"No!  Let me go!  Please!  Stop!  Let me go!"  Cora’s pleas rang out throughout the castle.
 But Cale, the Warlord of Corruption, only twisted her arm further.  Kayura appeared.
 "Cora, sister, you said that you could keep yourself under control.  You told Master Tulpa that you were truly evil.  Master Tulpa will not be happy when he finds out you have lied to him." Kayura lectured.
 "I am not evil!  Tulpa may have had control over my mind, my body, but my heart and soul are not and never will be evil!"  Cora yelled back at Kayura.
 Kayura’s eyes narrowed at Cora.  Kayura drew back her hand and slapped Cora across the face.  A line of blood formed from where Kayura’s armed hand cut Cora’s face below her eye.
 "Enough Kayura!"  Tulpa’s voice rang out; an image of him appeared.
 "Yes Master Tulpa," Kayura responded loyally.
 "Master Tulpa, what do you have planned for this lying traitor?" Cale asked.
 "Cora, you said you would be able to control yourself, but you didn’t.  At least you and Kayura were able to cause the Ronin Warriors great pain.  They will be greatly devastated for a few days; they will not be able to recover from this battle easily.  I am very proud of you for that.  You!  Kayura, however, abandoned her when she was loosing control!  If you and Cora would have left then, I could have prevented Cora from learning about her power.  Now the Ronins will stop at nothing to keep her power away from me.  That wolf, Kariudo, will tell them about her, and they will try to get her back."
 "I am sorry, Master Tulpa," Kayura said with sincerity.
 "You will never have my power Tulpa!" Cora screamed angrily at him.
 Cale twisted her arm behind her back tighter, and yanked back her head by grabbing a fist full of her golden hair and pulling back hard.
 "Watch your tongue girl!" he commanded.
 Cora winced under the pain.
 "Cora, you claim to have a pure heart, but I can change that, and you will attack the Ronins without difficulty, and show no mercy."  Tulpa said, laughing evilly, "Show her, Netherspirits, that her soul will belong to me, and it will serve the Evil Dynasty!"
 The Netherspirits surrounded Cora.  Cale released his hold on her and disappeared.  Cora looked around fearfully.  What could she do against the Netherspirits?
 The moaning of the Netherspirits became unbearable.  Cora screamed and clutched her ears with her hands, begging them to stop.
 "Please!  Stop!  Please!" she cried.  The Netherspirits floated over her, and then entered her body.  Cora screamed, she wouldn’t let the Netherspirits overwhelm her.  But she couldn’t keep resisting them, she couldn’t keep fighting, she had nothing left, she was exhausted.  Tears stinging her eyes, she gave up, collapsing on the floor.  The Netherspirits took control, turning her even more evil with every passing moment.  Her power that Tulpa gave her increased, her soul screamed out in pain, her heart screamed out for Rowen and the other Ronin Warriors, and what would happen if she were forced to fight them.  Her heart and soul wept, but her body would not allow itself to cry.  She was evil now; nothing would stand in her way, nothing.
 

