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Shadowsage
Dani Hyrosha
FenrirColdSteel
Damagedude

Chapter Two: Swords Prove All

How may a heavy sword float in the water? The boy thought to himself, looking at the sword laying between his legs. He had decided to tether the warrior to his boat and row back. So far, the warrior, his closed eyes facing the sky, had not moved or said anything. The boy muttered to himself, as he had seen the old men do when something inexplicable happened.

He reached the shore, untied the body from his boat, and dragged it onto the ground. The boy noticed at once that a red symbol glowed on the warrior's forehead. He knew what it was from his father's reading lessons. The symbol was wrath.

***

Alaric shook his head and looked at Kaylyn.

"I'll only go if you are going, or if you make it a formal request. I may have no love for my immediate family, but I do still have -"

"Alaric. Choose for yourself. "

Shadowsage interrupted him.

"Your other responsabilities can be taken care of by another, just as soon enough mine will pass to another."

Alaric bowed his head.

Michael muttered, but eventually nodded.

"I'll go, even if only to escape a wel-placed-"

"Don;t use me for your reasoning. You can;t go, who do you think will be filling in for Alaric's duties? And mine as well for that matter?"

That got the full attention of Michael.

"Why are you going to leave?"

"I wonl;t be."

"Then why will I be taking over your duties? Does that have anything to do with your fainting spell earlier?"

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"It might, but it more has to do with the fact that there is an impending war of epic proportions that will tear everything apart, even rend the universe in two."

"And how would you know that, hm? Are you one of the *so* distinguished Dragon clan membersa, the ones wiped out long ago because of the atrocities they committed? Did you like hearing the children you tortured scream?"

She flinched, and Alaric punched Michael- hard enough to knock him back.

"Keep yoput tongue in line, michael. She saved your tail a time or two if memory serves me right."

He looked at Kaylyn, and nodded.

"I'll help. It is the least I can do."

Michael stood up, and glared down at Alaric.

"What, you're going to protect that.... thing?"

"Michael, do you even remember the way you thought of her even a minute ago? You';ve seen how she is, how can you accuse her of murder?"

"Because now it all makes sense. The fact that she has a staff with a dragon on it even though she's been adopted by the ancient. Her fainting fit, it was a vision, right? What clan did all of the Seers spring from? The same one that was wiped out because of the evil it created."

Shadowsage had her head bowed, and was really doing an admirable job of controlling herself, only a few tears had fallen from her face.

Alaric stood between michael and shadoesage, al but visibly bristling.

"You of all people, michael.... Sage-Shadowsage-san is one of the most compassionate and kind people I have ever met. She actually *listens* when you bring your troubles to her, hells, she even *presided* over my sister and Jumei's wedding, as near-secret as it was before they ran off on their honeymoon."

Michael drew a blade, preparing an attack.

"Don;t force me, michael. I'm going to help Kaylyn-sama and I have no intention of doing so injured."

Kaylyn moves with the speed of a cat, using a dagger to block one blade and holding the wrist of another. Her dark eyes looks at both Alarc and Michel as she stands between them.

"Stop it! Both of you!" she yells, "this is the kind of thing that is tearing the Clans apart. The sins of the fathers fall on the children. Would you blame my sister for our skin-changing ancestors, or me? We have a bigger problem on our hands than a long lost Clan. The Wolfriders will kill and enslave us all! And all because the Clans who were allies are too busy fighting each other over things that died when our Clans lost most of their power!"

She looks at each in turn and, for a moment, her dark blue eyes become a cat-like gold, slender eyes watching both like a true Wildcat. Then the gaze is gone and she is Kaylyn again. Her eyes fall on Micheal.

"I don't care what Sage-san is or was," she says, "she is a friend of mine, and that should be enough. She has saved my life, and helped me raise my sister when my mother died. She has saved us all in battle. She has proven herself time and again. As a warrior Micheal, that should be enough for you."

Her eyes turn to Alaric.

"And we should not fight each other, we've been friends too long," she says, "look at Hariel, he's not going to fight over this. He has less to hold on to than either of you. You both hail from Clans you grew up in, he has no Clan. There will be a time to fight, but as a warrior, you must know the time to draw your sword, and the time to sheath your blade."

But now, Hariel is seated by Shadowsage. He nodds, looking at the others.

"Kay's right, we got bigger problems," he says, "the more time we're here arguing over something we can't change, the more danger we have of loosing Dannin. And Anubis. He may not like me much, but Anubis is a good warrior. However, he's headstrong and will take on the whole Wolfrider Clan to save his little sister."

The girl spoke up, her young appearance at odds with the horseness in her voice, though she did not look up.

"If my presence is such a bother to you, Michael, I'll happily leave. Anubis is going to get himself killed if he does not get help. Kaylyn definately has one thing right- if you do not band together, then everyone, even those not involved with this battle, will die alone in separate places. Some sooner, some later, and eventually onlt the handful who survived will only look back and mourn what could have been."

She turned her back to them, away from Hariel, her black hair swirling in the soft breeze, slight points of her not-quite0human ears peeking through. She looked.... like a very old woman in the body of a child right then, as though she had been magically placed in a form that did not fit.

"Do as you feel you must... What peace there is will only last another few weeks at most, no more than two or three months. Many will die, and the universe will be split. What becomes of you, and what that universe turns out to become is dependent upon only a handful of poeple- each of you, and a few others, no more."

She stood shakily, walking a few steps to lean on a tree, head bowing.

"Yes, I am the last of the Dragon clan, perhaps it is time I laid aside my own masks and claimed it, and reminded people that we were wiped out because we were pacifists, and it was our neighboring clan who desired our stregnths that destroyed us and laid their cruelty at our feet."

Alaric had been watching her, and his soft comment, and her following reply, stunned Michael into sitting down.

"You speak as though you were there."

"I was. I am the last of my race and the last of my clan. They were destroyed before my eyes and I could do nothing about it. It was one of the Wildcats who saved me, I was a lot younger then, the equivalent of an eight or ine year old child. They thought I was human, much as they were at the time. They never found out differently, when they spoke of the horrible crimes laid at the feet of those who had been my family, I ran away. They are the only ones who might have known the truth. My kind was forgotten or used as a nightmare scare for naughty children. It was twenty years ago that the Ancient took me into his clan as a negotiator. I watched most of those who will be involved with the change of the times grow into the people they have become. As usual, when tragety struck, I could do nothing but help clean up the mess afterwords. I could not intervene. Even when a clan was destroyed in near-entirety, I could not intervene- much as I wanted to in order to prevent that massacre."

Now she tiurned her head, her eyes were slit-pupiled, like a feline's..... but with a reptilian flavor to them. Dragon's eyes- and eyes that were full of sorrow.

"Even now, I know that some of you will die, that some of you will survive, and where and when if you knew ahead of time some of those deaths and some of those losses might not happen- but they are things I cannot tell you. I cannot tell you because that foreknowledge can and will alter that future, and stands a better chance of destroying everyone that it does of helping. That is what my 'fainting fit' as you so eloquently put it, Michael, was all about. How much would you like seeing some of the people who have become good frienfds to you die before your eyes?"

Michael was blinking, too stunned by this abrupot revelation to react- Alaric, however....

He took a few steps towards Sage, seeming not very surprised at all.

"Is that why you wake up screaming? or crying?"

She closed her eyes, as michael again blinked, shocked again by the fact that alaric knew that bout her.

"Hai. But that has how it has always been."

Alaric turned to Kaylyn, looking from one to the other, before settling on looking at Kaylyn- though he spoke to Shadowsage in very familiar terms.

"Sage-san. Is what I spoke to you of this morning going to come to pass because of what I feared?"

"Yes, alaric, though it will happen thousands of years later because of what you fear, if you choose right."

He nodded, and bowed.

"Kaylyn-hime, may I speek with you alone for a few minutes?"

Kaylyn nodds, waving her arm as if to point to the Wildcat camp.

"Meet me there in a few minutes," she says, "You'll know the Hyrosha banner when you see it."

She turns to Hariel, putting her hands on his shoulders.

"I'll be going with Alaric to get Anubis and Dannin," she says, "you stay here as a Hyrosha if you can, or at least a Wildcat warrior. We'll be back as soon as we can. Try to keep things calm while I'm gone."

"Me? Calm?" Hariel laughs, "you overestimate me Kay, but I'll do my best."

Kaylyn smiles a bit, then turns to Micheal.

"I'll trust you and Hariel to keep the Clans from killing each other," she says, "at least for now. I have an idea that may save us from the Wolfriders, but I will need all the Clans working together when we get back."

Lastly, Kaylyn turns to Shadowsage. Without warning, she hugs her friend. She says nothing, because nothing needs to be said, then walks towards the tent near the center of the Wildcat camp, where a black banner hangs in the wind with a silver sword and a silver wildcat on it.

