Return of Rowen: Chapter 5 Part 1
"Pathetic human!" laughed a menacing voice as Rowen felt another bolt of
lightning tear through his body. The dark energy crackled angrily through
his body seeking to destroy the heart of one who dared oppose its master.
"Rowen!" he heard a voice cry through the searing pain.
"I'm sorry my love. Please forgive me," thought Rowen as he felt the
attack sap the last of his strength.
"Rowen! No!"...
"Noooo!" screamed Rowen as he shot up from his pillow. Sweat covered his
brow and a few drops fell to his trembling hands as his chest heaved. He
tore away the blankets entwined around his body, but remained on his bed,
his stormy eyes gazing blankly across the room. "It was just a dream, but
it... felt so real- more like reliving some moment of my life than a
nightmare. Everything seemed so familiar. Especially those voices," he
thought, setting his feet on the plush white carpet. As Rowen stood the
beauty of the sky caught his eye and he was momentarily distracted from his
thoughts. He slowly walked across the room, and opened the French doors
and stepped onto the balcony. A gentle breeze fluttered through the trees
as the rays of the sun broke through the clouds. Rowen closed his eyes and
savored the feel of the light's warmth against his pale skin, the sound of
the stream's gentle murmur, and the scent of cherry blossoms. Finally, he
opened his eyes, brushing aside the lock of electric-blue hair that the
wind had playfully tossed into his face. "It doesn't get much better than
this. Life would be perfect if it weren't for the Dynasty," sighed the
Warrior of Strata as he went inside. He pulled a fresh pair of boxers from
his closet and quietly made his way to the bathroom, trying not to wake his
sleeping friends. Seeing the peaceful expressions on their faces returned
a smile to his face, and his thoughts turned to protecting them. "I've got
to find a way to keep Cyboth from taking control of me. But how? Ancient,
I still don't understand. Help me see the meaning of your words," he
thought as he stepped into the shower.
<flashback?
Serenity reigned in the forest. Not a sound could be heard except for the
soft reustle of the emerald green leaves and the occasional scampering of
squirrels in the brush. It was a perfect sanctuary for two young men
seeking an escape from the stress of daily life. Sage sat by the trunk of
a tree while Rowen had chosen a rock close by. Their eyes were closed and
their minds focused on peace and harmony with the universe. Rowen heard
the clanking of metal and a voice calling him. "Ancient!" he thought as
the figure of a man materialized in front of him.
"Rowen of the Strata, you must break the chains binding you and your soul
or you will never be free. Farewell," said the Ancient.
"What do you mean?" asked Rowen, but he was gone.
< end of flashback >
"You must break the chains binding you and your soul or you will never be
free," the Ancient's voice resounded in his head.
"Chains binding me and my soul? It doesn't make any sense," pondered Rowen
as he turned off the water. He let out a sigh of frustration as he dried
himself off with a towel. When he returned to his roon, he sat on his bed
and closed his eyes, trying to let his anger dissipate. Soon, he felt calm
and an image appeared in his mind. It became clearer as he concentrated
his thoughts. "It's me and... and Sage,"
< flashback >
Rowen and Sage quietly walked to Sage's house after a few hours of tennis
on the courts of Han'a High School. An afternoon of slugging away at
tennis balls had finally cooled his rage, and Rowen now wore a guilty
expression on his face.
"Feeling any better, Rowen?" asked Sage. Rowen shook his head. "You're
still upset about the incident with your mom," started Sage.
Rowen nodded and said, "Yeah. Everything I do seems to make her mad. I
keep thinking that I'm the reason for her unhappiness, and that I'm causing
her to be so bitter and spiteful."
"Rowen, you're not responsible for the way she acts," said Sage. He looked
away for a moment trying to find the right words and continued in a gentler
voice. "You've got to stop being so hard on yourself. Rid yourself of the
useless guilt. In otherwords, don't blame yourself for what isn't your
fault."
"How? When will I learn, Sage?" asked Rowen.
"It's just a matter of time, Rowen. It'll come to you. I know it will,"
he replied.
< end of flashback >
"Could that be it? Yes, that's it! Ancient, it's all clear to me now," he
thought, his deep blue eyes flying open. "The useless guilt Sage spoke of
are the chains binding me and my soul. Guilt led to fear. When Cyboth
first captured me, I couldn't keep him from forcing me to betray my
friends. I started to lose faith in my armor and couldn't use it's power.
