Return of Rowen: Chapter 3 Part 2
Meanwhile, a dark laughter filled a chamber of the Dynasty castle. "So
they think they have won. Little do they know Rowen of the Strata is still
mine! Haha Haha!"
As light continued to pour forth from the staff of the Ancient, Lady Kayura
closed her eyes and began chanting. The rings on the staff began to shake
violently as her voice grew stronger. Suddenly they turned into discs of
white light and flew from the staff. One by one they floated above Rowen's
body surrounding him with a column of white light. Blue light began to
emanate from the white as the rings swirled over Rowen's body. When Kayura
finished her chant, she lowered the staff, causing the white light to
vanish. In its wake was Rowen. His kanji flared to life as he collapsed
to the ground.
"Rowen!" gasped Sage as he ran to his best friend.
"Sage... I'm so sorry," began Rowen as he felt Sage's arms help him sit up.
"Don't be. It wasn't your fault. You were under the Dynasty's control,"
he comforted.
"No, I should have fought harder," cried Rowen as he embraced Sage.
"You did everything you could," soothed Sage.
"I... I" he started. He turned as he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Ryo, I'm so sorry for everything I did to you," he apologized. "And you
too Kento."
"It's okay, Rowen. We're just glad to have you back," said Cye.
"Really?" asked Rowen, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Really," answered Kento with a smile.
"Yeah, Rowen. Don't be so hard on yourself," added RYo.
"Is he going to be all right, Lady Kayura?" asked Yuli as he watched the
Ronin Warriors' reunion.
"Yes, Yuli. I think so," she replied.
"Hurray!" shouted Yuli joyfully as he did a little victory dance on the
sidewalk. Lady Kayura sighed as she watched Yuli's celebration.
"What is it Kayura?" asked a voice.
"Sekhmet?" she asked in amazement as she turned to see the Warlord of Venom
standing beside her.
"Yes, it's me Kayura. I too managed to escape from the Dynasty soldiers
that attacked me. Now tell me, what's bothering you?" he said.
"Well, something's just not right. The spell cast on Rowen of the Strata
was broken far too easily, considering the fact that he couldn't fight it.
It's almost like whoever was controlling him released him," replied Kayura.
"But why? Strata would be a valuable asset- in fact too valuable for the
Dynasty to just cast him away. Did you see how powerful he has become? He
had Wildfire and Hardrock against the ropes without even his subarmor!" he
exclaimed.
"Yes, I did see, and that's why I think Strata is still in great danger,"
she said.
"What should we tell the Ronins?" inquired Sekhmet.
"I don't know. Any ideas I have on who is behind this is based on pure
speculation," answered Kayura as she walked toward Cye, Kento, Mia, Yuli,
RYo, Sage, and Rowen.
"Kayura... Thank you," said Rowen as he noticed her arrival.
She was speechless for a moment, in awe at how handsome Rowen was. "Why do
I feel this way when I'm with Rowen? Have we met in another time or
place? Perhaps... Those eyes...like sapphires... They look so familiar,"
she thought as her face met his.
"Kayura," said Sekhmet gently, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"What? Oh, sorry," she blurted, her face beet red. "I um, just want to
warn you that you must be on your guard,"
"We will Kayura. Can you tell us what this was all about?" said Ryo.
"And what's up with Dais and Cale?" asked Kento.
"Yes, how is that you two are still on our side?" questioned Cye.
"We probably can't answer all of your questions, but we will try our best,"
replied Sekhmet.
"Before you guys start talking, let's get back to my house since it's
getting cold and dark. If you're going to be fighting soon, you need to
rest," said Mia.
"I think I'll still be sore after a good night's sleep after what Rowen did
to me, but whatever you say, Mia," teased Ryo.
"Ryo! Don't say things like that!" hissed Cye as he noticed the hurt
expression on Rowen's face upon hearing Ryo's comment.
"I'll go as long as we get to eat!" exclaimed Kento.
"Kento!" they all shouted.
"How are we all going to fit into your jeep, Mia?" asked Yuli.
"I've got that covered," said Kayura as she raised the Ancient's staff.
Within minutes, they sitting around the dining table at Mia's house.
"It's a good thing we cooked dinner before we left," said Cye as he pulled
a pan of chicken from the oven.
"How did we ever keep Kento out of it?" asked Mia as she carried two
baskets of rolls to the dining room.
"A really big lunch!" laughed Cye as he followed Mia.
"Let's eat!" yelled Kento once Mia and Cye had settled into their chairs.
Nobody protested and for a while nobody said anything as they dug into a
meal of chicken, mashed potatoes, Caesar salad, rolls, and milk.