Michael sighed.

"You ask the impossible..... but hey, it might be done. I'll try, but I'm not a good diplomat."

A dry smile.

"I tend to tell the truth."





Shadowsage nodded at Kay;yn, ees sad as she watched her go.

"Wind to thy wings."





Alaric found her tent easily enough, but nervously stood outside, unwilling to go in wihtoutm her express permission.

Kaylyn smiles slightly at Alaric as she opens the tent flap.

"Come on in," she says, "it's just mine."

The place is a mess, blankets everwhere, maps on the single desk overflowing. Almost like a real wildcat ha been here.

"Pardon the mess," she says, "I guess it's a Hyrosha thing."

_______________

Hariel shruggs, "I'm not a diplomat either, but hey, we can keep em from fighting. We just make them fight us, right?"

Michael chuckled, forcedly.

"Either that, or find an enemy big enough for them to forget their squabbling about. I'd rather get on their bad side than tell them the truth but..... "

Shadowsage had been walking away, heading for what had been unofficially labeled as her living space- a small cave set inside the clifftop she usually meditated on. She was using her staff as a walking stick.



As soon as she was a ways away, Michael turned serious.

"I donlt know if I can trust her now.... not knowing he is a dragon clan member.... they by all accounts are an evil group of beings! Even the nicest ones were only acting. How can anyone possibly know her real motives?"

"Does it matter?" Hariel shakes his head, "How many times has she been there for us? If the sins of the fathers are on the children, then we are all to blame and we all have bloodstained lives. Kay doesn't know my Clan, but I do."

"We all have our faults, so hers are more seen than ours," he shruggs.

"But when have the sages ever really been completely wrong about an entire Clan?" Michael was looking off after Shadowsage, his thoughts visibly torn.

Hariel timidly raises a hand, "Uh, mine."

That made him blink. "Really?"

Hariel shruggs, sitting by the creek. "Yah, anyone tell you about the Lost Clan?"

Michael thought for a long minute before he shook his head. "Maybe once or twice in passing, but not officially."

"It was one of the Clans that died out after the war with the Wolfriders, the Clan that caused most clans to loose their magic," Hariel says, "how do I start. They were neutral in the Great War. The only Clan to be so."

Hariel lays back on the grass, his arms behind his head.

"I was a kid when they found me," she says, "the Hyroshas I mean. It was before their mother died. She knew what I was from the start. I was from the sky clan, one of the few neutral clans, they did choose a side in the Great War. Kaylyn's mother knew I was from the Wraith Clan, but didn't say anything. No one knows. We're so shrouded in darkness, no one knows who we are. Even I don't know if anyone but myself is alive. But do you trust me less because I am from a Lost Clan?"

Alaric followed Kaylyn in, and looked everywhere rather than at her.

"There's.... a few things I should tell you before we leave.... while we have time and relative peace and quiet to talk in and ..... oh I'm just not good at this sort of thing!"

Her took a dep breath.

"Sage-san is a very good friend of mine, I've known her for years, and we've gotten very close over the last few months..... but we're nothimg more than close friends, not- **sigh**"

He looked away again, eyes landing on the overflowing desk, then back on the floor.

"I was once engaged to that noisome woman out there, but I wanted none of it- "

He sighed again and shook his head.

"I'm really the black sheep of my family- diplomats, my entire clan. All but me. I've enjoyed the swerd arts ever since a certain girl we both know showed me them a dozen years ago. That;s how I met her. She was my first teacher. Did you know she can use two scimitars better than most men can use any single wepon? Anyway, it was by her suggestion I came out here. My sister followed when she convinced the rest of the clan I might need help. She's the cause of today;s ruckus."

He shook his head.

"I'm babbling. I shouldn;t take up so much of your time with nonsense...."

"I- nevermind." He turned, taking a step toward the tent flap, obviously not having gotten out when he had wanted to.

Kaylyn smiles, flopping onto the thickest layer of blankets. She seems more at ease here, almost like she hasn't a care in the world

"I know that story," she says, "my Clan tried to marry me off once or twice, but my dad always forbid it. Don't worry about it. You do what you feel is right, that's all you can do. Every Clan will need their warriors soon."

He sighed, stopping short of the door.

"I know. My sister was better at diplomacy than I was anyway." A dry smile.

"Funny thing is, she outfights me with her weapon of choice, too. She's a heck of a sai fighter."

He shook his head, raising a hand, as if to leave.

True to her Wildcat bloodline, Kaylyn is up in a flash, and she grabs her arm in an iron grip. She shakes her head, spinning him to look at her. "You are one of the best fighters I know, and I will need your skill for my task ahead. You don't know what I will do, but if you will keep it to yourself, even from Sage-san and the others, I'll tell you and maybe we can do this together."

Alaric's face colored slightly when he realized how close he was to Kaylyn, and he began to stutter.

Kaylyn's dark eyes lock with Alaric's own. She shakes her head, "You have to believe in yourself. That's the way a warrior lives on. Not just day to day."

"K-k-kaylyn- ah-"

Kaylyn gives him a crooked smile, "Trust me."

"ah-" His face turned bright red when he realized he was no longer just close to Kaylyn. He froze, eyes shooting wide, as someone muttered on the other side of the tent something about damned worn spots in the grass. Quickly backing away, he sputered again. "ahh.. s-sorry I was pushed and-"

Kaylyn raises an eyebrow, looking first at Alaric, then at the shadow outside the tent. She had an idea who had "pushed" Alaric, and made a mental note to speak with her suspect.

Alarics face was still slightly pink-cheeked. "Ah- I-I'd better go-"

Kaylyn then does something unexpected. With one hand still with an iron on his arm, the other hand takes a fistful of tunic and pulls his lips to her own. After a moment, she herself turns to let him leave, forgetting she is still holding his arm.

Alaric blinks a few times, too stunned or too shocked to really react for a long minute. She had his full attention now, his eyes resting on her face in a mix of surprise and...... something undefinable- something akin to suspicion mixed with wonder, in a good way.

"K-kaylyn?" His tone put a world of questuions in just that name, and he blinked and blushed violently again, quickly repeating her name, as thouhg to erase the familiarity he had just spoken it with. "K-Kaylyn-hime?"

Kaylyn looks back at him, a sadness in her eyes as well as hope. She finally releases her arm and flops back on the blankets beside the table.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," she says, "I'm sure there is someone out there you look for. Tell Sage to meet me here at dawn and we'll leave."

He shook his head. "th-that's not-" He took a deep breath. "Speaking of Sage, I guess she was right, I always put my foot in my mouth when I'm trying to say something personally important to anyone else." His stutter was gone, as he bravely (to him) too a single step towards Kaylyn. "I-" He sighed, and again seemed to try to say whatever it was that he had been trying to say from the start. "I don;t look for someone out there." He colored again, before looking back down at the ground.

Kaylyn flashed him a crooked smile, "Then are you a simlple warrior, with only your blade for company?"

He shook his head, and closed his eyes, his whisper brely audible. "It's your silver hair that blinds me to them" He looked up, color fading from his cheeks. A mask, as obvious as the ones Sage wore, as he bowed.

"As you say, Kaylyn-hime." There was a sadness in his voice, and a bit of frustration, perhaps at himself. "I'll.... tell Sage-san..."

He started to turn, but hesitated, agin, it was obvious there was more he wanted to say.... but by now it was also obvious he had the hardest time saying it.

Kaylyn smirks slightly, not really looking at him at first.

"You know it is pointless to wisper to a Wildcat, they can hear every word," she turns and smiles at him

He froze, his face visibly coloring again. "ah.... you did?" There was a bit of hope in hsi voice, so fragile a harsh word would shatter it.

Kaylyn knew better than to laugh, but the look on his face brought a real smile to her face, one no one had seen in years outside her family. She slowly nodds. "Every word."

He closed his eyes again. Apparently, she had just helped him find some courage. "I stopped looking for anyone out there since almost the first day I saw *you*...." he trailed off, and looked down again. It was plain that he had more to say, as he took a minute to regather his courage to say it. Finally.

Finally, Kaylyn does chuckle a bit, "That day, out on the field where I was in a fight? That stupid No-Datchi that's as big as I am! I think that was the first time I saw you. I was comming to your Clan for, why was I there........"


"I'm no good at telling anyone how I feel, even sometimes to Sage I have trouble and I trust her wiht everything-" He shook his headm contintuing in rapid siccession. "What I'm trying tosayisIloveyou...."


He cut himself off, and closed his eyes, head still bowed

.Kaylyn slowly rose to her feet, "You're running your words together again. You know, you do that when you're nervous. You don't have to be, it's just me, just Kay."

He took a dep breath, not chainging his position, and visibly steeled himself. "K-k-k- Kaylyn-hime.... Aishiteru."

