will come soon! Please read it! See ya!
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