"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Kento asked for the thousandth

time since they had started on their search for the two Ronins.

Rowen sighed as he turned around to look at the impatient Ronin, "Yes, Kento

I am! Now if you ask me that again I will be forced t-"

"Look!" shouted Cye as he ran towards a door he had found. Rowen and Kento

following closely behind him. They stopped in front of the door, not sure if

they should go in or not.

"Why we stopping? Let's go in!" Kento said as he pushed open the door before

the other two could stop him.

Light poured into the room for the second time that day and made the two

occupants inside shield their eyes from the bright light. Groaning some in

the process at being blinded.

"Now who is it!" shouted Sage angrily.

"Well that was a nice hello blondie. And to think we came to save ya two

hides." Kento said jokingly, making both of them look up at him in surprised

confusion.

"Kento!" they both shouted in unison.

"What about us?" Rowen asked as he and Cye walked into the holding cell

behind Kento.

"Are we imagining this or are you three really here?" Ryo asked as he walked

towards them.

"We're real." Cye said happily.

"Good, now you three can help us get out of here. We have got to stop

Maguyser." Sage said as he came up behind Ryo.

"He's going to pay for what he did to my sister." Ryo said in a low and

dangerous voice as his tiger blue eyes flashed with an inner fire.

"Whoa, now what happened?" Rowen asked as he began to pick the locks on the

chains.

"Maguyser basically possessed Katie when she started to turn back." Sage

said with anger in his voice. "No telling what he will do now."

"There." Rowen said when he had both chains picked.

"Let's get out of here before anyone shows up." Cye said as he turned to

leave.

"Not so fast."

"Too late." Kento said. "So much for the quiet part of our plan."

Reann and Tento stepped into the holding cell. All five Ronins stared at

Tento as if not believing what they were seeing. He grinned at them, showing

no remorse for what he had done.

"How could you?!" Kento shouted at him, lounging for him.

"Kento!" Rowen shouted at the outraged Ronin as he grabbed him.

Kento growled, "What did you do to Kaye, you traitor?!"

Tento smirked and took his time before answering, "She's where she belongs.

Master Maguyser has big plans for her."

"Why you little!" Kento shouted at the two as he threw Rowen off him,

lounging at Tento. Tento's eyes flashed and before Kento knew what was going

on he found himself flying backwards, heading for the wall.

Reann laughed, grinning like a child on Christmas Day. "This ought to be a

very interesting fight. How long do you think you all can last against us?"

"Reann, our orders were to stop them from getting away. He never said to

kill them." Tento said as he looked over at her.

"Who said we were gonna kill them?" Reann asked innocently, her eyes

flashing intently. "I jus wanna play with them."

"Come on!" Ryo shouted at her, taking a fighting stance.

"Ryo, you and Sage can't fight. You don't have your armors." Cye said, a

worried expression on his face.

"I don't care. We're not going to back down now, Cye." Sage said,

determination in his voice.