Kaylyn smiles, "I know."

He seemed..... sad at that, as he did turn to leave. "Then...... I guess I'd better go...."

Kaylyn sets a hand on his shoulder, "You don't see it. Sage knows, and she told me. I'm fine with it. No one has ever said that to me before. No one has ever seen me as more than the heir to Hyrosha's armor.

He stilled, trying not to show it, but.... she had his full attention despite the fact that he was facing away from her. She always had.

Kaylyn wrapped her arms around one of Alarics own, pulling herself close to him. She rests her head on his shoulder. "I'll never be more than a mother. I was never a child. I'll never grow up. When this is all over, the only name I will have is the armor I wear. The only armor in my Clan that can destroy as well as create."



He shook his head, removing his arm from hers only to take her by the shoulders, gently. "Is that what you think? you, the silver haired, borwn-eyed beautiful woman who draws the attention of so many? the diplomat who can outtalk even Shadowsage at times? the warrior who can trump almost anyone else with your chosen weapons? If nothing else, you will not be remembered for simply an Armor."

He colred, realizing what he had said and looked down again, hands falling to his sides.

Kaylyn lets out a long sigh, "So what do you see? All I can see, all anyone sees is someone who will do what needs to be done, who weilds a sword when needed, and fades into shadows when she is not wanted."

A dry chuckle. "You never fade, you vanish, even when there are people who notice you even if you're in the back of the crowd. You...." once again, he looked aat the blanket-strewn floor. "You really want to know what I see?"

"Alaric," she says, "I would not have asked if I didn't want to know. You seem to be the only one outside my family that sees me as anything but a warrior."

"Sage sees you as more." another dry laugh. "Sometimes I'm not sure whose friendhsip she values more, yours, or my whining."

"Sage-san, she is one of the few that knows what I can do, and it scares me," she says, "do you realize I could summon a power so great that would destroy every Clan? They don't that, but my Clan knows, and that is why I travel. I could destroy everything if I do not keep my control as a warrior. No one saw what happened when they took my sister. You don't know what I did."

"I don;t think she cares what you're capable of. I suspect she's capable of worse. I would be rather pissed as well if my sister were kidnapped." Not saying it in as many words, he implied that Kaylyn could do no wrong.

"Besides, it has been my experience that she is a very accurate judge of charachter- and she seems to be able to read everyone like an open scroll. Why fear something like a big bad power when it won't be used poorly?"

Kaylyn shook her head, the calm additude that everyone else knew falling away. Very few had seen her this way. "So it was all right to take my armor's sword and...." she lets out a long sigh

"What did you do?"

She shook her head again, "It doesn't matter. No one can fix it, and now I have to stop Anubis before he does the same thing."

Alaric looked at Kaylyn, putting a hand on her cheek. "*we* have to stop Anubis. The sun rises and sets with you. That's why I can;t ever seem to be able to tell you.... Why else would I get klutzy every time you;re around the training grounds? You are so beautiful and so distant.... Like the ice princess from the stories, that which cannot be touched by someone like me, with only a claim as a warrior. You are so beautiful, so intellignet, so *alive*- I-" He looked down. "I can only really hope you might let me at least just keep looking at you...."


Kaylyn pulls herself close to him, like a child hugging someone to make all the shadows fall away. "I can't turn back. I have to start them. Then when the war starts, I'll finish the one thing that will save or destory us all. But I can't do this all alone. No one can know what I'm planning."

He delicately hugged her back, still so very unsure. "Then.... don't be alone. After all, there has to be someone good enough for you out there...... " his voice droped so soft even Kylyn had trouble hearng it, as he did not mean to let the thought escape. "even if I wish it could be me...."

Kaylyn closes her eyes, speaking softly, but loud enough that Alaric could hear her, "The Wolfrider general has an armor, almost like mine. I will split it apart, then Ancient will seal them with a virture so they can be used, and we'll end this once and for all."

"That..... won;t be easy for you to do.... you.... you want me to help you?"

Kaylyn slowly nodds, "You're the only one I can trust with this. Sage can't know, she'll try and stop what's all ready started. I know her. I'm not supposed to do this, but I'm the only one left with the Knowledge to make the armors of old."

"She might already know. she doesn;t meddle in EVERYTHINg, you know."

"She'll meddle in this one, trust me," she says.

"Are you so certain? She knew about the Lost Clan. She knew before other clans were destroyed completely. She should have meddled then." He sighed. "Kaylyn-hime..... I won;t tell her. My honor on it." He looked away.

"I...... My days are numbered, I already know that. I just had to tell you how I felt about you before time ran out. I don't know when or how, but I know I won;t see the end of whatever this war is going to bring. I don;t know how you feel about me, and perhaps, it really doesn;t matter anyway since I might not be around very long I donlt know. I just...." He paused. "I just had to tell you before it was too late."

"I can't loose you too," she says, "no, I won't let it happen. I can change that much. I know I can."

"It's ok. I donlt know when or how, but I do know why..... and I'm ok with that. You wont lose me. Not really. Not ever. Not if-" His breath caught, and he trailed off. He couldn't say it. He didnlt dare. He didn;t dare because he still did not know for sure. She had never said it..... and he didn;t trust hsi own readings of her, not from his point of view.

Kaylyn sighs slightly, "I won't loose you. I love you Alaric, and my heart is yours. Please, don't leave me alone."

Her voice is almost like a child, unsure of what will happen when the night falls. Her warrior's mask has been stripped away, leaving a simple Wildcat maiden unsure of her own future.

Alaric held Kaylyn close, burying his face into her hair, all of the tension leaving his frame as he held her.

"Then you will *never* lose me, because I will never leave you. I've loved you since the day we met. Your beautiful silver hair.... your soothing voice, your perfect features.... your beautiful soul... all of you. No matter how bad it seems, even if we are torn apart, our love will bring us together again, somehow."


Kaylyn heard a barely audible sigh from outside the tent as a shadow moved away from the side.


Alaric continued to hold her close, enfolding her.

"I never told you before becasuse I was afraid you would turn me away. I was afraid I would not be able to worship the ground you walked on. You... you;re so beautiful.... and I'm.... just some warrior, I can promise I've been disowned for the stunt I pulled earlier. Somehow.... that doesnlt matter to me at all."

"You can be a Wildcat," she says, "we addopted so many after the Great War, they won't mind. I am the eldest in my family, and so I have the most say out here."

She smiles, not really paying attention to the outside world. She looks outside, they had been talking for hours, and now it was late afternoon.

"They'll be waiting for me...." she mutters.

***

The man was heavy and did not move easily. The boy from the Kenketsu clan wasn't sure what should be done with the sword that lay inside his boat like a harbinger of something insidious. He thought it might really be a snake, casting a glammer so he wouldn't stomp on it or cut its head off. After all, no heavy sword like that could float and no one would think about throwing away such a finely-crafted sword, even if it came by pillaging the corpse of a dead warrior. What better disguise for a deadly, magical snake to take than a white sword? Yet....something told him otherwise. He had held the sword in his hands, lifted it into his boat, and it had not revealed itself and struck. Still...the floating- his mind could not grasp such a thing.

As the boy dragged the warrior across the ground to the village healer, the warrior spluttered out water and gasped. The boy jumped back, surprised. He had thought the warrior dead- or was it a god? That, he still didn't know.

The man said two words to the boy before he collasped: "Saberstryke's coming."

***

"M-m-maybe I should wait here, I mean-"

He colored again.

"Do you really have to go?"

Kaylyn sighs, her mind moving but her body seems to be frozen in place.

"Yes, I have to," she says, "If we're going after Anubis, I must set things in motion. Everything will starts while we're gone, but at least it'll be the start to end all this fighting."

Finally she does move slighly, her hands falling away. One grabs his wrist again and she nodds slightly.

"Come with me," she says.

Alaric nods. "I am at your service, *my lady*." He had a slightl possessive tone to the my lady that made it a way of saying "my love" wihtout giving the game away. He smiled, looking..... far more at ease than he had been in months.

Kaylyn shakes her head and walks out of the tent. She glances around, noting that no one was around, then heads for the big conferance tent in the center of camp.
"The Wildcats are meeting before council," she says, "you can sit in."

Alaric nodded. "Though.... is that wise considering there is little love lost between my clan and any other?"

Kaylyn shruggs, "So? They can't hold council without me. You don't have to come. But they won't yell too much, I tend to yell back."
Her childish face began to fade, replaced by the warrior all knew.

"Then whatever you would prefer. The one thing I was worried about.... " he blushed, and chuckled softly. "Well, it seems I did not really have to worry." He streightened, sliding his feelings for Kaylyn behind a calm facade, not releasing her hand, but in every other way, playing bodyguard to the ambassador.

