Chapter Sixteen

Vivid-blue eyes were trained on the starry sky above him, as Ryo rested comfortably on the soft grass. He and the other four Ronin had decided to camp out that night, much like they had the first night they dealt with Raikken.

They had come a long way since then. From barely being able to land a hit, to decimating ranks almost into the thousands within the blink of an eye. It had not taken them long to learn they were not alone, never had been, and that they were the elements chosen having been so for millennia.

Through it all, they had grown and their bond had strengthened there was no doubt of that. The fact they had almost lost each other on closer calls than what they had faced before would forever be fresh in their minds.

"We'll toast that son of a bitch, just watch," Kento brought in, turning his head to glance at his leader.

"Heh, whoops, projected that, my bad," Ryo let out a sheepish chuckle.

Cye snorted, "S'all right, we echo the sentiment, don't worry mate."

"We sure have gotten to be depressing in our old age," Rowen mused, "I blame Seiji. OW!"

Sage opened an eye to glance at the archer, having easily electrocuted the man with little thought or effort, "Keep it up? You'll be a walking bug zapper."

"You're an awfully cranky Maneki Neko tonight," the Hardrock Ronin was quick to tease, rolling off to the side to avoid a mini lightning bolt.

Torrent's bearer was quick to settle the matter, dousing all three of his fussing teammates and closing his eyes for a semi-peaceful nap. He remarked, "We're never gonna grow up, are we?"

"Doubt it," Ryo chuckled, looking to the nearest tree, "Whatcha think, Layne?"

The other four frowned and looked to where he was, figuring he might have lost whatever remained of his brain matter as they saw nothing and sensed nothing.

There was a snort, "No, definitely not. Twenty-four and you've mentally only reached six. The universe is so beyond screwed."

"Mei mei?" Kento sat up and titled his head, "What are you hiding for?"

"Not hiding, I'm just hanging out in the shadows. It's force of habit."

"You could drop it, you know?" the Leader of the Ronin Warriors commented, closing his eyes again. "We're used to you by this point, we grew up with you."

"Some of us are still working on the growing up part," the Halo Ronin interjected.

"Most of you are," Elayne corrected, jumping down from her perch to lean against the base of the tree. "You guys feeling any better?"

"Much, don't sweat it, okay? We'll be fine," Strata's bearer admonished her.

She opened her mouth to protest, but Kento cut her off, "Ro's right, we're good to go. If we aren't a hundred percent for a few weeks, oh well. We will get there."

A wry grin was on the young woman's face, "One can only hope, anyway."

"Stop being such a stiff and join us, already," Cye gave a bored yawn, "Like old times, we're entitled."

"Fair enough," she said with a chuckle as she walked closer to the fire.

"Let's not talk about aches and pains," the Ronin of Hardrock commented, "Especially when my back still hurts like this."

"Sounds like you've gotten old, Grandpa Shuu," the archer chortled, then ducked a fist and nearly clocked his head into Sage's.

Sage gave him a less than pleased look, but did not feel like retaliating against his clumsy teammates. His eyes were on Elayne who seemed to be standoffish towards them right now.

That didn't last very long before he exchanged a brief glance with Ryo who nodded and both reached up, grasped one of her arms and tugged her down so she was between them.

"OI!"

"Hush, imouto," the blond placidly informed her.

"We won't have any of that "not sure where I fit in" crap. We're too tired."

"You guys suck," Elayne was scowling, "I wasn't even going to go there. I was scanning the area, morons." Actually, she had just finished receiving word from Ceres that Thanos had taken her deal and was gone from the galaxy for good. There was no need to tell them of it though, not for a while anyway.

"Oh," came the sheepish response from the pair.

"Hey!" Rowen suddenly brightened, "By the way Layne, have got to ask."

She let out a low moan afraid of where he might want to steer this conversation, but she took the bait anyway, "What, Touma?"

"What is your name anyway?"

All was quiet, and then: "Angerona. My name is Angerona."

"EH?! You were named after the Roman Goddess of Death, Silence, and the Winter Solstice?" he and Cye had both bolted upright into sitting positions having taken the same mythology course in college.

"No."

The two relaxed, but all five Ronin were sent spluttering when she clarified:

"I had the name, first. She was named after me."

"NO WAY!"

Elayne let out a laugh, and shook her head, "Hey, you asked. I was just answering, don't shoot the messenger."

Ryo chuckled in mirth, "We wouldn't have done it then when you first brought us together, we certainly wouldn't do it now."

"He's right, we've known each other for way too long now," Cye commented, settling back down in his spot. "Was good your normal demeanor was able to come through more this time than in any of the past ones. We like you better this way."

"Ah, you're more human," Sage commented with a grin.

"And far less Seiji," was Kento's contributing remark, chortling at the string of curses the swordsman uttered.

The archer sniggered, "He's got a point. So what are we going to do now?"

