Rowen’s eyes quivered three times as his body shifted. He let out a moan, and his mother anxiously looked toward him for fear that something else was wrong. He moved again and his eyes slowly opened.

Rachel took a deep breath and sighed in relief. “Rowen.” She moved closer to him to hug him. He made no sound as she leaned down and wrapped her arms around him. “My poor baby.”

Rowen remained silent as his body was slowly becoming more awake. He blinked a few times and then brought his hands up to rub them. He had no idea how long he had been asleep, but he did know he felt a lot better. His headache was gone.

“How do you feel?” Rachel asked as she placed a hand on his forehead. She felt relieved. Rowen’s fever was gone.

Rowen shifted a bit, but did not ask his mother to release him. “I’m fine,” he said. “Where are the others?”

Rachel frowned deeply, but she knew she should tell him. “They went upstairs to check on Sage. Something happened and…”

Rowen’s eyes went wide as he pulled from his mother’s embrace. “I need to see him!”

“Relax, Rowen,” a familiar voice said from the stairs.

Rowen and his mother looked toward the stairs and saw Kento standing there. “Kento.”

“Sage is fine,” Kento assured him as he came down. “In fact, they’re all coming down soon.” He plopped himself onto the opposite couch and peered at Rowen. “How do you feel?”

“Fine, thanks. What happened to Sage?”

“Oh,” Kento sat back a little and wondered how he would tell Rowen. He did not want to sound stupid and he didn’t want to say the wrong thing. Finally, he decided to tell Rowen exactly the way Sage had told him and the others.

Rowen and Rachel listened patiently as Kento explained what had happened. Rowen was awestruck, but Rachel looked dubious. Still, she did not say a word as Kento spoke. Rowen’s mind was racing however. Could any lackeys have it in for him on the count of Leokoni? If so, who could it be? And why would they attack Sage on the count of him? Or were they after Sage alone for one particular reason?

“And that’s what he said happened,” Kento finished.

Rachel shook her head and smiled, slightly amused. “I never knew you teenagers had such an imagination!” She had clearly forgotten what Rowen had said earlier in regards to his dad dying.

Kento frowned at her, not understanding what she found so delightful about this. “I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

“Sage had only a dream, Kento. It can’t be true. Dreams can’t hurt you.”

“All I know when I went upstairs to check on him, he was tossing and turning and there were long scratches on his face. Now tell me how does that happen?”

Rachel sat back in the chair as she regarded Kento. “Simple. When you dream, sometimes your body will toss and turn. Sage could have easily scratched himself.”

“I doubt it,” Kento retorted as politely as he could. “For one thing, Sage’s arms were tightly pinned down by the entanglement of the sheets. And second of all, Sage’s nails are cut and filed down so fine it would be amazing if he could scratch a black board.”

Rachel stared at him as her mind deliberated on what he had just spoken.

Rowen shook his head as he finally figured it out. “This is no ordinary dream,” he stated. “Sage has had dreams like this before and they always meant something. Someone was trying to do him in.”

Rachel was now bemused as she looked from Kento to her son. “Rowen, what are you saying?”

Rowen frowned as he wondered how best to tell her what had happened to him. He did not know whether she would believe him, or whether she would laugh it off. He decided to take a chance. He began to tell her exactly what had happened; from the first time Sage was attacked in the woods, to the time they had battled the demon Yata in the house, and to the time of his capture. He deliberately left out the torture part, knowing it would agonize her, and he did not want her to suffer even more from that.

Rachel frowned as she listened to his story. She did not want to believe it, but she knew Rowen had always been honest, fearing lies over anything else. She recalled once again what he had said to her about his dad, and she felt herself tremble. When Rowen had concluded she gently cupped his face in her hands and stared him in the eyes. “Rowen, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I was doubtful. I’m sorry I was such a poor mother. I always wondered why I left your father when we were all happy. The perfect family. We hardly ever argued. We always got along just fine. And now I realized it. It was my insatiability. I was still quite young and wanted to be wild, free.”

Rowen shook his head as tears came from the corners of his eyes. He reached up and took her by the wrists and held them there. “Mom,” he choked, “it wasn’t you. It wasn’t any of us. It was Leokoni!”

Rachel nodded as this time she wrapped her arms around Rowen again. This time Rowen sat up and embraced her in return. Mother and son held onto each other as if they were holding onto one another’s life.

Kento heard the sound of footsteps and looked toward the balcony. There, he saw the Ronins, the new Ronins, and Mia. The Ronins were all in subarmor and looked more than ready for a fight. He stood up and produced his own orb, ready to change as well.

At the sound of footsteps, Rachel and Rowen broke apart and looked toward the stairs. Rachel’s eyes widened at the sight of the metallic suits covering Ryo, Sage, Cye, Star, and Firestorm. “What’s going on?” she demanded.

“We’re going after Rowen’s father in the realm of the dead,” Ryo explained as they filed one by one down the stairs.