Kaylyn nodded. Soon she saw the two guards in front of the centeral Wildcat tent. They nodded, letting the pair insisde. She sits without a word at one end of the table, looking at the six elders all ready seated.

alaric stood at attention behind her, as any well-practiced and well-trained bodygard would. Privitely, he hoped he would go unrecognized...... bu that was unkilely for two reasons. one, he was well-known around the camps by just about everyone. Two, he was the Crane clan heir until two months ago, and as such had traveled as ambasador pefore the previous year began.

Kaylyn seemed to tune out the first half of the meeting. It was all about the status of the familes back home, in the ancient woodland the Wildcats hailed from. Finally, it came to the council that would be held at sundown. Kaylyn sighed as one elder turned to her
"Lady Kaylyn," he says, "why have you brought us here? They say you and the Ancient Clan started all this."
Someone mentioned the Cranes under their breath, but Kaylyn stood slowly.
"One simple term," Kaylyn said, "The Wolfriders have broken their exile. I am taking a handful of warriors to scout their camp near the Wildcat boarder."
"And who goes with you Lady Hyrosha?" one asked.
"Well, Alaric of the Cranes for one..."Kaylyn said.
And that opened a whole new can of worms....

"Cranes?!? they're ALL diplomats." Alaric frowned, and opened his mouth to respond when another loud outcry cut him off. "Despite how well-known the lord Alaric is, we've only seen him stumbling around at his practices, he has not won a single match any of us have seen!" "The cranes are windbags!" Alaric kept trying to sya something, but with a sigh of frustration threw his hands up, muttering in disgust.

Kaylyn was not as kind with her word. She glared at each and every one before she spoke, and with her stare, all fell quiet.
"Alaric is a friend of mine and that is enough for all of you," she said, "I carry the Armor that protects our clan, so I will decide who travels with me as scouts. I will not listen to you all debate over it. This is a matter for a warrior to decide and as the eldest of the Hyrosha family, I lead the warriors of our Clan. I came to inform you, not ask permission. As for the council, if we do not band together, all will die at the Wolfrider's hands and no one will be spared."

Alaric spoke into the silence that followed. "As for my credentials as a warrior... There is a secret of my clan known only to a handful, and since it's going to be obvious at the next council meeting, I see no reason not to tell you. It has to do with the few members of my clan that *aren;t* all; featherheads."

One member of the elders, slightly younger than the rest, waived their hand. "Secret? You're all a bunch of talkers, not warriors. Leave the sharp objects to those who are not injured." An older elder smacked him across the back of the head, "If there is a secret, we would have it to cast this shadow off your Clan before we meet as comrades."

alaric nodded, and actually tunred a bemused smile on the younget Wildcat. "Sharp objects, hm? Considering my specialty is with kusari-gamas, that leaves you little room for play." He topok a pace back, efectively clearing space. "Perhaps you will recognize.... something like this?" He produced a marble-shaped and sized object.
(note: not all clans have mystical Armors.) (<--keep that note)

All eyes went wide, even Kaylyn's own. Many went to speak, but it was Kaylyn who found the words.
"That looks like the orb that summons the under-armor of the Black Flame Armor I carry," she said

"Similar. I will swear that so long as I draw breath, the Lady Kaylyn-hiime is safe. My honor on it. I know you know all mystical armors have an associated kanji, right? And that that kanjii is usually a defining virtue of the bearer's soul and personality, right?" He clasped the marble in his hand.

Kaylyn smirked a bit, a kanji flared a bit on her forhead

"What proves that marble has any power at all?" Nods of agreement around the table.
Alaric smiled in a surprisingly condescending manner. "Simply this: the defining virtue of the Armor of the Ogre."
"And what wpuld that be?"
Alaric looked at Kaylyn, then back at the rest of them, the kanji flaring as he named it. "Loyalty."

Some of the elders accepted this, and some still thought is was a simple act of magic and not a real power
Kaylyn, however, could feel the power of her own armor reacting to his armor.
She smiled slightly at him, nodding as she turns back to the elders

Alaric chuckled softly. "It is almost ironic, that Honor first attracts Loyalty to its cause, ne?"

Kaylyn shook her head, her grin almost ironic, "Yah, I would think so. Between the two of us, this will be a breeze."

"What proof do we have that that kanji's not just some trick?"
Alaric's eyes narrowed. "What proof must I provide?"

Kaylyn raised an eyebrow, then let out a long sigh. "You'll have to summon your armor."

Alaric sighs, and bows his head, and shakes it a few times.
"Guess I can;t pretend anymore, ne, Milady?"

Kaylyn smiled, reaching into her pocket, "here, I'll summon mine as well. No one outside the Wildcats has ever seen it."

"Then I am honored to be the first."

Kaylyn took a deep breath, pulling out a pure black orb. It glowed with it's own, then she held it in front of her. Black armor replaced her robes and then her voice, clear as an afternoon breeze, called on an unseen power.
"By the Honor that Bind my Clan!" she cried, "Armor of Black Flame!!!"
In a flurry of silk and flower peddles, a black and silver armor swirled into place around the young Wildcat. In the end, she pulled off the helmet, letting her silver hair flow down her shoulders.

Alaric bowed, and took a step back. "Loyalty beyond life itsself, Armor of the Ogre!" As his subarmor, then full armor melded into place, he also removed his helm, his topknot swirling, before resting beind his head. His jade green eyes glimmered. "Stil doubt me?"

Kaylyn smiled, as no one seemed to. She spun her helmet on her hand, looking over at Alaric.
"Whatcha think?" she said, "all black and silver, just like me and my sister."

Alaric chuckled, more of his.... less well observed personality coming out thanks to the influence of his armor. "It is as beautiful as you are."

Kaylyn kept her smirk, but as she nodded, the armor itself faded to it's subarmor. She glanced around.
"We'd better find the others before council if we're to leave in the morning," she said.

Michael shook his head.

"But dragons were evil....."

he shook his head again.

"Hariel, with you it's different. You've been my friend for.... years.... and she's always hiding something...."

***

The armored boots thudded on the ground. They might have been the steps of a mechanized monster- both words which no one other than Saberstryke would know for some time. Yet, he had traveled five thousand years into the past, pursuing what he thought was his greatest enemy, the bearer of Holy.

They had fought, and Saberstryke had come out on top. Yet, Holy had found a way to flee, a way that made him look like a streak of blazing fire hurtling through the sky. Saberstryke knew he couldn't leave it at that. No armor-bearer ever died that easily. He had to find Holy, and quickly, before the armor passed on to another, as Saberstryke was sure it would.

The search had led him to a fishing village overlooking a lake, and a boy, who Saberstryke thought might be-

It was!

Batrias.

***

Hariel sighs, "Everyone hides something Micheal. It's just the way of mankind. No big deal, right?"

He sits up, looking over to see a few others nearby.

"Check out the armor," he says, "man, hate to make him mad."

Saberstryke turns his attention from the boy, Batrias, and the armored warrior beside him to someone he thought he recognized. Someone from, was it the Lost Clan? Spying on him?

He quickly calculated the situation. The warrior was unconscious, and Batrias was just a boy, no threat to him. He had to take care of the Lost Clan guy before anything else.

He draws the Soul Swords of Fervor, the blades feeling heavy and empty, the way they always felt when he had killing on his mind.

"Warrior, whoever thou art, know me as Saberstryke, servant of the Wolfriders," Saberstryke declares to the Lost Clan spy. His swords tell everything else.

Hariel knew the warrior was talking to him. After all, the nickname of Wildfire that Kaylyn had given him did fit him most of the time. He looks Saberstryke up and down before answering. So much for just watching.

"Wolfrider, huh," Hariel says, "I'm a loyal ally of the Wildcats. You know, you shouldn't be here. Wolfriders aren't welcome within the Clans, and that includes those that serve and protect them. Return to your exile."

Saberstryke replies, "I am not here on exile, whoever you are, and, to me, the enmity between us is long since past. I ask only that you flee or fight. My interest lies with this warrior and the boy here, not with you."

Yah, well, I happen not to like people who attack kids with really big swords," Hariel says, "what say you state the buisiness you have with the kid and the warrior, and maybe I won't call the warrior of the Wildcats here."

"If you must know," Saberstryke says, his blue eyes glowing through the vacant space where his face might have been, "These two here are the same person."

Hariel raises an eyebrow, "Right......is that even possible? I mean, I know a kid that has the old Wildcat skill, but two people at different ages at the same place?"

Saberstryke sighs. He can't have expected much else from this Lost Clan person. "I will explain.