Finally Ryo spoke. "Well, we've all had some time to unwind so if you guys
don't mind, I'd like to try to figure out what's been going on all this
time."
"Fine with me," said Sekhmet, the others echoing his sentiment.
"Okay. I guess we'll tell you our side of the story first," decided Ryo.
"If you guys have anything to add, feel free to hump in."
"You bet I will!" exclaimed Kento.
Ryo chuckled at Kento's remark, but his face became very serious as he
began to recount the day's events to Lady Kayura and Sekhmet. "The morning
and afternoon passed without incident. Everything started when we went to
visit Rowen in the hospital."
"Ryo, it would be better if you started from the very beginning,"
interrupted Cye.
"The very beginning?" puzzled Sekhmet aloud.
"Yes. I guess everything really started Friday night. Kento, Cye, Sage,
Rowen, and I went out to eat. After that I went home, Kento and Cye went
to Kento's place, and Rowen and Sage went to Sage's house."
Sage sighed and said, "I'll take it from here, Ryo." Ryo nodded his head
and Sage began. "Once we got home, Rowen and I talked for a little bit and
went to sleep. At around two in the morning, I woke up and found Rowen out
of bed, and my mom checking on us. Then it happened," continued Sage, his
voice filled with emotion. "I... I can't explain it, but something...
something was," said Sage, his voice cracking. Sage could still see the
scene clearly in his mind- Rowen's body thrasing wildly under the blankets
as he struggled to breathe.
"Do you remember any of this, Rowen?" asked Kayura quickly.
"No. All I remember was this intense pain. I could hear Sage trying to
tell me something, but everything hurt too much to pick up what he was
saying. Then, I passed out and woke up in the hospital," he replied.
"When we first saw him at the hospital, Rowen was still unconcious. The
doctor's put him on a respirator," said Mia.
"And there was that thing with his kanji!" burst Kento.
"Explain," said Sekhmet.
"Well his kanji appeared on his forehead. It started out blue, but then it
turned blood. Then, it just disappeared! When that happened, Rowen seemed
to be in pain and his body started shaking," said Kento.
"What happened the other days you visited him?" asked Sekhmet.
"He regained conciousness and was taken off the respirator," replied Cye.
"Then my parents came," said Rowen,
"Your parents came? When?" asked Ryo.
"Sunday afternoon. They started arguing and I... I felt that awful pain
again, and I passed out. When I woke up, I found myself in some castle.
The Lord of the Dynasty..."
"Talpa?" asked Kento.
"No, not Talpa, but Cyboth. He introduced himself as the Lord of the
Dynasty. I could feel this evil coursing through my veins. I was me, but
then again I wasn't. My body willingly followed his orders, but my mind
tried to resist him, but couldn't," answered Rowen.
"And then you came and beat Ryo and me up," finished Kento. Rowen winced
and sunk deeper into his chair when he heard this.
"What can you tell us?" Sage asked quickly, noticing Rowen's reaction to
Kento's comment.
"And what do you make of our story?" added Cye.
Kayura sat for a moment, deep in thought. "The only thing I know for sure
is what we all know. This, Cyboth, is after Rowen, but I don't know why.
It seems that he would be trying to turn Ryo to his side in order to obtain
the Armor of Inferno. As for what happened in the hospital, I believe the
attacks and pain Rowen felt were caused by Nether Spirits, attempting to
infuse him with dark energy so that he would serve the Dynasty," answered
Lady Kayura.
"Would that explain why Rowen was so powerful when he attacked us?"
inquired Ryo.
"No, I can still feel a tremendous power within Rowen, but it is not
tainted with the dark energy. Besides, breaking Cyboth's spell reversed
the effects of anything he might have It's posible that the Nether Spirits
were simply used to unlock this power," she theorized.
"Unlock?" wondered Ryo.
"Yes. That would be the best way to describe it, but I've never felt such
a power before," she replied.
"Is there something we don't know about my armor?" asked Rowen.
"It's possible. Why don't I look in my computer? I'm sure Grandfather has
what we're looking for in his files if there is something to be found,"
offered Mia.
"That would be a good start. Sekhmet, tell them your story. I would like
to spend some time in meditation. It will allow me to better understand
the recent turn of events," announced Kayura as she rose from her chair.
"Very well," said Sekhmet as she left the dining room. Rowen watched her
for a moment before standing and following her.
"Rowen?" asked Ryo in astonishment as he watched his friend.
"Let him go. He probably needs some time alone," said Sekhmet his gaze
returning to the gathering around the table. "Now, here is what happened
to us," he continued as Rowen's footsteps softly echoed down the hall.
"Yes, please do," said Cye as Mia returned to her seat with her computer.