“What?” Rachel was incredulous.

“Rowen’s father’s spirit was captured by Leokoni,” Sage explained, unaware that Rowen had informed her just minutes ago. “We’re going to travel there and battle the remaining demons to free him.”

Kento called his subarmor to him, noticing Rachel looked slightly shocked at him. He did not speak, but joined the others.

“How will you free him?” Rachel asked as she turned her head back to Ryo.

“We’ll battle the ones who are holding him,” Ryo told her. “We’ve been in battles before, so we know what we need to do when we get there.”

“I’m going with you,” Rowen declared as his mind was already made up. He stood up and fished around in his pocket for his own orb.

“No, Rowen!” Rachel cried as she grasped his arm. She looked into his eyes in what appeared to be both imploring and stern.

“Your mother’s right, Rowen,” Ryo said matter-of-factly. “It might be difficult for you to return to the place of your captivity.”

Rowen turned from his mother to give Ryo a slight glare. “Ryo, that’s my father down there. It was Leokoni’s fault that I did not have a true family. If I stay behind, that will prove to every demon that I still blame my dad for what he had done to me, rather than blame the true source; Leokoni. Don’t attempt to stop me. I’m going.” And saying no more, he gently pulled free from his mother, who choked back a sob, and pulled his armor orb from his pocket. In minutes he called his subarmor to him. His eyes seemed to flash with a new desire. “Let’s go crash their party.”

The spirit could barely lift his head from off his shaking form. Had he still been alive, he would have thought he was nervous or needed an alcoholic beverage. He was miserable and knew that an unwanted transformation would come soon. He did not want to become a mindless demon. It frightened him, and time again and again, he had futilely begged for spiritual death. He was laughed off.

He sighed to himself as if resigning himself to the fact he would become what he dreaded most. He knew he had seen mindless demons earlier. He shuddered to think of himself in that form. They only existed to serve the normal demons. They could not think for themselves nor could they speak. They were both used and abused by the haughtier kinds.

The spirit already knew he did not want that type of post life. And yet, if Halo did not save him soon his form would utterly change. He stiffened, if a spirit could stiffen, and felt genuine fear. Was this the same fear that Rowen had felt before the beatings began? How could he allow Leokoni to use him like that? His son could have had a happy life. He should have known something was wrong with him, sought help, told Rowen to run away from him and never come back. But no; Mr. Hashiba had threatened to harm Rowen’s friends should he ever tried to run away. He was ashamed now. Very ashamed.

The spirit lifted his head as best he could. He could hear voices; they were garbled, gurgled, rough voices. He knew Yata and the remaining demons were probably conversing, or perhaps partying in the main chambers, the place where Leokoni’s throne once sat.  Had the throne become Yata’s? He didn’t see how. Perhaps it had become Dinsoneis’ throne. He was, after all, Leokoni’s right hand demon. Or at least the spirit believed so.

The spirit shifted in his chains. That was a mistake. The pain intensified, nearly making him scream. He forced himself to keep silent though. He did not want the demons to feel pleasure at his suffering. If only he could make it go away. If only he had the strength, then he would cast away his pain and laugh at the demons directly to their faces. But he had not the strength, nor even the will. He knew he was dying. Where was Halo?

The Ronins found themselves at a massive gate. The color of the gate was a deep red with a black outline that seemed to swirl in live circled patterns of fog. As they approached the gate, they realized they would need Kento to open it. But they would first need to discuss their plan of action.

“Okay,” Ryo began, “remember to stay close together. We rely on our strengths and that of each other. Don’t allow yourself to get entangled between too many demons, and don’t fall for illusions.”

“No sweat!” Kento said eagerly. His eyes were shining as he couldn’t wait to get in there to battle. Though the only demon he had ever fought was Talpa, he was looking forward to battling demonic spirits who had never been human before.

“I’ll be keeping a close watch on the demons’ abilities,” Sage told them. “If I see an illusion, I’ll inform you all via mental link.”

“That sounds good, Sage,” Rowen said with a nod of his head. Like Kento, he was more than ready to get in there and battle.

“What about Mr. Hashiba?” Star asked.

“We’ll need to fight the demons to get past them,” Ryo said.

“Yeah, they’re not going to allow us to easily free him,” Cye said with conviction. “We’ll need to take them down as quickly as we can.”

“I’m betting we’ll need Inferno,” Kento said.

“If we do, then I’ll gladly summon it,” Ryo said as his eyes flamed.

“Okay, are we ready?” Firestorm asked as she felt impatient. “Let’s go knock a few demons out and free Rowen’s dad.”

The Ronins looked at one another and nodded. One by one they called forth their subarmors and stood ready. Kento grinned as he stepped toward the gate. To him this would be a piece of cake. He placed his hands upon the gate and started to push.

The others watched him carefully, expecting the result to be the same as it always was. However, as Sage closely watched he noticed the swirling black fog increased in both speed and size. He had a bad feeling about this. “Kento, get away from there!”