"Both of these people are called Batrias Kenketsu. The older man came here from the year 2035 A.D.- five thousand years from now- to escape the destruction of the world. I was one of those who tried to stop him. The younger boy is also Batrias. I am going to stop the older man from passing the boy the Armor of Holy. You do not know of armors, but I can assure you, whoever you are, I cannot allow this to pass. If I do, the world will end on that year, caused by imperfections in the armors. It all begins here, with the passage of this armor from a man to the younger version of himself. You are correct, two people cannot be in the same place. But they are. This event creates a contradiction in reality, which is solved by causing flaws in the armors. You may chose to believe me or to attack, only I suggest you make up your mind. I cannot allow you to interfere."

Chapter Four: The Rescued

Saberstryke, an officer in the Netherworld army, shifts his feet. Standing around, guarding the one called Dannin Hyrosha has made him uneasy. His master's ascension has also made him uneasy. Surely someone will try to oppose the Netherworld. Surely, there will be someone. Saberstryke doesn't want to wait to find out who.

In the Wolfrider camp, Dannin is finally awake. And anoying as any homesick six year old. She is loud, obnoxious, and everything else a six year old can think of.

And with that, outside the camp, a guard falls in silence. A Wildcat has made his move...

Saberstryke quickly tenses. The noise the girl is making distracts his hearing, but he is sure that he hears...something. Someone moving. But he cannot be sure. If not for Talpa's order that the girl be left alone and kept from leaving, Saberstryke would have tied up and gagged the girl by now. In fact, he is sure that her cries are acting like a homing beacon for- someone, if there is anyone.

In a flurry of red hair and a sycle blade, that homing beacon called Dannin has summoned a great warrior.

Well, sort of. Anubis had gotten sick of waiting and decided to take out the guards one by one until he can get to his sister, who conveniently has a loud voice for one of her size.

He makes it into the camp, using what skills he has as a Wildcat to continue deeper towards the tent where the child is being held.

At the barest edge of his vision, Saberstryke sees, or thinks he sees, one of the guards fall. It is distant, far off. He might be seeing a speck of green- one moment there and one moment not. It could be that he has seen spots in front of his eyes. He has, after all, been guarding Dannin for going on nine hours. Yet, something- was it red?- for the briefest of moments, came in sight. Some of Talpa's soldiers do have their armors colored something other than green; some wear gold armor. But red? Saberstryke tries to think and decides that he cannot really remember seeing a red soldier before. But, this too, might have been a spot on his vision. He places one hand on his single sword, a katana made by the swordsmith Tetsu Ozaki- in the service of the Netherworld- and decides that if he sees one more red spot or green spot blinking, he will raise the alarm. But, for now, he cannot be quite sure.

Anubis pauses behind a tent next to and bolts under the flap and into the tent holding his sister.

Dannin's eyes were red from crying, she had quieted recently when her voice gave out. She sees Anubis, who hushes her and pulls her into his arms. The two are still for a moment, brother and sister reunited.

The rustle of tent flaps is unmistakable to Saberstryke's hearing. Wooden blocks had been placed all around the tent, too heavy for a young child to lift, preventing Dannin from simply walking off. Yet, if someone had come along, from the outside, quietly moved the blocks, and went inside...the intruder would want to check to see if Dannin had been moved, or was even still alive.

Saberstryke decided to have a look inside. When he saw two people instead of one, he yelled at the top of his lungs, the alarm that an intruder was present. His sword was already out. Someone had come to rescue the prisoner, as Saberstryke had thought they would.

Anubis glares at the Wolfrider in front of him, drawing a scythe blade and standing, holding Dannin behind him.

"I'm here to take her back to her Clan," Anubis says, "to the Wildcats. Step down."

"I do not care what the Wildcats need of her, or what your need is," Saberstryke said once he stopped shouting. He could already hear the heavy footsteps of soldiers running to surround the tent. "Talpa wants this girl, for what reason I cannot say, but I know that you will not get out of here alive if your intent is to take her out of here.

"Now, lower your weapon and surrender! You are surrounded!"

"Surrounded or not, I'm taking my sister with me," Anubis says, "you can try to take on a Wildcat, but few succeed in facing a Hyrosha."

Dannin grabs the vest Anubis is wearing over his light armor.
"Anubis," she says quietly, "I'm scared."

"Don't worry Danni," Anubis says, "everything will be all right. I'll get you home."

The cloth walls of the tent were torn away as spears and scythes rips through them, revealing large green soldiers, their white eyes showing no expression. One soldier swings a metal chain above his head. Saberstryke gives what he knew would be his last warning.

"I will say it this last time," He declares, "Surrender peacefully. You may be a match for these guards, but you will encounter me sooner or later. You cannot escape, and Talpa has no doubt been notified that someone has come. Surrender yourself peacefully and you will be treated with mercy. Resist, and you will be destroyed."

Anubis tenses, watching each soldier with cat-like grace and feeling. He could take them all, but the warrior speaking, that would be different. And then there was Dannin, in the middle of this all.

"Mercy?" Anubis finally says, "Mercy?! Was it mercy when your warriors attacked my family? Was it mercy when an arrow stuck my leg so I was unable to fight? Was it mercy when you ganged up on my older sister, and stole away my little one? No Wolfrider, your Clan has no mercy."

Suddenly, Dannin grins, her cat ears splitting her dark hair.
"We fight..."

"I have given you your choice, and you chose destruction." Saberstryke raises his sword parallel to his body, holding it up like a pole. "Do you what think you must. By your own decision, your lives are forfeit."

"We'll take our chances," Anubis says.

Fast as lightning, both Wildcats make their move. Dannin grabs a dagger from Anubis' belt as he begins an assult on the soldiers. Dannin does what she can. She has the fighting skills of someone well beyond her own age.

The soldiers fall quickly, pale green smoke issuing from slashes in their armors. Saberstryke directs them to gather where the intruder and the girl, Dannin, are going. No sooner than his orders are followed, Saberstryke sees them turn again. His feet move rapidly, and, before long, he is face to face with the intruder, the Wildcat. He does not say anything, but waits for the intruder to make whatever move he is going to make. He can show them, at least, that he does not want to slaughter them out of malice.

Anubis pauses as he spins from one attack to come face to face with Saberstryke. The Wildcat looks like he has an ego and temper to match his red hair.

"We've taken out a lot of soldiers," he says, "stand down."

"As I have told you, it matters not!" Sabestryke shouts at the intruder. His blood- if he actually had any- had been riled. He knew he would have to fight this intruder, simply based on the fact that soldiers of the Netherworld, Talpa's soldiers had been cut down.

Saberstryke flicks his wrist and the katana arcs towards the intruder...

Anubis meets Saberstryke's blade with his own. For a moment, the two warriors arelocked with each other, each pushing to force the other off balance. Neither budges.

"You Wolfrider scum! Showing me honor when your master has none!" Anubis almost growls.

"I have been as lenient with you as I dare," Saberstryke proclaims, then pulls away.

Saberstryke raises his sword above his head. His eyes consider Dannin, who is not moving. The intruder is the real target. Then, Saberstryke's wrists flick again, and, with the speed of lightning, the two blades clash outside the tent.

Dead soldiers lay about, the smoke from their bodies almost evaporated. Saberstryke can see a wisps of the warrior souls floating up towards the sky. Anubis uses Saberstryke's distraction to his advantage. Anubis ducks low, pulls Saberstrkye's legs out from under and thrusts his sword downward. Saberstryke rolls out of the way, springs to his feet. His blade flashes through the air, for Anubis's neck, only to be met by Anubis's steel.

The two warriors dance. Their fluid shapes move against the moonlight, throughout the camp. Then, all at once, Saberstryke knocks Anubis's blade flying. Anubis does not hesitate. He goes for Saberstryke's legs again, only to be met with a kick to the face. Anubis lands on his back, sees the blade plunging for his chest, and grabs the blade in his palms. Saberstryke pushes against the intruder's resistance, trying to let the blade find Anubis's heart. Anubis lets go of the blade, and Saberstryke hesistates. The hesitation lasts only a second, but it is a second long enough for Anubis to find his feet and sprint for his blade.

From behind, Dannin tugs on Saberstryke's leg, causing the Wolfrider ally to fall flat on his face. Anubis throws his sword for Saberstryke's head. Blade meets blade, ringing out as Anubis's throw is deflected. Anubis stands in place for a moment, again disarmed. Saberstryke stands up, and jumps into the sky. Blue energy gathers into his sword and he says, "Winged Angel of Death!"

The blue energy rains down on Anubis. Saberstryke knows that, without an armor, the intruder will not last long under the attack, so he cuts it short. He sees Anubis fall, and lets gravity bring him back down.

"Now, Dannin," He says to the child, "Your rescuer is defeated. I give you the same warning. Surrender and be spared or resist and die."

"You mean old man!" Dannin shouts at Saberstryke, running forward with her fists clenched.

Saberstryke uses the handle of his sword to thump Dannin on the head. As she collapses on the ground, Saberstyke sighs with relief. He didn't have to kill either of them; both of them are unconscious. Moreover, with the talents they have, Talpa might make decent warriors out of them.

