Dream Induced Weirdness: Dream/Story

It was a rough battle. All of the Ronin warriors were backed against the edge of a cliff and even though the way out was easy to see, they could not see what was at the bottom of the chasm and so decided to stand and fight. The warriors had been fighting Talpa's evil minions in the Dynasty ever since they agreed to help Kayura and the Warlords bring peace and help straiten out the Dynasty's people.

Still there were those that still followed Badamon and the puppets that he used to lead the Dynasty beings that believed that Talpa should be brought back to life to take over the Mortal Realm. Not wanting that to happen, the Ronins all agreed that they would help set the Dynasty firmly under Kayura and the Warlord's leadership so that it might go in a positive direction.

There were good people living in the dynasty and many of them had prior battle experience and as they saw what the Ronin's were doing for them they helped when they could and started the long chain of events that had lead up to this battle.

It had seemed that Badamon had pulled every nether spirit, evil soldier, and demon out of the air that he could for this one battle. And his forced numbered thousands more than the forces that stood to help the Dynasty. In that Ryo and the others knew they could not help, but they did form the Armor of Inferno once to cut the numbers pressing them over the cliff down. They were getting used to the sensation of being drained and it was not bothering their battling as much even though they still needed the Warlords to back them up when they initially formed the armor.

Then it happened. They were fighting one moment and the next as Cye was catching one of the staves that had been thrown at him he took a hit form one of the demons that sent him flying over the crevice edge. Cye was already weakened from the battle and the fact that he had prior wounds that had been slowing him down and as he yelled for the guys they found that they could not help him.

As Cye fell he saw everything in perfect clarity. The looks on his friends’ faces and on the Warlords. Shock, horror and disbelief that they knew that there was nothing that they could do for their falling comrade because if they stopped fighting they would be killed instantly. He understood and he had faith in his armor to protect him.

But his armor was charred and pitted, smoking and missing pieces from the days old battle from which they all had not had any rest. He hit the bottom with a sickening crunch and the last thought Cye had was that he hoped that his friends would be all right. Then there was nothing.

The others all felt it at the same time. Their Kanji's flared painfully at the death of the bearer of the Torrent armor and as they kept fighting they all knew that Cye was dead. The bearer of Faith was gone. Who would carry on for him? Who would bear the Torrent armor for their friend and comrade at arms?

Tears streaming down their faces they all unleashed their sure kills at the same time turning the wasteland battle area into a charred smoking wasteland of dead bodies. The battle was over. Won at a terrible cost.

What they had not noticed was a girl about their age at the edge of the cliff. Now that they looked around they saw her. The short brown hair and strait bearing made them all take notice as none of them had ever seen this girl in the dynasty before and the Warlords knew all the humans that chose to live in the dynasty of their own will.

Her soft sobs now reached their ears from across the battlefield and as they moved up to her she cried out as in pain and jumped off the cliff in a headfirst dive that sent all the remaining warriors into a panic. Jumping after her they noticed that it was not an uncontrolled fall that she was in, but instead she had a fine delicate control of the fall. Not noticing the seven armored figures around her as she started cliff hopping to get to the bottom in one piece she reached the bottom.

She landed next to Cye and as the Warlords moved to stop her Kento and the others stopped them. There was something strange about this girl and since she had not shown herself to be a threat before in the battle the Ronins, especially Sage wanted to give her a chance.

As they watched her she knelt down boy the broken body of Cye and removed his helmet of his armor. As she threw the helm in a random direction they could see the tears that marred her dark eyes for the first time. She cradled the lifeless head in her lap and mourned. Over and over she apologized and wished that she could have gotten there sooner. As her tears hit the face of their friend she sniffled and leaned down to him. Hugging him close she kissed him gently and then touched his forehead with hers.

What happened next took everyone by surprise. Cye's Kanji of Faith flared brilliantly as if in recognition of the person now holding Cye. But as they felt the Faith Kanji flare they felt another Kanji flare even brighter.