 Rowen stared pleadingly at the sky to bring Cora back.  The other Ronin Warriors stood staring at the sky as well.
 Sage was the first to speak.
 "So what do we do now?"
 Rowen struggled to get up, but found himself to weak to do it by himself.
 "Rowen, you can’t stand on your own, gather your strength first," Ryo told him.
 "Help me then Ryo, we have to get her back!"  Rowen protested.
 "We will, but we can’t go now, you’re too weak."  Cye said.
 "Cora!"  Rowen cried.
 "Rowen, calm down, save your strength." Sage agreed with Cye and Ryo.
 "You can’t do anything to help her the way you are man, you need to rest."  Kento added.
 "I had her back, just for a moment, then Tulpa took her again!  I have to get her back!"  Rowen raged.
 Sage laid a hand on Rowen’s shoulder, and looked his best friend in the eye.  "You will, but the only way you can help her is if you get your strength back and fight Tulpa when you’re at one hundred percent."
 Kariudo stood watching the Ronins silently.
 ^They are right,^ he thought to himself, ^Rowen of Strata cannot rescue the Jaded One as he is, he needs rest.^
 Rowen gave into the other’s protests.  He agreed to go back to the house and rest, but he was determined to get Cora back.  That was one thing he refused to let go of.
 "Come on, let’s get back before I collapse right here." Sage stated tiredly, as he helped Rowen up.
 "Hey," Ryo said as he also helped Rowen, "Sounds good to me."
 The five headed back, Ryo and Sage supported Rowen, and Kento and Cye helped each other along, leading the group.
 Mia saw them coming and gasped at Rowen’s condition.
 "Rowen!  What happened?!  Are you all right?!"  She asked him hurriedly with worry.
 "Rowen and Ryo got the worst of it, both Cora and Kayura attacked them together, using both of their powers.  Those girls pack a punch."  Sage explained for them.
 Mia looked at Rowen and Ryo anxiously.  She was concerned for them both, but mostly for Rowen.
 "Rowen, are you going to be okay?"  She asked him slowly.
 Rowen looked up at Mia.  All eyes were turned to him.  He knew what they were asking.  Are you going to survive even though you know you may never get Cora back?  Oh sure, I’ll be fine, I may die of depression, sadness, anger, longing, but I think I’ll manage, don’t worry about me.  Yeah right.  Who was he kidding?  He had had her back for a moment.  Only a moment.  In his arms again, he had her back, not wanting to let go.  But Tulpa called her back.  Took her away again.  She was gone; shimmer, scream, poof, disappear.  And he knew that Tulpa would only try to increase his hold on her and make her even more evil.  So that if she did come back, she would destroy him.  And that time, she wouldn’t loose control.  The evil would have grown so big that it would have overwhelmed her, and she wouldn’t be able to fight back.  Wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
 "Rowen?"  Mia asked after the long silence.
 "Yeah, I think I’ll be able to manage.  I should be all right, I just need to get my strength back."  Rowen replied slowly, biting back the pain.
 The other Ronins exchanged glances, and then all agreed that they all deserved some rest.
 Kariudo had followed them back to the house, and was now standing, watching them once again.  He stayed outside the house as a sentinel.  Watching for any kind of danger.
 The Ronins banished their sub-armor and returned to their normal, more comfortable, clothes.  All of them were exhausted.  They trudged up to their rooms to rest or sleep.  Ryo, Kento, and Cye all fell asleep before their heads hit the pillow.  Sage dozed a little, and then fell asleep.  Rowen didn’t want to sleep, but he couldn’t keep his eyes open.  Finally he gave into the heaviness and slept.

 "Rowen!  Help me!"
 "Cora! No!"
 "AAAAhhhh!"
 "Cora!!!!"
 ~The scene melted away and the figure of a wolf stood.~
 ^Rowen^
 Who is that talking to me?
 ^Rowen, I am Kariudo, do you remember who I am?^
 You’re the wolf, you said that Cora was the Jaded One.
 ^Yes, I am the wolf that appeared to you when you were younger, I was checking on the Jaded One, to make sure nothing happened to her.^
 Yeah, well, so much good that did, she was captured by the dynasty Kariudo.
 ^I knew that there was no way to prevent it, therefore I did not try.^
 You mean all of this heartache and pain was inevitable?
 ^If there were a way that I could have prevented you from this pain, I would have.  I bend to the Jaded One’s will, and she would have not wished such pain upon you.^
 But, what about Cora?  What will happen to her?
 ^You must free her from the dynasty, her soul is being overwhelmed with it’s evil.  When she comes back, she will fight you, but you must show her the truth.  Show her soul that there still is a reason to fight the evil.  Remind her of the love that you still have for her, that will set the Jaded One free.^
 I-I have to set her free?  How can I do that if she destroys me?  What can I do when she does?  Put up a fight?  I can’t kill her!  I would rather have her kill me instead!
 ^You will know what to do when the time comes.^
 ~The light faded, leaving the pitch blackness of dreamless sleep~

 Rowen awoke.  He opened his eyes open to a moonlit room.  The moonlight flooded in, splashing its slivery radiance in the outline of the window.  He sat up and looked out the window, even doing this was a challenge; he was still sore from the battle.  Thinking about the battle brought his mind to the post-battle, when Cora remembered him.  Tears swelled.  No, crying won’t help anything, he’d cried enough lately.  He was a Ronin Warrior, he shouldn’t be crying this much over something that happened a long time ago.  But then, he and the others were so close.  He would give his life for any of them.  They had been hurt many times; each time one felt the other’s pain.  Rowen heard a silvery voice lift up to the sky, calling to the moon.  Kariudo, he was howling to the moon, to the world, the forest.  He felt a wave of sleepiness wash over him; he lay back down and drifted into nothingness.