In the distance, Saberstryke hears the sound of hoofbeats- reinforcements.

***

Hour pass, with a new set of soldiers guarding the uncouncious Wildcats. Dannin is the first to wake, looking at her brother. Anubis is battered and bruised, blood stains on his clothes as a testiment to what had happened.

Dannin takes Anubis' vest in her small grip, trying not to cry since she thinks her brother is dead. She curles up next to him, only to have his arm wrapping around her small shoulders.

"You're alive?!" Dannin says is shock and glee.

Anubis keeps his eyes towards the roof of the tent, "That is a matter of opinion."

"What happened?" she says.

"Not sure, he's got some skill," he says, "it'll be harder to get out with him here."

He sits up, pain in his eyes, holding his ribs. He knows a few are broken, to say the least. He glances over and flashes her one of his rare smiles.

"How are you?" he says.

"I think he hit me," she says, "my head hurts."

He kisses her hair, "Better?"

She smiles, "Much. What about you? You look like you made Kay mad again."

Anubis laughs, but the pain in his side stops it from staying too long. He lets out a long sigh. Dannin curls up beside him under his arms.

"So now what do we do?" she says.

"Well, since fighting alone didn't work, or supprise," he says, "we wait."

After making his report to a golden-armored soldier, Saberstryke resumes his guard of Dannin, and now, of someone whose name he does not know, who he still thinks of as the intruder. He has had time to rest, to eat, but not to sleep. He has been awake for going on fourteen hours, and, after the last battle, he has been asked to remain at his post until one of the warlords can be summoned to replace him. Saberstryke does not think it will happen. He will eventually run out of stamina. He knows he will, but he decides to try and stay awake as long as he can to see his task through to the end.

If he falls asleep, the two will have their chance to escape, and Saberstryke cannot let that happen.

Anubis is soon asleep again, the fight having taken it's toll. Dannin quietly sneeks to the front of the tent and peeks outside. She looks up at the warrior set over her and smiles. Unlike before, she seems rather calm.

"Do you have anything to eat?" the child says, "you beat up my brother pretty bad and he needs something to make him feel better."

Saberstryke turns to the child. He did not expect the question, but, in a way, it makes sense. "Unless he is in immeadiate danger of dying, I doubt if I will be allowed to feed either of you. Food will make you strong, more able to resist and escape. For now, you will simply have to suffer. I apologize for the severity of your situation, but I did warn you of the consequences."

Dannin thinks for a moment, then speaks again.

"If I promise that I won't complain, yell, scream, or cry anymore," she says, "what would that get me?"

"In time," Saberstryke replies, "You will be fed. For now, please be patient. I have no desire to fight either of you again. As you said, your friend has been injured in some way, and the battle didn't last very long."

Saberstryke pauses as a green-armored soldier arrives, a pitcher of clear water in one hand and a loaf of bread in the other. He takes the rations, lays them inside the tent and turns his back to Dannin, knowing there is nothing more to say.

Dannin bows in respect after the rations are delivered.

"He's not my friend, he's my big brother," she says, "he is Anubis, and I am Dannin. We're Hyrosha Wildcats."

And with that, she returns inside the tent. The pulls the rations back inside, then wakes her brother.

"Here," she says, "eat. You'll need it if you want to heal yourself as fast as a Wildcat."

Anubis sits up and takes the food from Dannin's small hand.
"Hey, I'm supposed to tell you how to behave, not the other way around," he says.

"You got into a fight," she says, her cat ears twitching slightly, "so now, since you came to find me, I'll take care of you."

A golden soldier approaches Saberstryke and salutes by thumping a mailed fist against his chest. "I am here to relieve you, Lord Saberstryke," The soldier says.

Saberstryke's blue eyes show up behind his armor. "Watch them carefully. Do not slack in your guard. They will no doubt attempt to escape again, and I cannot say if you will be a match for them." He glances back to the closed tent flap, knowing that the two in there can hear his every word. "I will be sleeping. Do not hesitate to wake me if a situation develops."

"Yes, sir." The golden-armored soldier salutes again and take Saberstryke's place.

In a matter of moments, Saberstryke finds himself in his own tent, his armor lying beside his cot. He does not have a yoroi as the warlords do; rather, his power comes from the mastery of his inner chi. He lays his sword against his cot, the point stuck in the ground. He knows that he will be able to grab it, if he should need to.

The briefest of moments pass when Saberstryke remembers that he is human and he has limits. Then, he is asleep.

And, of course, with a change in guard comes Anubis, ready to make his own move. Unfortunatly, he is not as lucky as last time.

With Dannin behind him, he exits the tent behind the new warrior. For a moment, it works, until three soldiers find them. It isn't long before a fight begins. This time, Anubis is unarmed and quickly looses his advantage. Every strike adds to his injuries, until finally one sword slides through his shoulder, slicing flesh and bone. Anubis, unable to contain the pain he feels, lets out a cry and falls from his feet. The soldiers go to strike, but Dannin is soon between them and her brother, arms outstreatched.

"Stop it!" she yells, "Leave him alone!"

The soldiers pull back at the cries of the girl. They recognize her as their primary purpose. They have only been around for a few hours, but they know she is not to be harmed. A green-armored soldier shows up with an arm full of rope. The golden soldier kneels in front of the intruder, the girl's friend, and lets a yellow strand of healing energy into the intruder's body. As he does so, the green soldier proceeds to tie the intruder's arms behind his back.

"No more trouble," the golden soldier says. "If I were deciding, you both would be dead, but Lord Saberstryke has made it clear that you are to be spared. Be thankful."

In his tent, Saberstryke opens his eyes for a moment, thinking he heard something. His hand grips his sword and remains there as he nods back off again.

Dannin nodds, folding her hands like a lady of her Clan.

"I am," she says, "and I am sorry to betray the trust he gave me. I would make a pact with you, if you be willing. I am a child, but I am also a Hyrosha Wildcat, bound by honor to my Clan."

"I will comply with any agreement, and pass the word to Lord Saberstryke when he wakes again," The golden soldier replies. "Speak what you would, then."

"If you let my brother go, that you spare his life and let him return to our Clan," she says, "I will remain of my own will and choice until the Clans have met and the demand that they come here is satisfied."

"DANNIN?!?!?!" Anubis yells, only to earn him a punch in the side.

Dannin does not look at Anubis, but the warrior in front of her. Her body and voice are still a match to her age, but her eyes hold a knowledge far beyond her years.

"I see that you are serious," The gold soldier replies. He knows it's not in his authority to let the intruder go, but he thinks that this is one time where he has to use his own judgment, rather than waiting on someone else to say it's okay. "We will let him go on his way. We will not unbind his hands from his back, as he may return and try to break the agreement you have made."

The golden-armored soldier points to the intruder. "Go, then, and do not show your face again."

Anubis doesn't know what hurts more, his broken ribs, or the fact that he is a failure.

"Go," Dannin wispers, "Kay will have the Clans gathered by now. You know what to do."

Anubis lets out a long sigh, then makes his way out of the camp. He is a long way off before he breaks out of his bonds. Part of him screams to go back, but he knows better than to breaks Dannin's honor. So he continues onto where Kaylyn said she would summon the Clans.

In the Wolfrider camp, Dannin watches him go, falling silent for a while, then turns and enters her captive tent. She grabs a blanket and is soon fast asleep.

Chapter Six: The Armor Breaks

"I will be as honest with you as I can, Kaylyn of the Wildcats," Saberstryke says. "I am Saberstryke. I once served the clan of Wolfriders and may still hold alliegance to that name. I do not know for sure. I have come to this place from five thousand years in the future, chasing a man wearing a unique armor. This man met himself, and caused an imbalance in his armor. This imbalance may spread to other armors if it is not held in check. Therefore, I seek your counsel, lady, as you may know better than I how to proceed in this."

The old man walks out behind a tent.
Interesting. So this warrior Saberstryke has a split personality? He mentioned something about being something else...

Kaylyn nodds, her face void of almost all emotion. She looks Saberstryke up and down before speaking.

"An imbalance in armor," she says, "that is troubling news. More so than your name with the Wolfriders. This creates a more serious problem at the moment."

"KAY!!" Anubis yells.

"Huh little brother," Kaylyn says, "you know as I do that all armors are more powerful than any warrior in any Clan. As a Hyrosha, you should know this better than anyone."

The younger Hyrosha's cheeks burn at his sister's words, and he falls silent. Kaylyn turns to Saberstryke.

"I will aid where I can," she says, "but you may have to fight with us in turn."

Saberstryke replies, "I will fight with you in any battle against the demon lord, Talpa. If you wish me as your ally, I fear that I may not be able to comply. The imbalance is already here; in my time, the world nearly came to an end. What must do we what we can to stop this here and now. Do you wish me to explain the nature of the problem?"