**Faith**

**Abiding Love**

"Cye, Oh Kami-Sama Cye I am so sorry, I have to do this." Kento had to be restrained by everyone as she placed her hands on his friend's chest and concentrated. The Armor flashed and then Cye was completely armored down and the Orb of the Torrent armor was in this strange girl's hand.

She tucked the Armor away and as she looked up at the struggling friends they could see the unending sorrow in her eyes. They could also see the promise of explanations later. She knelt down and picked up the lifeless body of Cye Mouri and as she glowed, her Kanji glowed even brighter and in a blinding flash they were all back in the Mortal Realm.

Moving quickly away from the friends she found herself being stopped by Kento, his eyes blazing. "I have had enough of the silent treatment lady, I want explanations as to who you are and what you are doing with our buddy there. Otherwise you ain't moving another inch."

The sorrow in the girl's eyes deepened, as she understood just what the man in her arms meant to these warriors as a friend and adversary. She shook her head and she flared again only to reappear at the lake nearby. Everyone was there in a flash.

As she performed several cleansing rituals that Sage recognized the others began to get irritated. They had no information and they could tell that this girl knew Cye, but not how, or even why she had a Kanji and no armor. She completed her rituals and as she looked up, she gestured to Sage and Rowen. They stepped forward to her and as they looked in her eyes they heard clear as day. ~Why didn't you save him. Of you all you both had the power!~

Confused they could not answer, Sage knew that he had the Wisdom to heal his friend, and Rowen's Kanji was Life Force, but they had no Idea that Cye meant this much to someone other than them. ~I love him; I have loved him for hundreds of years. He is not leaving now. Help me!~

Her plea reached them and with a nod to each other prepared for what ever this girl would do to try to bring their friend back. They were all tired and they could feel this girl's strength but they had no idea where it was coming from. Looking at her she reached her hands out indicating a circle, as the connection was finished all four began to lift off the ground. Cye was laid out in the middle of the circle and soon the Orb of Torrent armor was floating above him as the circle glowed. Reds, blues, and greens wound around the young man in the middle of the circle. As tired as they were and no matter what they wanted to do, Rowen and Sage felt themselves caught up in the maelstrom of power that manifested around Cye.

As Cye's wounds started healing his Kanji started to glow brighter. Sage finally surrendered control to this strange girl and as they came back down to the ground Cye still did not move. She let the two warriors go and as they moved back a bit she took the orb and placed it in his hand and his hands on his chest. She picked him up again and with a last look at the group she stepped off the end of the dock and into the water.

Kento fought to go after her, but Sage and Rowen who had been in contact with the woman held him back. "Kento, she is not evil. Let her do what she needs to do." Rowen said as he pinned the struggling man's legs down. "Yeah Kento, I know he was your best friend and all, But I have a feeling that she is trying to help here."

"Oh yeah??" As he struggled "How, by taking him away from us?? We don't know her and you expect me to trust her?? That was Cye's job!" He stopped struggling as the sorrow and rage that had stayed pent up for this long about his best friend being gone finally released in a torrent of sobs.

Under the water the mystery girl stood Cye up and kissed him deeply, Using her own energy she started the energies of life and healing moving through him again and as he started to come to she touched his Kanji as it had flared again at her touch and then the armor orb and forced the transformation to his full armor. As the armor took over in it's natural environment Cye woke up completely and was shocked to see the woman that was turning blue in front of him. The short brown hair waved slightly underwater as she looked at him worriedly until he spoke her name softly in her mind ~Rei-Lin??~

She nodded and shot to the surface breathing out as she surfaced only to be hauled out of the water by a very angry Sekmet. As he lifter her in the air by her throat she gasped and struggled to breath. She had not forgotten the others, but had not counted on the depth of their sorrow or anger.

Still struggling she saw into his eyes and heard his hissing voice in her ears. "Just what did you do to Torrent. He deserved a proper burial if it was to be by sea."