"Find a purpose in life other than fighting," Ryo murmured, opening his eyes hearing movement in the grass. He spotted White Blaze and Black Blaze just as they came into the clearing and then lay down. Inwardly he grinned at how the two were just as watchful and protective as the young woman at his side.

"This time, I think we all have one," the Water Ronin commented, "We owe you that, too, Layne."

"We've been keeping each other alive for millennia; I think we're about even by now."

"Not even close mei mei," Kento said with a grin, "But, we've finally managed to learn what we need to do and who we need to be. It just took us a really really really really long ass time to figure it out."

'There's an understatement!' the tigers snorted out as they both burst into laughter.

Rowen blinked as the Seasonals approached the fire, "What's up guys?" He had honestly expected them to be out here an hour ago, the delay surprised him a little.

"Nothing, just wanted to check on a few things," Anubis admitted as he sat down.

"Like what?" Cye queried, interest piqued.

"There are fewer Nether Realm gates than before," Dais came right to the point, not wanting to drag it out too much. "Riynd's meddling might have done something to the realm."

"Then we'll leave first thing in the morning," Ryo announced, "Let's just focus on getting some rest tonight."

"Ya," Kayura agreed, sighing, "No point in jumping out of one fire and right into the next is there?"

"No, not really," Sage agreed, frowning as he heard his name being called, "What's the matter Aurora?"

"Hi guys, sorry for the intrusion," she said with a wry grin. "Sage, your oh-so-darling family is on the phone." She then gave him an ugly look, "For the love of all that is good and holy in the universe, talk to your frantic mother, please!"

"Oh shit, I forgot to call her back," he leapt to his feet, "Sorry minna, I'll be right back."

"No you won't, you're a dead man," his arch rival informed with a wave of his hand by dismissal. "I had the pleasure of escorting the woman home, nice knowing you Seiji."

"Go chase a squirrel!"

Elayne had gotten up to sit next to Sekhmet and upon seeing Sage leave her face paled a little. There was a very good chance they were going to find out what she had done back when she and Serena were out "modifying" things.

She closed her eyes and let out a loose breath, did she really have to tell them?

'You're almost out of time,' Simoria murmured.

'I know.'

'You're going to have to tell them.'

'I don't have to tell them a damn thing,' came her cross retort. 'I don't owe them anything more. I've got nothing left for myself. They're going to know anyway, they're not stupid Simoria.'

As if right on cue the warrior at her side lowered his voice, and spoke, "How are you faring imouto?"

"I'm managing for now, Nao," she murmured quietly, gently placing a hand on his arm, "You can't let yourself worry about me, okay? I'm expecting you to take care of my imouto for me."

"An," the Fall Seasonal looked at her, a sadness in his eyes, "We're allowed to care about you. And rest easy, I'll keep her from doing anything too foolish."

"I'm holding you to that," Elayne said with a chuckle, removing her hand, her gaze going back to the fire. The Seasonals had caught her earlier, perhaps not too long after her brief confrontation with the Time Guardian, voicing their concern about her current state. She hadn't been able to wave them off, not that she thought she'd be able to.

Anubis had been very unhappy that she would offer nothing up to the Elemental Ronin. But, the five young men had been through too much already and it would be some time before they recovered enough where they could function normally. She hadn't wanted to add to the burden. It was the perfect excuse for her to use, though it didn't matter anymore-Sage was back.

The conversation from before echoed in his ears as he made his way back to where the others had set up their makeshift camp- and it left him cold. He had apologized to his mother with a great deal of an embarrassment, and she was all too happy to teasingly scold him. None of that bothered him he was so used to it by this point. That woman had always done everything within her power to treat him like a normal child, even though he wasn't.

Everyone in his family was fine, safe and sound Mrs. Date had assured him; though apparently Satsuki was miffed he hadn't given her a hug goodbye. He had known about that as Elayne had already chastised him for it. Sage hadn't caught it then. No it wasn't until they were further into the conversation when he brought up how each of them were doing, and when he got to Elayne- his mother didn't know who he was talking about.

He halted a moment, collected his thoughts and emotions before working his way back into the light of the fire. The blond swordsman was not interested in an argument, but if it came down to it, he would definitely argue.

"What's wrong?"

Sage sighed through his nose disparagingly; he should've known Ryo would immediately pick up on his change of demeanor.

"No, but you're trying too hard. And typically when you're schooling yourself to be calm, something is up," was Rowen's all-too-helpful interjection.

The Ronin of Halo gave his friend a dirty look, but said nothing before turning his focus to Elayne. Her gaze was directly on the fire and nowhere else, hands gently folded in her lap: she was waiting.

He furrowed his brows, thinking of what to say, and what not to say. But he knew better, she had never liked beating around the bush anymore than he ever had. So Sage opted to get right to the point:

"You don't know what's going to happen to you, do you?"