Kaylyn nodds again, motioning to the soft grass. She sits quietly, glancing at Hariel.

"Hariel, take Anubis to the healers," she says, "I will see you both at council."

Hariel nodds slowly and Anubis does not object. After the two are absent, Kaylyn turns her attention to Saberstryke.

"Speak, I have little time," she says.

"As I have said, a warrior met himself and caused an imbalance in his armor," Saberstryke said at once, understanding the need for haste. "He broke one of the fundamentals of existence: the same person cannot be in the same time-space twice over. Moreover, an older version of the warrior, Batrias Kenketsu, met a younger version of himself. The older Batrias was wearing his armor at the time, and there were burns all over his body. I believe something, or someone, sent him into this time. I know not yet what, but I do know how.

"He had created, five thousand years in the future, a rip in the fabric of space-time, that is to say, the tapestry of the world, with his power. Someone attacked him with fire and sent him here. He appeared as a blazing meteor in the sky, fell into a lake, and was rescued by the younger version of himself. I say this to you because I wish to know:

"What must we do to counteract the imbalance in the Armor of Holy?"

Kaylyn does not speak for a while, thinking and meditating on the matter.

"This is not an easy solution you ask of me," she says, "without knowing the armor, or whatever power, sent him here, I cannot be exact with my answer."

Saberstryke says, "I will confide to you that the name of the armor that sent him through the portal in time was called Wildfire. Why the portal was created or how, I cannot say. Do you know if there is any armor called Wildfire here?"

Kaylyn looks a little supprised. An armor, called Wildfire, just as Hariel is often called on the battlefeild. Was this an omen of things to come. Would the armors Kaylyn was planning to create, with the help of the Clans, destroy everything instead of save it. No, it had to be done.

"The one you met, Hariel, is called Wildfire," she says, "but the armor you speak of has not been created. I admit, I was warry of you. But you know of this armor, one that I only recently have decided to create with the Clans."

"I will counsel you to go forward with your plan," Saberstryke declares, "For without it, Talpa will surely succeed, sooner or later. It is the bearer of Wildfire who defeats Talpa. The armor then passes to another, a Hyrosha, though I cannot say who. It is not the Armor of Wildfire which caused- or will cause- the rift. It is, in fact, the imbalance in Holy itself. Do you begin to see the problem? If the imbalance sends Batrias backwards through time, creating the imbalance, how do we solve it?"

A Hyrosha? Bearing the armor ment of Hariel and his decendants? It didn't make sence, unless. Dannin, perhaps, maybe she was the key to that. But at the words that is was not Wildfire, but Holy itself that was the problem, Kaylyn pauses to think.

"I must speak with the Batrias who wears the armor now," she says.

Saberstryke holds out the white orb with the red symbol to Kaylyn. He says, "This is the Armor of Holy. I trust you will understand the significance of the small cracks on this sphere."

He then walks off, towards where Hariel's tent. When they arrive, the middle-age man they expected to find is gone.

Kaylyn looks at the crack, then back at Saberstryke. She then looks over her shoulder at Alaric.

"Wait for me," she says, "I will see you at council."

She walks towards the tent and sees it empty.

"This complicates things," she says.

Batrias, without his armor, felt lost. He stumbled through wilderness, not having any kind of sense where he was going. He wasn't sure if people were chasing him or not, but he knew he had to get away.

Before long, he was running.

But not as fast as the warrior known as Wildfire. Hariel catches up with him, having seen him leave not too long after he deposited Anubis in Kaylyn's tent. He halts the warrior.

"Hey," he says, "what's the hurry?"

The middle-aged man says to the stranger before him, "I have to get out of here. I don't belong here. Something's wrong."

He then takes off again, running as fast as he can.

Hariel, just like with Alaric and Micheal, takes the man in an iron grip. When he tried to run, Hariel flips him onto his back, and holds him there.

"You know what, I could have told you that," he says, "but when someone shows up, then another shows up to kill him, I'd like to know what's going on."

"I..." The middle-aged man searches for the right words. "It's hard to say. I don't think I know myself. Someone took my memories from me. I was fighting, and then...fire. I don't know for sure. Something's really wrong."

"You're telling me," Hariel says, "But until you talk to Lady Kaylyn Hyrosha, you're not going anywhere."

He stands up, offering he hand to the stranger, "I would rather you walked with me."

The middle-aged man, realizing that the stranger has already brought him down once, stands and looks down. He says, "Take me where you will, then."

Hariel gives the stranger a friendly smile.

"I am Hariel, ally of the Wildcats," he says, "and don't feel bad, I don't know many that I didn't take down at least once."

He heads back towards the camp.

Saberstryke feels the white orb pulse in his hand, calling to its owner. He says to Kaylyn, "Here they come. This is all quite the mystery indeed..."

Hariel waves as they approach the camp. Kaylyn sees the two, one with grass-stains, and shakes her head.

"Hariel, what did you do?" she says.

"What? Why is it always my fault?!" Hariel says.

"Because it usually is," Kaylyn smiles.

Hariel goes to speak, then snaps his mouth shut. Kaylyn turns to the stranger.

"Welcome to the Wildcats," she says, "I am Kaylyn Hyrosha."

"I...would like to be able to tell you who I am," the middle-aged man says, "Except I don't remember."

Saberstryke says, "You are Batrias of Holy. Forget you that much?"

"I suppose I have," the middle-aged replies. "Except I can't say why, if I did."

"If you bear an armor, and come from another time and place, the overload of power will take our your memory for a short time," Kaylyn says, "it is not uncommon for amesia to hit an armor warrior after a power overload. Can you tell me what you do remember?"

"There was a portal, and fire," Batrias muses, "There was more than one person I was fighting. Um...a lot of...lightning, I think."

"You were trying to destroy the world," Saberstryke puts in.

Kaylyn glances at Saberstryke, "Hush, if he can't remember, no use in saying it. You will have your turn to speak."

She looks back at Batrias, "fire, like an attack? From an armor of somekind?"

"I would remember if I had my power again," the middle-aged man says. "Someone took it from me, and my memories went with it. I can't remember, I don't know..."

Saberstryke holds the orb of Holy out.

"Yes, that might be it. But it's cracked. How was it damaged?" The middle-aged man asks of no one.

Kaylyn shakes her head, "We don't know. You may reclaim it if you wish. I too bear an armor, so if something happens, I will deal with it."

Hariel goes to speak again, but Kaylyn's gaze makes him swollow his words.

"You may not reclaim your armor," Saberstryke says, "And though I have assisted you all so far, I will fight anyone who tries to hand this to him. He must not have it. I have said already that his armor is inbalanced. You might think of it as insane. It no longer functions in the normal way."

"You will not return my memories to me?" Batrias asks.

Saberstryke says sharply, "No, I will not."

Kaylyn spins on her heel, her bright eyes taking on a cat-like look.

"You save your time and I will save mine!" she says, "I need to know what happened if I am to repair the armor you hold in your hand. Now, you can give it to him, or I will rip it out of your hand!"

Hariel takes a step back, wispering, "Why did she just get pissed off?"

Saberstryke, seeing Kaylyn's anger, tosses her the orb of Holy, then draws the Soul Swords of Fervor. "Hand it to him at your own peril," he says.

Kaylyn nodds, "You will not need those if a terror arises. I can handle this myself."

She walks to Batrias, taking his hand, setting the orb in the palm of his own hand, and curls his fingers around it.

"What can you tell me?" she says quietly.

Instantly, Batrias falls to the ground, no longer the middle-aged man without a name. His eyes widen, and his breathing slows. He stares at the ground without blinking before gripping his orb tightly and saying, "I must kill you all."

Then, suddenly, the orb of Holy shatters.

Chapter Eight: Fight Fire With Fire

Talpa nods in satisfaction. "There, my obedient servant. I have a mission for you. You are to attack the camp of the Wildcats, kill as many as you can and come back at your soonest chance. If possible, you will kill a man in green armor with blue eyes. You will know him by the slash on his chest and the two swords he carries. It is not of paramount importance that you kill this one, only, if you do, use all your skill to take him down. That is my wish."

Dannin nodds, raising her head. Her blood red eyes glow with an inner fire.

"As you wish My Lord," she says, "but I have nothing to combat them with. With Wildcats are powerful and their armor is great."

"Sneak into their camp," Talpa commands, "And find an older man. He will look disoriented to you. They may be hiding him. He is to be given an armor of some significance. The Bright Flame Armor. Steal it from this man and return. If it is too perilous, do not risk your life. I merely want to you to create a disturbance in their camp. Do not take them all. Merely steal the Bright Flame Armor, kill the green-armored warrior if you can, and return.

"Great is the reward for those who can accomplish the tasks I set for them!" Talpa proclaims, and then walks off, the boots of his armor thudding on the ground.