To make matters worse, I stopped trusting myself, questioning everything I
did. It was all part of Cyboth's plan. I can't let it happen again."
"What the...!?" cried Rowen as he felt somebody tackling him. He struggled
against his attacker until he felt a sandy tongue lick his face and heard a
familiar low growl. "White Blaze!" he laughed letting the tiger nuzzle his
head against his cheek.
"That's enough, White Blaze!" said Ryo
"Hey Ryo!" said Rowen as White Blaze jumped off of his bed.
"Sorry about that, Rowen. I let White Blaze get a little carried away,"
apologized Ryo.
"That's okay. So what's up?" asked Rowen.
"It's time for breakfast. Better hurry before Typhoon Rei-Fuan gets to
it," answered Ryo.
Rowen smiled and said, "All right. Let's go down."
"Hi Ryo! Hi Rowen!" greeted Cye as they walked into the dining room.
"Hi White Blaze!" chimed in Yuli. He got up from his chair to pet White
Blaze, but stopped suddenly. "Hey! Why isn't Kento down yet?" he asked.
"Yuli, he'll be down right about... Now!" answered Cye as he set a platter
of pancakes on the table. Just then, Kento stormed into the room.
"How did you do that?" marvelled Yuli.
"Once you get run over by Kento, you learn to know where he is at all
times," joked Ryo.
"Here Yuli, let's see if Ryo can learn that lesson!" snapped Kento. Rowen
laughed and went to find Sage. His best friend stood outside, leaning
against the railing of the deck and sipped a cup of coffee.
"Sage!" called Rowen, closing the door behind him.
"Hey Rowen! Sleep well last night? You beat all of us up again," said
Sage.
"I'm okay. As for last night, well I had this really wierd dream," he
replied.
"A message from the Ancient?" inquired Sage.
"No. I was fighting somebody, but I didn't have my armor. I nearly got
killed, but woke up before that happened. What was strange was that
everything seemed more like a memory than a dream. The voices - they
sounded so familiar. I couldn't see who was talking to me, just the
surroundings. It wasn't our time or place," he continued.
"I don't know what to say, Rowen. I haven't had any dreams that are out of
the ordinary. Maybe it doesn't mean anything. But who knows? It's
possible that there's something that I'm missing," he said.
"Yeah," agreed Rowen.
"Now let's get something to eat before there's nothing left," said Sage.
"After you," said Rowen, opening the door for Sage.
"Awwwww... Isn't that sweet?" teased Ryo as he watched Rowen and Sage.
"They're just friends unlike you and Mia," snickered Kento. He burst out
laughing as Mia sat down and said ," Good morning, Ryo."
"What's so funny, Kento?" grumbled Ryo.
"Yeah, Kento. What's so funny?" asked Cye, trying to stifle his own
laughter.
"You little..." spat Ryo under his breath.
"Ow!" cried Cye, grabbing his calf.
"What's wrong, Cye?" asked Mia worriedly.
"I just um... hit my foot against the table leg," he answered sheepishly.
Mia sighed and said, "Cye, be a little more careful. The rest of you need
to hurry up and finish eating. We have a bunch of errands to run this
morning."
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A few hours later, a park in Toyoma.
"What is it Rowen?" asked Ryo as the Ronin of Air suddenly rose from his
chair, his hands still at his sides, but clenched into fists.
"Yeah, Rowen? What's the matter?" echoed Kento. Their confusion was
understandable as none of the tell-tale signs of a Dynasty force's presence
had appeared. No chill wind had begun to blow, no thick fog had blanketed
the area, and no evil aura could be felt. Ryo, Cye, Kento, and Sage formed
a protective circle around Mia and Yuli as they scanned the vicinity, but
only saw trees, a lush grass field, and the glistening skyline of Toyoma.
"Do you guys feel any..." started Cye.
"Rowen of the Strata, Lord Cyboth wishes for you to return to him,"
interrupted a commanding voice. The others whirled around expecting to
find a legion of Dynasty soldiers, but only found one.
"Hey! Where are all your buddies? Really think you can take us on alone?"
taunted Kento.
The soldier ignored him and continued. "Your highness, do not keep Lord
Cyboth waiting. Go to him now!"
"Why should I?" scoffed Rowen.
"Prince Rowen, it is your duty to serve the Dynasty and obey your emperor.
Let me remind you that while you are the prince of the Dynasty, you will be
punished for committing acts of treason!" warned the soldier.