She snorted back a laugh, "Here I was worried you were going to ream into me. I should know better by now."

"You should."

"Hold up, the hell is going on?" Cye queried with a slight frown as he sat up. He tilted his head at the blond swordsman, "Explain, in simple terms please."

"Mother doesn't remember An, at all," the blond swordsman calmly informed. "No one in my household has any recollection of her." He took pause, posing the query to her, "And neither does anyone else?"

A nod to the affirmative, but nothing more was offered than that.

"Mei mei?" Kento was giving her a worried look.

"There's a loophole," she was calm, but she still wasn't looking at him, and that bothered Sage a good deal; especially when she blatantly ignored Kento's query. "If you need to use it, use it. I'm not going to hold it against you, any of you. If it's easier, not knowing I exist, take advantage of it."

"What?" Sekhmet had her arm, she had not mentioned anything of this earlier.

"Stop and calm down," she deftly removed it, "For everything I do there is a consequence, you guys have not been around before to see what happens when the bill comes due. It normally isn't pretty, and it will be a lot worse this time. If it's too much to deal with the option is there."

"Imouto?" the blond was frowning.

She sighed and closed her eyes, "I wasn't going to let your families have that burden. They were far kinder to me than what I deserved, it was the least I could do for them."

Sage shook his head at her, "Still putting us before you, you just don't learn do you?"

"I may be a little slow on the uptake," Elayne finally looked at him, a smirk on her face, "But that means so are you since we are actual blood relations."

The Ronin of Hardrock opened his mouth, but then closed it when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned slightly to see Ryo who was shaking his head.

'Let it go, Kento. This is hard enough for her as it is.'

'You're ok with this?'

'No!' the bearer of Wildfire was frowning now, 'But it isn't going to change anything. I'm guessing that's why she didn't say anything.'

Dais cleared his throat, "You two realize we can hear you right?"

"Whoops," Ryo gave a nonchalant shrug. "We're all wiped, who has enough energy to keep mental walls up?"

There were multiple coughs, and quite a bit of mumbling.

He chuckled, "Ya, that's what I thought."

"How long was it the last time?" the Ronin of Strata queried, and Ryo bit down a groan of annoyance. When he said for Kento to drop it, he had kind of meant for all of them to drop it.

"It's okay, Hot Shot," she murmured, saying with a sigh, "I don't know, Ro. You'd have to ask Simoria. Time passes differently for me. Since my mind heals from the trauma first I astral project and attend to my duties as a sectorial guard. So weeks can pass from my point of view, but it's only been days. I know the first lifetime it was months, off lifetimes a few weeks. But I didn't ask about last time."

"I don't blame you for not wanting to know," Cye was sympathetic, "We bungled it."

"So did I."

The bearer of Hardrock rolled his eyes, "Oi, mei mei stop blaming yourself for everyone of our screw-ups. That's Ryo's job."

"He is the fall-guy," the archer was quick to offer up.

Ryo gave them a bored look, "Except last lifetime I couldn't stand you guys. You went rushing headlong into your own deaths well before I did."

There was an abrupt silence at the campfire now, one of embarrassment, yes that had been true. The Ronin Leader gave a smirk in triumph as he resumed his comfortable seat in front of the fire.

Sage sat down next to Elayne, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her next to him, 'Don't worry. I'll make sure he is okay.' He had seen that her gaze was back to Ryo again; she'd been doing that throughout the evening and now he understood why.

'Thanks,' came the murmured reply. 'I don't think he's going to take it well. Him, or Kento.'

'That's what Cye and Kirsten are for. As for me, I'm sure Rowen will be all too happy to become an even more permanent pain in my ass,' came his snorted dismissal.

She actually laughed out loud, "God Nii, you're awful."

"I know, but it is part of my charm," the blond swordsman quipped with a sly grin. Said grin only widened when his comrades threw him dubious looks, apparently Sage's mental walls were still very much intact.

"Ass," Rowen commented, settling back down in the grass. "You're talking about me, I know it."

"Not as much as Kayura is," and with that retort Sage was even more pleased: the Lady Ancient had blushed.

Cale sniggered, "She's guilty as charged!" He ducked a fist that came flying his way, "Now now, temper temper. I'm sure Rowen is very into that, but I'm not, so behave yourself."

"Cale, I'll kill you," the archer's eyes were shut.

"Bring it Strata."

Anubis sighed through his nose, as he none-too-kindly shoved Cale off the log they'd been sharing, "There will be none of that. It's far too late, and we are all past tired."

A murmur of agreement rippled throughout, and slowly, one by one each of them found a place to get comfortable slipping off into sleep. Sage refused to budge from his spot next to Elayne, and once he was certain everyone else was definitely asleep he spoke.

"You have to go back to the Nether Realm, don't you?"

