Untitled
Chapter 1
rated PG-13
Chapter 1
rated PG-13
Sage gasped as he quickly sat up in bed. He panted as his eyes darted around the room. He was surrounded by darkness. The light of the full moon painted his sheets an eerie silver. So cold. Even on a warm night in the middle of summer, he was cold. He awoke in a cold sweat. He could feel it on his face and bare chest. He calmed himself as he stared into the silver clad outside.
"Too real," he thought to himself, "It was so real." Sage lie back in bed, eyes wide as he placed his head on the pillow. "What is wrong with you?" Sage scolded himself, "What will the others think if they found out that you, Sage of Halo, were frightened by a mere dream?" Sage sighed, hoping that a peaceful sleep would come.
Ryo found himself in a strange meadow. The grass was an unusual slate gray and the sky was a bloodthirsty red. The land was barren except for one old tree that barely clung to life. There was no sound, only Ryo's breathing.
"Well, Wildfire, back so soon?" a voice called to him. Ryo looked around for the source of the voice, but found none.
"What are you talking about?" Ryo asked.
"I ordered you to perform a task for me," the disembodied voice explained, "and you did an admirable job. You handled it like a well-trained assassin." Ryo was clueless.
"You look puzzled, Wildfire. Here, let me refresh your memory."
Kento had appeared out of nowhere, walking toward Ryo.
"Hey, Kento!" Ryo called, happy to see his friend.
"Do not waste your breath, Wildfire," the voice said, "That is only an image of the past. That is not the real Kento of Hardrock." Ryo frowned, but kept silent. The voice was right; Kento had not noticed Ryo, as if Ryo was not there at all.
Kento continued to walk in Ryo's direction. The abrupt change in Kento's expression told Ryo that something was wrong. Kento looked down; Ryo followed his gaze and their faces turned white in horror.
A sword blade was protruding from Kento's abdomen.
Ryo recognized the blade immediately. It was one of the Wildfire blades.
Kento had fallen to his knees. Blood began to flood from the wound and between his fingers, staining his hands and sub-armor crimson. He let out a torturous yell as the blade slowly began to rotate within the wound.
Ryo couldn't take hearing the torment in his friend's voice. He wanted to look away, but found that he couldn't. His body was frozen. This was an image of the past. There was nothing he could do to help Kento.
The blade stopped in a horizontal position and the unknown swordsman withdrew his weapon from Kento's abdomen. Ryo saw the flash of two sword blades as they slashed into Kento's back. That was when Ryo saw it.
The arm, protected by white and red sub-armor.
Kento yelled as his body fell to the ground. He tried to push himself up. His arm lost its strength and he fell, never to move again. The image dissipated
Ryo was on his knees, not sure of when he actually fell. He could barely hold back his tears. Tears trickled down his cheeks; he did not bother to wipe them away.
"It's not true." Ryo shook his head. He looked up into the wicked red sky. "I would never hurt my friends!"
"Really?" the voice replied questionably. The area around him began to wave, as if seen through a fire's heat. Ryo watched the waves until they began to waver and stop. The scenery had not changed much. The lone tree was gone. He was in a clearing.
Ryo stood. Intuition told him that something was amiss. He thought he saw something not too far from him. He walked toward it and, upon seeing it, wished that he hadn't.
What he found was Sage, lying face down in the grass. He had been attacked in the same manner as Kento: a large stab wound and two slashes forming an 'X' in his sub-armor. Blood stained his sub-armor and the steel-gray grass around him.
Ryo could see Cye, Kento, and Rowen's bodies as well, face down and bloodied, with the same wounds gashed in their sub-armor.
Ryo sat amongst the lifeless bodies of his former friends and brothers in arms. Something confused him. Why didn't they change into their armor? Why didn't they defend themselves? Who murdered his friends? The voice told him that they died by his hand. But that wasn't true. Ryo would never kill them, or he would have remembered if he did.
Ryo stood, determined to find the murderer when he felt the kiss of cold steel gently press against his neck.
"Face me." a dark, yet familiar voice demanded. Slowly, Ryo turned and stared the assassin in the eye. The eyes were fierce...dark...sinister...a sick humor glinted within them. And yet they were his own.
Ryo was staring at himself, more like another Ryo, who smirked as he held the blade a hair's width from Ryo's neck.
"What's going on here?" Ryo asked. The other Ryo chuckled.
"It's simple." he replied, smiling. "I'm going to kill you. Just like I did to your friends." He nodded his head in the direction of the four Ronin's bodies. Ryo could only look into his darker version's eyes. He wanted to talk, but could not speak. His body was
petrified, as if under the other's spell. He was defenseless.
"Any last words?" the evil one grinned, bringing the second Wildfire sword to Ryo's chest. He thrust the sword forward......
Ryo sat up, breathing heavily. He clutched an invisible shirt collar, and stared wide eyed at his sheets. White Blaze, aware of his master's discomfort, nuzzled his nose against Ryo's arm. Ryo smiled, scratching the tiger behind his ears.
"Thanks, White Blaze," Ryo said, "I'll be fine." White Blaze lay back on the floor, looking up at Ryo worriedly. "Don't worry. I'll be okay." White Blaze rested his head and went back to sleep.
Ryo got out of bed and went to the balcony. He stood there, staring at the starless sky.
"What does it all mean?" Ryo asked the night. He wanted an answer, but knew none would come to him. He sighed and returned to bed.