"Cyboth is not my emperor! I don't serve him or his Dynasty!" retorted
Rowen.
"Seize him!" shouted the soldier causing a dozen of his comrades to
materialize, their weapons raised and poised to attack.
"Rowen? Prince of the Dynasty?" wondered Cye out loud.
"Cye, there's something that's just a little bit more important right now,"
said Ryo as he lept forward ready to fight. Sage joined him, but Rowen
motioned for them to stop.
"What are you guys waiting for? Rowen needs your help!" protested Yuli,
just as the Dynasty soldiers began charging toward them.
"Die!" yelled one of them as he threw his spear at Rowen. Yuli buried his
face in Mia's side, too frightned to watch the impending carnage.
"Rowen! No!" cried Sage, a flash of green light flared from his body as he
donned his subarmor. He jumped into the air to intercept the weapon, but
before his foot could make contact, he felt a wind pull the spear away. He
watched in surprise as it reversed directions, turning on its owner. The
spear homed in on its new target and struck.
"Uh!" moaned the soldier as he felt the steel tip tear through his armor.
It impaled the rest of his body, causing black smoke to gush out of the
opening.
"Impressive, but you're no match for this troop without your friends
helping you. Attack!" the commanding soldier ordered. They hadn't moved
more than a foot when a blue light surrounded them. Everyone watched in
awe as the grass turned silver. Suddenly the soldiers cried out in pain.
Their feet were began to disintegrate, followed by their legs, and then
their torsos. The thick fog of dark energy dissipating from their armor
made it impossible to see what was happening. Slowly some of the soldiers
vanished, revealing seven foot steel blades rising from where they had
stood. Streaks of white lightning shot from the blades destroying the
remaining warriors.
"Leave us, and send my best to Cyboth," said Rowen dryly. A moment later
he was alone with his friends, and they began asking a barrage of
questions.
"How did you do that?" asked Cye, watching the steel blades turn back into
grass.
"Yeah, and what did that tin can mean when he called you Prince Rowen?"
added Kento.
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"I'd like to know why you turned against Lord Cyboth," hissed a sinister
voice.
"More Dynasty goons!" shouted Ryo as he turned to see throngs of soldiers
surrounding them, trying to close all possible escape routes.
"One extra large order of scrap metal coming right up!" said Kento,
transforming into his subarmor.
"Come on you guys! You can do it!" exclaimed Yuli as Cye joined Ryo,
Kento, and Sage in a protective formation around Rowen.
"Let's take care of these tin cans!" yelled Ryo.
"Help!" cried two voices before he could attack.
"Mia! Yuli!" he gasped watching in horror as some troops moved menacingly
in their direction.
"Ryo! Don't worry about them. I'm on it. Just start taking out some of
those soldiers. I won't be long," said Rowen.
Ryo nodded and turned his attention to the army in front of him. Spears
and arrows began flying at the Warrior of Wildfire as he lunged
toward a small group of warriors, but his speed allowed him to dodge the
attacks. His fists pounded into the chestplate of a soldier's green armor
once he landed, but another was waiting for him.
"Watch out!" warned Sage as a sword swung at Ryo's head. He blocked the
blow with his arm, and a burst of red light flashed from his subarmor. Ryo
quickly rolled away, allowing Sage to pummel his opponent with a flying
kick. Ryo scrambled to grab the soldier's sword and sliced it across his
chest. He took a moment and looked around the park to check on his
friends. To his right, he saw Kento and Cye. The ground around them was
littered with the weapons of fallen Dynasty troops, but many had taken
their place.
"It looks like we're holding out for now," thought Ryo. "I wonder how
Rowen is do..." His jaw dropped open in amazement at the scene in front of
his eyes. As Rowen's fist made contact with a soldier, a bolt of blue
energy shot out of his hand causing the green armor to disintegrate. "How
did he do that? And he's so much faster than he used to be. He's always
been the fastest one out of the five of us, but nothing like this." Five
soldiers sprung out of nowhere to attack Rowen, but he was ready for them.
He jumped straight for the leader of the pack and kicked him in the chest.
Another blast of energy flew from his foot, destroying his enemy. Before
black smoke could replace the green armor, streams of blue light erupted
from the soldier's decaying form and slashed the remaining warriors.
"Ryo! Behind you!" cried Yuli. Ryo whipped his head back, but saw
nothing.
"What is it, Yuli?" he asked.