Rei-Lin could only struggle and continue to turn blue until she was dropped Sekmet was suddenly flipped like a pancake into the water. As she clutched her throat, the fear that she had felt before was still fresh in her mind and she stayed still as she saw Cye crawl out of the water with a spluttering Sekmet in tow.

Sage and Rowen smiled, as they were glad they trusted this girl. Their friend was back from the dead. However they were both soon laughing as Kento who was crying a moment before bowled his friend over and knocked all three back into the water. Sekmet came up coughing up the lake water and Cye was smiling softly, But Kento was just about hysterical about his friend's return. Cye laughingly tossed Kento back at the Ronins and told them to hold his over eager friend for a few moments. Always glad to oblige Rowen knocked him down and Ryo sat on the bigger man's chest, preventing him from getting up.

What Cye did next shocked them all. He moved quietly over to Rei-Lin and kissed her quietly and deeply. The others staring in shock he looked at them all and finally gave the explanation. "Uh, guys, this is Rei-Lin. A little over 400 years ago, she and I were born in the village near the ocean. As we grew up together, the entire village noticed that we were different in a special way and that our friendship was deep and had a different meaning than to the rest of our friends. So we were betrothed to be married.

I soon found the Armor of Torrent after that day and was named Guardian of the village. It had been accepted that whomever possessed the armor would live for a very long time with out aging to show it. However as My Kanji of Faith came to light it was noticed that the first time I actually needed to call my armor after Rei-Lin and I were married that she too had a Kanji brand on her forehead.

Hers was that of Abiding Love. Or as the Greeks would have called it. Agape love. That deep, calm love that will always be there long after the passion has burned away and never ends. Talpa's minions came through the village and as I called on my armor to defend it all that time ago she stood with me and soon transformed into a silver and red armor that matched mine almost exactly.

The battle was harsh and at the end she was taken from me. Those dynasty bastards caught her away from me fighting and I could do nothing to save her! So she had been in the dynasty all that time. Most likely hiding until she felt me again. True to hr nature, she had not forgotten me and stayed true to me. Her love never died and I know that her ability to change into that armor is linked to being near me in battle. We are pretty much one in more than one sense."

The guys all looked dazed at the tale and they realized in the way Cye and Rei-Lin looked at each other that the story was the complete truth. They now understood Rei-Lin's actions and why she wasn't so talkative, Having been hiding out in the Dynasty for 400 years would make any one of them not very talkative, Yet as she was introduced to all of the gang including White Blaze who had just come up to the group, she murmured her thanks to Sage and Rowen with out reservation.

As she smiled softly at Cye the ronins all realized that this was going to be a bit tricky in explaining to Mia, but they knew that she would understand that Cye would now need his own room if Rei-Lin wanted to stay with them. They also now understood why Cye tended to avoid relationships. The little boy-chama had already been married and he never told them. Shaking their heads in wonder they could only imagine what other little secrets he might have, but they really did not want to know.

The seven warriors started back to Mia's house leaving Cye and Rei-Lin behind at the lake. As they held each other close, they reaffirmed their vows to each other. "Rei-Lin, I am glad that you are alright, the years went by that I never stopped thinking of you. Praying that you were all right and vowing vengeance against those that had taken you from me. You saved me today when no one else knew you. You were attacked and you did not fight back because you had faith in my love for you. Thank you." Cye kissed her softly and as he knew that she needed no words for how she felt he silenced her softly and took her into the woods.

Hours later they came back into the house, the connection obvious to Mia as she smiled to the couple. Nodding to Rei-Lin in quiet acceptance she showed them to the room that was hastily cleaned and Cye's things had been moved and put up for him. A small gift from the other warriors Mia showed them both where some oversized sweaters were stored that would fit Rei-Lin’s spare figure like a sweater dress until she could go shopping with Mia.

Leaving the pair alone Mia walked down the hall and gave a stern look at the others promising dire consequences if the newly reunited couple were disturbed before they were ready to rejoin the rest of the world. Understanding they all promised and the Warlords went back to the Dynasty and the ronins and Mia went to bed. It had been a very long day.