Dannin nodds, watching him leave. She smirks slightly, then walks out of the camp herself. She grabbs a random katana sword and continues towards where she knows the camp will be.

---

Batrias relaxes in the Hariel's tent, stretching his muscles. He suddenly feels tired, and worn out, though he can't remember exerting himself too much. "That armor, I wonder how long it's gonna take?"

Kaylyn walks towards the Clan council, watching for Alaric on the way. Anubis is sleeping soundly, and Hariel stays outside his tent with Saberstryke.

---

Saberstryke, after only three hours of rest, wakes up. A presence...something...called attention to itself. He rubs his eyes, yawns and finds that Talpa is standing at the entrance of the tent.

"Saberstryke, I would know why you let the one called Anubis escape," Talpa said.

"I didn't know that he had," Saberstryke replies. He gets out of bed and kneels before Talpa.

This seems to please the Lord of the Wolfriders. "Did you give orders that he was to be kept here?"

"Yes, Talpa, I did." Saberstryke answers. "If he did escape, it wasn't because of anything I ordered."

"I can see that you are telling me the truth," Talpa declares, moving back. "Very well, I shall investigate further." His armored boots stalk off.

Saberstryke slowly climbs back into bed. He does not hear his sword fall to the ground.

Dannin smirks as she passes Saberstryke's tent, and looks at his sword. All ready having one, she shrugs and leaves it. Continuing on her way through the woods. She walks for hours until she sees the banners of the Clans, and at one end, the banner of the Wildcats.

---

Saberstryke turns to Hariel, his two swords already out. "I heard something," he whispers. "Someone is coming."

Hariel looks up and towards the edge of the camp. He sees a young woman, dressed in black with hair to match. He watches her for a moment, then walks up to meet her.

"Can I help you?" he asks her.

Then he sees her blood red eyes and takes a step back. She gives him an evil smirk, raising her katana.

"You are Hariel, who the Hyroshas call Wildfire," she says.

He nodds.

"I am the Lady of the Flames," she says, "prepare yourself."

She lunges at him, and he parries. He makes one cry before she lashes out at him again, this time jarring one of the swords from his hands.

"Wolfrider!!!!" he yells.

Saberstryke steps forward, "Lady Wolfrider, I shall challenge you." His green cloak billows behind him, stirred by a gentle breeze. His two swords are pointed directly at her.

Merely steal the Bright Flame Armor, kill the green-armored warrior if you can, and return...

The words of her Master rang in Dannin's ears. Something tried to hold her back from assulting Hariel again, but the darkness that had taken her soul make her attack again. Once he was on the ground, she looks up at Saberstyke.

"I accept," she says, "traitors deserve a traitor's death, and your own will be at my hand!"

Saberstryke replies to the Wolfrider intruder, "I have stayed true to myself, while others have betrayed me. In time, you will find that your commanders care less about you than you may realize."

He takes the initiative, sweeping both of swords down towards the Wolfrider's neck...

Dannin dodges, attacking the a power and speed no human, not even one of Wildcat blood, should be able to do. Her katana blocks the blow, and she spins around him, ending up behind him and ready to spring. She smirks, and strikes.

Saberstryke lets his body- what was his body, now an armor to contain his spirit- relax, ducking underneath the blow. He rolls to the side, springs up and charges the Wolfrider. He ducks low, plowing his shoulders forward, taking her to the ground. Pinning her for a moment, he raises his swords for the kill. The Wolfrider's legs contract and then push into his chest, forcing him off of her. Saberstryke lands on his feet, in a crouch. The two warriors charge each other, meeting in a clash of steel.

Saberstryke's swords meet against the Wolfrider's sword, a contest of muscle underway. Saberstryke feels the power of the Netherworld come into play as he uses all of his force to push the Wolfrider's sword against her throat and end her life. Except the Wolfrider's sword does not budge. In fact, Saberstryke finds that, in spite of the fact that he holds a mystical treasure in his hands, his strength is failing before the Wolfrider's. One of the Soul Swords falls to the ground, dislodged. The other is backed up against Saberstryke's throat.

"What have to say now, traitor?" The Wolfrider demands.

"Only that more will be gained by my death than by my life..." Saberstryke manages.

The Wolfrider draws her sword back, and decapitates him. Blue smoke quickly flies into the air- Saberstryke's spirit, loosed of its armor, flying to heaven.

Dannin smirks, taking the two soul swords and strapping them to her back. Before Hariel can challenger her, she knocks him senseless with a swift kick to the head. She walks deeper inside the camp and pauses as Kaylyn, who felt she was needed, returned to her tent. She looks at Dannin, not seeing her sister, then glances behind her to see if Batrias has remained.

"What do you want Wolfrider?" Kaylyn says.

"The Bright Flame armor," Dannin says, "I know you have it. The last one to bear it was of your mother's family, so the Hyroshas hold two armors. I have come to claim one."

Batrias, remembering the shards of his own armor lying on the grass or in someone's tent somewhere maybe, says to the intruder, "Talpa, was it not? I can a part of his design in this. But whatever success you gain now, you must know that you cannot, and will never, prevail."

"You are a fool, just like the trailor," Dannin says, "but I've delt with him. Now it is your fate. Do you challenge me? Or do you go free and give me what I want."

"A Hyrosha does not kneel before a Wolfrider," Kaylyn says.

"Another once thought the same as you do now," Dannin shakes her head, "but they were wrong as well."

***

Talpa stops, looking up. A blue wisp of- smoke or spirit?- heads towards Saberstryke's tent and enters it. Talpa thinks on this for a long time, not moving, considering what he should and what it might mean. He finally decides he has to consult Badamon.

***

Saberstryke, still dreaming, sees an older version of himself, this one with a scar on his chest and two swords, themselves as ghostly as the rest of his other self, walking out of field littered with dead bodies. They are warriors, ones who have fallen to Saberstryke's blade- the blade made for him by a master swordsmith not that long ago. He recognizes some of the faces- men and women who fell under his blade at the orders of his lord and master, Talpa.

Saberstryke's other self says: Your honor is defined by your actions, not by your obedience. Guard your actions, well, therefore, lest you become one of these dead.

Then, the other self, the scarred one, fades away into nothingness and Saberstryke, servant of Talpa, returns to sleep.

***

Kaylyn draws her sword, a large no-datchi that
someone of her build and age should not be able
to lift, does so with ease. She shakes her head.

"I will not yeild this armor," she says, "nor any
other of the Flame. Leave now."

Dannin smirks, "So be it, your death comes with
great reward Lady Hyrosha."

The two lock in combat, hard enough that a crash
of thunder was heard throughout the camps.
Warrior lock, working their way out of the camp.
Flames came from the swords as Dannin cast away
her single katana for the two she had taken from
Saberstryke. Each met the other blow for blow,
throwing the other back only to get back up and
fight again. In the end, however, Dannin pins
Kaylyn to the ground, one of her swords tearing
through Kaylyn's sub-armor and shoulder to pin
her in place.

"The armor," Dannin says, "give it to me."

"DANNIN!!!" a cry comes from behind the two of
them.

Both women look up. Anubis stands against a tree,
his bandaged and battered body barely able to
hold his weight. His eyes betray the pain, and
the shock of seeing his baby sister suddenly ten
years older in body. Dannin had alwasy been the
peaceful one amoung the three siblings, now here
she was, one death on her hands and another soon
to follow.

"Dannin!" he cries out, "stop it! This isn't like
you. You never tried to hurt a single soul."

"Shut up Anubis!" Dannin snaps, "you think you
could have saved me. I saved your life and this
is the thanks I get when I obey my new Master.
You stay out of this, I will not save your skin a
second time."

Anubis takes a step back, the shock free on his
face. Kaylyn takes the advantage. She grabs her
sister by the shoulders. Flames erupt from her
hands. Dannin screams, the red fading from her
eyes as the shadows begin to loose their hold.

"Let go of my sister demons!" Kaylyn says, "You
cannot slay the Wildcats with one of their own!"

Dannin speaks, but for the first time, it is not
her own voice that comes out.

"You think you can stop us?" she says, "look
around you? The Clans are destroying themselves."

"Then take this!" Kaylyn says, "and see if you
can
control her now!"

The Flames engulf Dannin, her clothes burning to
reveal the Black Flame sub-armor. For a moment,
both sisters are wearing the same armor, then
Dannin fades in a burst of flame, her body and
spirit returning to the Wolfrider camp.

Kaylyn falls back, her burned clothes revealing
that, instead of giving Batrais the Bright Flame
as she intended, she had taken it herself. Her
energy spent, she fall uncouncious. For the first
time since their mother's death, six years
earlier, Anubis runs to Kaylyn's side, catching
her as she falls back, and holding her tight
against him.

"What have I done?" Anubis wispers.