"Let's play, Ronins." Reann said as she attacked the ronins, Tento following

her actions soon after.

~~~~**** ~~~~**** ~~~~****

"Ow." Kaye grumbled as she groggily looked around the room. "Where am I?"

"Well, how nice to see that you are awake, Dream Walker."

"Huh? Wha?" Kaye stuttered, trying to get her eyes to focus.

"Welcome to my humble home. I'm sure you will find it most uncomfortable."

He said and laughed, seeming to think he was funny.

"Maguyser?!" Kaye shouted when she had regained her vision. "How did I? How

did you? Where's Katie!"

Maguyser laughed and motioned to his right. "She is here." As if on command

she walked out from the shadows. A dangerous smile on her on her once happy

face. Kaye looked at her and gasped, knowing something wasn't right with

her.

"What did you do to her?!" she shouted angrily at him. Trying to get to him

only to find that she was bound to the wall.

"I don't think you should be too concerned with what I have done to her, but

be more concerned about what I am going to do to you." Maguyser said as his

eyes glowed red and Kaye screamed out in pain. He stopped and his eyes

turned back to their normal color as he watched her try to regain her

breath.

"What do you want?" She got out in between gasps for air.

"My, my." Maguyser said as he shook his head at her. "You really don't see

it, do you?"

"See what?"

"I can't just have you out running around. Not when you hold the power to

take someone from me. No, I can't do that."

"Katie!" she shouted at her. "Wake up! Do something!"

Maguyser laughed at her efforts, "Try all you like but she can't hear your

pleads. She is mine and with you out of the picture that's the way it will

stay." He said as his eyes once again glowed red and Kaye screamed out in

pain.

Kaye squeezed her eyes shut against the pain and bit her tongue to keep from

screaming. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction in hearing her

screams of pain. She opened one eye and looked over at Katie. The joyful

smirk on her face made her stomach churn.

Maguyser stopped and looked at her, a victorious expression on his

disfigured face. "Now you see don't you?"

"Katie, please." Kaye said in a whisper, barely loud enough to hear. "You

don't have to do this."

Katie walked up to Kaye and slapped her, "Shut it already. I'm getting tired

of hearing your pleads. It's making me sick," she said as she glared at her.

Kaye looked up at her, a confused expression on her face. Her eyes searching

for an answer as to why. Katie laughed and shook her head at her in disgust.

"You're pathetic, Dream Walker. Don't you get it? I am no longer who you

think I was."

"I tried to tell you, Dream walker. You didn't care to listen to me and now

you know first hand of what I was telling you." Maguyser said as he walked

up next to Katie. "Now I think it is time that I made sure you were out of

the way."

"No." Kaye said as she shook her head in dismay.

"Oh yes, I think having you trapped in an endless dream of tortures will do

just nicely. Now sleep!" He said as he waved his hand at her. Almost

immediately Kaye's eyes took on a far away look and her head slumped down.

"One person out of my way. Now," He said as he turned to face Katie. "Go and

take care of those meddlesome Ronins." Katie bowed, turning and leaving the

room.

~~~~****~~~~****~~~~****

Rowen dodged an attack from Reann as he notched an arrow and fired it at

her. She caught it, smiling as it disappeared from her hand. Rowen blinked

in utter confusion as he stepped back away from her, regrouping with the

others.

"Dang." Cye uttered, looking from Reann to Tento.

"I think we have a problem." Kento voiced.

"You sure do, Hardrock."

"Say wha?"

"And I'm your new problem." Katie said as she walked out of the shadows. A

deadly look shining in her eyes as she looked at the Ronins. Reann backed

away from her, a shiver running down her spine when she came close to her.

There was something unnatural about her now, something that made her blood

run cold when she came near her.

"Katie!" Ryo shouted, as he was about to run over to her, only to be stopped

by the others.

"Ryo! You can't talk sense to her now! She'd only kill you." Sage said, his

voice giving away the helplessness he felt.

Katie laughed a very unlike her laugh and looked over at them. Her eyes

piercing and unnatural to match the look on her face. "You three made a

grave mistake in coming back here to get them. Now you will all die along

with them."

"I'm not dying here, but you are going down!" Kento shouted at her, grabbing

his nanginta and charging at her.

"Kento! Wait!" Rowen shouted at him, too late to stop him.

Katie smirked and dodged his attacks. Kento brought his nanginta down on her

and with lightning fast moves she moved out of the way and was behind him in

split second. Before he knew what was happing he found himself coming face

to face with the floor, a foot coming down on his face.

"What was that about how I was going down?" She asked him, placing her foot

harder on his face and smearing it into the floor. Kento let out a cry of

pain and her smirk became wider.

"Stop it, sis!" Ryo shouted at her. "You're hurting him!"

She laughed at what he had said, "Stop calling me that. Your sister is gone,

Wildfire. And you will be joining her soon."

Ryo looked at her with a stunned look in his eyes. Her words started to

slowly sink in, as he finally comprehended them. He squeezed his eyes shut

and balled a hand into a fist at his side. Sage laid a hand on his shoulder

and he looked up again, a look of determination and rage set in his eyes.

"We have to do what must be done. If it means hurting her in the process

than do it," he said quietly, not taking his eyes from the person he once

knew as his sister.

The others looked at him sadly and then over at the three minions of

Maguyser. Tento wore a smug look on his face as he crossed his arms over his

chest. Reann smirking, but there was something different about her smirk

now. No longer did she have a sure, self-confident look. Now she looked

confused and unsure.

"Well, well, do the little Ronins want to play?" Katie asked as she took her

foot off of Kento's face.

"I think it's time we shut them up for good." Tento said as he walked up to

stand next to Katie. A look of pure superiority on his face.

Katie looked back at Reann, "Well? Are you helping or not?"

"Yea," she said and uncrossed her arms. "You guys go ahead and start. I'll

come in later."