"We were continuing our work, trying to repair the damage Talpa had done to
the Nether World. In order to cover more ground, we split up. A few days
later, Kayura felt a dark power emerge. She attempted to contact Dais and
Cale, but was unsuccessful. As you know, our search for them was also
unsuccessful, but at the time we did not know what happened to them," he
said...
<flashback>
"Another castle!" gasped Sekhmet as he looked upon the imposing structure
standing before him. A great wall of gray brick blocked their path, but
they could see what lay beyond. Throngs of Dynasty soldiers marched in
formation across the turrets of the castle, while others stood guard at
gates. All around, Nether Spirits flew, corrupting the air with their dark
energy. Leading their flight was a spirit unlike the others. His body was
solid, not the thin wisps of purple smoke which formed the others. Instead
he wore crimson robes, only his face protruding. It was a horrid face.
His skin was a pale green, shriveled and wrinkled like a prune. And there
were his eyes - white spheres surrounding black holes of nothingness.
"Badamon," he breathed as he watched the scened with growing concern.
Lightning began to crackle, streaks shooting toward a massibe tower. It
was built in traditional Japanese architecture- a pyramidal arrangement of
levels, each smaller than the next, until they extended into a long spire.
"This way," directed Lady Kayura as the battle cry of approaching soldiers
could be heard. Together they ran, dodging spears, arrows, and swords.
Another pack of soldiers arrived blocking their path. Without a word the
two donned their armor. The dark sky lit up with orange light as the
Warlord of Venom launched his attack. A dozen soldiers fell to a pile of
rubble as the wave of energy hit them and the venom began biting into their
green armor...
<end of flashback?
"I was about to attack again, but found myself in your world," he
finished. The room remained quiet with the exception of frenzied fingers
pounding against the keyboard of a computer. Mia looked at the screen in
frustration as it blared familiar diagrmas of the Armor of Strata.
"Not again!" groaned Mia as the sequence of pictures ended and the computer
prompted her for a password.
"Any luck?" asked Cye.
"No. I know the answer to the riddle is 'sky', but it's not working.
Maybe there's something wrong with the program," she sighed.
"Why don't you try another word for skay, like the heavens?" suggested
Sage. She looked doubtfully at him, but typed it into the computer. The
screen cleared and more images appeared.
"But that's the Armor of Strata," she stuttered.
"No, it's something different, but very similar" observed Ryo as he took a
closer look at the screen.
"Hey! You're right! Can you slow down those pictures, Mia?" said Kento.
"Yes," she said and entered a few commands into the terminal.
"So that's why the Dynasty wants Rowen so badly," said Cye as he read the
text that accompanied the images. The others exchanged glances and dashed
off to find Rowen.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Kayura," said a voice as she sat on the floor of the den, the Ancient's
staff appearing in her right hand.
"Rowen?" Kayura whispered, turning to see a figure standing in the doorway.
"Yeah, it's me," he said softly, stepping out of the darkness and into the
soft light. He slowly walked to where she was sitting and kneeled by her
side.
"What is it, Rowen?" she asked as she gazed into his eyes.
"I came here to thank you for saving me... and to tell you that I," he
began.
"Rowen, I love you too," said Kayura as she fell into his strong arms,
their faces getting closer and closer, her lips finally meeting Rowen's.
She opened her eyes as she felt him gently pull away.
"Kayura, I have this feeling that we've," he began.
"Met before?" she finished.
"Yes," he replied.
"But when? It must have been long ago, before Talpa took me from my
village," she said as she rested her hand on his pale cheek. "Those eyes.
So beautiful, a blue deeper than the sea, yet so sad," she thought.
"Rowen?" called Sage's voice from outside the room, breaking the two from
the reverie.
"Yes?" replied Rowen as he got to his feet.
"We think we know why the Dynasty is after you," said Sage. The two
exchanged glances and Rowen rushed to open the door.
"The data in my grandfather's files should answer a lot of our questions,"
said Mia as she walked to a desk and set down the computer.
"Armor of the Heavens?" asked Rowen as he looked at the images appearing on
the screen.
"Yes. The Armor of the Heavens, also known as the Armor of Life in some
legends. Its power is greater than even that of the Inferno. What's
especially interesting is that it does not require the combination of the
other armors, like the Inferno. This is what Cyboth wants and since you
are its bearer, Rowen,"
"He also wants me," he finished.
Meanwhile in the Dynasty...
"Lord Cyboth, Lady Kayura has managed to break your hold on Rowen of the
Strata," said Dais as he bowed before his master.
"What?" muttered Cale as Cyboth's sinister laugh filled the throne room.
"Fear not, Dais, my Dark Warlord of Illusion. It was my doing," he said.
"You, master? But why?" asked Dais.
"You shall see," he said mysteriously.