The young woman gave a deft nod, "There's no choice now. Even if my henshin pen hadn't bit the dust, I'd have to go back. Used to go since being there negated the Great Council's curse on the henshin pen. Plus, it was a lot harder for anyone, or anything to find me. This time is different. I am the Empress of the Nether Realm and my entire existence depends upon the Youjakai."

"More so now," Sage finished seeing where her train of thought led. The young man shifted slightly, a small frown on his face. His gaze rested on the Seasonals, "They seem concerned, are you sure it is even safe there?"

Elayne ran a hand through her hair, "I don't think the gates vanishing is from what they're thinking it is. It's not from anything Riynd directly did, just something inadvertent."

"She backed you into a corner, and you dissolved the seal. The missing gates are ones Arago set up, aren't they?"

A smirk was on her face, and she gave a nod, "Ya, but I wasn't going to bring that up earlier. You guys should check in there anyway."

"Particular reason why?" Sage raised an eyebrow, snorting when her grin merely widened. "You're trouble."

"So what else is new? Try not to get too bored without me, Nii," she patted him on the shoulder.

The blond swordsman wrapped her in a one-armed hug, a smile his face, "I'll try not to, imouto, I'll try not to."

They talked for some time before weariness reminded him that it had been a long battle and he was in need of some sleep. After saying goodnight, it took him no time at all to fall into slumber.

Elayne looked over them all as she slowly got to her feet, letting out a shaky breath. The pain was starting to creep back into her mind, the ability to block it out failing her. She blinked when she felt the headbutts to her knees, and glanced down at the two tigers looking up at her worriedly.

"It's okay, it isn't that bad yet, but it's getting there," she murmured, reaching down to gently pet their heads. "I'm counting on you two, just as I always do."

'No worries cubbette,' White Blaze assured with a low rumble. 'We managed to make it this far.'

'He's right hime, things will be fine. You get your rest. We won't let them do anything too blatantly stupid while you do.'

She snorted in laughter in spite of herself, "Good luck with that, they were trying to kill each other this time."

'Just means they can't do anything dumber,' the white tiger offered, with a grin.

"Don't jinx it, Yaku," she warned, bending over and planting a kiss on his forehead, "Especially with that cub of yours."

'He's hopeless,' Black Blaze rumbled in agreement, pleased when he too got a kiss.

"See you later boys," Elayne smiled, took one last look at the sleeping warriors, and then turned and walked away.

She didn't make it too far before being stopped by a too-familiar face, she quirked a darkened eyebrow, "Not going to stay in their realm anymore?"

Simoria gave a shake of her chestnut head, "No point now. Akemliek knows where I am, and he can't get back here for sometime. Besides, it'll be a lot easier to look after your charges if I'm in the same realm."

"Rekka and the others threw you out, didn't they? Elayne asked with an accusing tone in her voice.

Green eyes flickered in annoyance, "Kind of, they're pissed at the state you're in and want me to make sure you don't fall apart before you make it to the Youjakai. I have a physical form, they don't. They kind of won that argument."

"Figures," she rolled her eyes, "I have to be babysat by someone."

"It can't be the Troopers, you were rather mean to use that sleep spell to ensure they stay asleep for a few hours," Simoria had fallen in step with her, as Elayne had started to walk again.

"They're wiped out, this took a lot more out of them than any other fight they've ever been in. Plus, I've never been great at saying goodbye. I'm so used to being the one that "goodbye" gets said to. I was kind of at a loss."

"Rekka is going to be very upset, you could've given-"

"Simoria, you are not my mother. Stop trying to scold me as such," there was a hint of warning in the tone.

The older being fell silent a moment, saying quietly, "It wasn't my intent. You care about him just as much as he does you."

"And he knows that, and that's all either of us want or need at this point."

"Ah, you two did talk on the way back then. I figured you had, but wasn't sure."

Elayne sighed, and removed the jewel from around her neck, handing it to Simoria, "Here, I forgot to give that to Sage. Make sure he gets it. Double insurance policy."
She reached out and took the jewel, a small frown on her face, "I will, but don't you..An!" She grabbed the young woman to keep her from falling, gritting her teeth in annoyance, time was almost fully reconnected the wounds from the earlier fights were re-appearing. Simoria let out a loose swear, decided to forego making it through the "proper" channels and in a flash of blinding light they were gone.

A/N: This chapter was actually written this year. As far as when you get another, or if there will be another, we'll just have to wait and see. I honestly never thought this story would still be incomplete after all this time. I had originally completed it, but as I have mentioned before I was very unhappy with how it ended as I "rushed it." There is an ending for this that I have had in my head, but alas I have not had time to write it. I don't know if I will; real life happens and as much as I love this series and these characters, I do have responsibilities. Especially since I now have a daughter to look after :) Thank-you all for sticking with me for as long as you have; God Bless.

-LG