"Fine." Katie replied and turned back to look at the Ronins. "Now let’s see.

Do I want you?" she asked herself out loud as she pointed at Sage. "Or you?"

She said again as she this time pointed at Ryo.

Ryo swallowed the lump in his throat and brought his head up in a

challenging manner, as he looked her directly in the eyes, "Your fight is

with me."

Sage walked up beside him, "And me." He looked over at Ryo and nodded his

head to him, showing that he wasn't going to let him fight her alone. "This

may be killing us inside to do, Katie, but we're not going to stand by and

let you win."

She smirked to herself, "My, my, you two just will not let her go. Sorry she

can't say goodbye to you before you both die!" She shouted and leaped at the

two Ronins. Quickly engaging them in a fight.

Reann stood by and watched as the fighting took place. She didn't understand

what was wrong with her. She should have been fighting along side her two

comrades but instead she stood off to the side. Unsure of herself and why

she was fighting the Ronins. She looked over at Ryo and Sage and couldn't

help but feel sorry for them. Ryo had lost his sister while Sage lost

someone he loved. She then looked over at Kento who was fighting Tento.

Feeling bad for him as well, he had the job of trying to keep Kaye safe. She

felt her heartache for the three, knowing they had all lost someone they

cared for more than life its self.

She shook her head trying to clear her mind of all her sympathetic thoughts.

A scream of pain cut through the sounds of weapons clashing and fists

connecting with flesh. She looked over in the direction of the scream; her

heart started to pound when she saw Ryo on the ground. He was holding his

side and looking up at Katie in a mix of horror and disbelief. Before she

knew what she was doing her feet started to guide her over in that

direction. Knocking Katie away from the two before she could finish them

off.

Katie looked at her confusion, "Reann, what do you think you're doing?"

Reann helped Ryo up and turned to look at her, "Something I should have done

a long time ago."

"So now you're betraying us, Reann?" Tento asked, a look of outrage on his

face.

"Yes, I am. Don't you get it?! This is wrong! We shouldn't be doing this!"

Reann shouted at them.

"Get out of the way, Reann, don't make have to hurt you." Katie said as she

twirled her sai that was in her hand.

"No, I won't." She said back.

The Ronins looked at Reann in disbelief. First she was an enemy who had

tried to kill all of them at one point and time and now she was trying to

help them? This was either some kind of trick or she had changed her mind

about what she was doing.

"You wanna stop me? Then you'll have to catch me!" she shouted to them as

her and the Ronins all disappeared from sight.

Katie growled and threw her sai to the ground, "Damnit!"

~~~*****~~~*****~~~*****~~~*****

Reann appeared in the middle of the Ronins front room with all them. She

helped Ryo over to the couch where she gently sat him down. "I think you'll

be ok." She turned around to meet the faces of four unconvinced Ronins.

"Hold it right there, lady. What are you up to?" Kento asked angrily.

"Up to?" she asked, confused.

"Don't play dumb with us. We know you're up to something." he continued.

Reann sighed. "I see," she said and sat down slowly in a chair that was near

her.

Sage went over to Ryo to look over his wound, nodding to the others to show

he would be ok. Kento went over to Reann and pulled her up out of her chair

roughly by the shoulders, "Why did you help us? What do you got up your

sleeve?!"

"Kento!" Ryo shouted at him, gaining his attention. "Let her go."

"But Ryo."

"I said, let her go. She saved our lives; we owe her that much." Kento let

go of her and Ryo leaned back some against the couch. "Why did you help us,

Reann?"

She looked over at him, wondering why she ever wanted to kill him and his

friends. He was a nice guy. "I don't know to tell you the truth. I guess I

just felt like it was the right thing to do."

"I'll be right back." Sage said as he got up and exited the room.

"Bullshit, I smell a rat." Kento said angrily from where he stood with his

arms crossed.

Reann sighed, Ryo looked over at her and then glared threateningly at Kento.

Warning him to not say anything else. "I don't know why you helped us, Reann,

but..... thank you."

She looked up at him, surprised he had said that to her. "Um, I guess the

right thing to say would be you're welcome?"

Ryo smiled at her as the rest of the Ronins relaxed and began to think that

maybe she hadn't had a plan. That maybe she had changed her mind about them

and was only trying to help. Sage came back down and started to clean up

Ryo's wound as Ryo relaxed and the others tried to think of someway to get

two of their friends back.