"There... there was a... a Dynasty soldier," he stuttered in shock. Ryo
turned, saw a sphere of white light surrounding him and realized what had
happened.
"Rowen save my life again and he's been using his powers to protect Mia and
Yuli. Thank you my friend," thought Ryo.
"Give up now Ronin Warriors!" roared the commander of the Dynasty soldiers,
causing his thoughts to quickly refocus on the battle.
"Never!" shouted Ryo, his mind assessing the situation. "New soldiers just
keep coming at us. They're probably trying to wear us down before the big
guns are pulled on us," he said to himself. "Guys! Let's get this over
with! Use your armor!" called Ryo.
"Armor of Hardrock!"
"Armor of Halo!"
"Armor of the Wildfire!" chorused the voices of three of the Ronin
warriors.
"Let me show you what I'm really made of!" yelled Kento as he swung his
staff toward the heads of several Dynasty warriors. Sage was silent, but
his no-datchi was making short work of their foes as well.
A few feet away was Ryo, finishing off yet another soldier. As he pulled
his swords out of his opponent, he caught a glimpse of sky-blue subarmor
reflecting off of the blade.
"Cye! Use your armor!" he called.
"Gee Ryo, I'd love too, but I don't think that would make Rowen too happy,"
replied Cye. Before Ryo could respond, all of the Dynasty soldiers
suddenly vanished.
"What the...?" said Ryo.
"Cye!" cried Sage.
"No!" gasped Kento.
"Haven't the others noticed that the soldiers are gone? And what's
happened to Cye?" wondered Ryo. Fearing the worst, Ryo looked back to
where he had seen the Warrior of Torrent's subarmor. The sight which
greeted his eyes was so terrifying that Ryo dropped his katanas. Ten feet
in the air was Cye, a panicked expression on his face. A sword was pressed
against his neck. Holding the hilt of the blade was Rowen. "Let him go,
Rowen," Ryo finally managed to say.
"I don't take orders from you," retorted Rowen.
"If you want one of us, take me. Just let Cye go," pleaded Sage.
"No! None of us are going anywhere!" boomed Kento in frustration as he
leapt into the air to rescue Cye.
"You want him, you can have him!" said Rowen coldly and he shoved Cye
toward Kento.
"Ah!" yelled Cye as he plummeted out of the sky. Kento quickly moved to
catch him, but Rowen had thrown him with too much force. Cye slammed into
Kento and the two Ronins flew toward the ground.
"Uh!" groaned Kento as he slammed into the field below. He let out another
moan as he felt Cye land on top of him. Rowen laughed a sinister laugh as
he watched them writhe in pain.
"Rowen! Stop! Don't hurt your friends!" cried Yuli.
"Who are you to tell the prince of the Dynasty what to do?" demanded a
deep voice.
"Rowen doesn't serve the Dynasty!" shouted Ryo in the direction the voice
had come from. He turned back to where Rowen had been, but saw no one. A
thick black fog had taken his place, and the outline of a figure could be
seen.
"What makes you so sure of that Ryo of the Wildfire?" asked the voice.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" ordered Ryo.
"I am Cyboth, the emperor of the Dynasty," he replied.
"So you're the one behind all of this! Taking Rowen against his will and
forcing him to serve you... I'm going to make you pay for what you've
done! Flare up now!" boomed Ryo as he raised his swords. An enormous
burst of white light flashed from the blades as he launched his sure-kill.
Suddenly the black fog disappeared and Rowen reappeared. "No!" cried Ryo
as he watched his attack hurling toward his friend. Kento, Cye, Sage, Mia,
and Yuli looked on unable to move, as the wave of energy reached Rowen.
They heard a massive explosion and saw blue light erupt from the white.
Finally it dissipated revealing the Warrior of Strata, in his subarmor.
"Rowen! You're alive!" he said.
"Did you really think that your pathetic attack could hurt me? Let me show
you what your armor is really capable of. Flare up now!" thundered Rowen.
Ryo screamed as he felt the heat of the attack sear his body.
"Ryo! No!" cried Mia as she saw him thrown into the air. He flew ten feet
backwards before his body crashed into a tree.
"This pain! It's unbelievable! Rowen please! Fight Cyboth's power!" he
groaned as he tried to stand.
"Ronin Warriors, where do you think Rowen of the Strata's loyalty really
lies?" asked Cyboth.
"No! It can't be!" said Sage, tears beginning to fill his eyes.