Kento blinked as he did not understand. He didn’t see anything wrong with the gate. His hands remained pressed against the gate as he strained his strength to open it. However, before he could answer Sage and tell him no, a part of the fog suddenly struck outward and encircled Kento from his neck to his ankles.

“KENTO!” everyone shouted as shock pierced through them.

They raced forward to help them, but they were too late. The fog lifted Kento higher into the air and suddenly threw him backward.

Cye gasped as he watched his best friend sail overhead. He sprinted forward, hoping to get to the spot where Kento was heading. Just as he hoped, he managed to break Kento’s fall. The bearer of Hardrock shook off the effects of being thrown and stood on his feet again.

“Kento, are you okay?” Rowen called back to him.

“I’m fine, Rowen; thanks to Cye. But now I’m getting really mad.”

“Keep your temper, Kento!” Sage warned. “This thing here may use it against us!”

“Just what is that thing?” Star asked with a hint of fear in her voice.

“It seems to be a security system,” Rowen said as he studied it. He noticed that it was back to normal. How were they to get through it? He doubt they could just pass on through it from mere strength alone. No, there had to be another way in. The question was how?

Firestorm continued to stare at the gate with a fixed intensity. Was it her imagination or was that gate laughing at them? Distinctively, she thought she could hear laughter coming from the gate. She cocked her head and listened closely. She was sure of it now. “This gate is laughing at us!”

They looked toward the gate. Indeed they could hear laughing. Sage studied it more closely though. He shook his head. “No, it’s not the gate. The laughter is coming from inside.”

Firestorm deflated. Boy did she feel stupid.

“They’re celebrating,” Ryo commented as he felt disgust.

“Yeah, and I bet they’re celebrating for a reason,” Rowen said.

“We need to find a way in there to stop them,” Cye said.

“Sure, man,” Kento said in agreement as he looked uncertainly at Cye. “But how though?”

All of them became silent as they began to think of ways in. They tried some of the ideas they had, ranging from sure kills, to passwords, to attacking with their weapons. Again and again they were thrown back. It seemed useless. Were they never to get in?

Sage studied the gate again. There was something about the gate that nagged at him. But what was it? It seemed as if it were mocking them. Was there some secret it held within its construction? His eyes suddenly widened the more he stared at it. Of course! Why hadn’t he thought of that before? He turned to the others. “Guys! The Circle of Light!”

 They looked at one another as if each one of them had grown a foreign object directly out of their heads. Why hadn’t any of them thought of that before? It was truly a miracle that Sage was on their team and had the gift to understand what they could not.

Rowen wanted to smack himself, but with great difficulty he refrained himself from doing so. “Why didn’t I think of that before?” he muttered out loud. He looked at the others. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

Star and Firestorm were nonplussed as they had never heard of the Circle of Light. What was this? To Firestorm it reminded her of the motto on The Lion King; The Circle of Life. Before she could ask this, the Ronins were suddenly running in a circle before the door, apparently oblivious to the girls.

Star watched this animated scene very carefully, wanting to discover this Circle of Light in terms of how it was done and why. As she watched she noticed the five Ronins stopping at various places and standing in what looked like a five pointed star formation with their arms crossed over the chests with their respective kanjis blazing in their foreheads.

“Virtue!” Ryo shouted.

“Trust!” Cye’s voice rang through the air.

“Wisdom!” Sage’s voice echoed off the walls.

“Life!” Rowen’s voice bellowed.

 “Justice!” Kento cried.

A star in the shape of a pentagram which seemed to represent earth, air, spirit, water, and fire had suddenly appeared on the ground before them. Star’s eyes widened as she whispered to Firestorm. “Amazing, isn’t it?”

Firestorm nodded as she could barely speak. But inside she was wondering if she and Star would ever learn or even be able to do what the Ronins just did. After all, were they not Ronins themselves in a way?

“Keep it up, guys!” Sage warned them as he noticed the pentagram was slightly weak. It must have been because of Rowen and himself. He was determined to let his light, his spirit shine brightly if it would cause the Circle of Light to intensify more strongly.

“Look at the gate!” Cye suddenly cried as his eyes fixed themselves upon the stubborn gate. They turned their heads to look and were surprised. The gate was once again readying itself for an attack. It was as if it knew what was coming.

“Man, that thing just isn’t natural!” Kento moaned slightly.

“We can’t give up,” Ryo told them firmly. He looked down at the pentagram they had just formed and saw that it was ready. He nodded at the others. “Okay, guys, get ready!”

They were more than ready. Slowly, they began to step away from their places, but continued to keep their arms folded across their chests. Those who were not directly facing the gate turned about. Side by side they stood together, like an impenetrable wall. Ryo counted to three and upon hitting the number three, the Ronins used their energy to hurl their Circle of Light against the gate.

There was a moment when time seemed to freeze. Not a single body moved as the pentagram flew in slow motion toward the gate. The waiting seemed endless, and yet no one could think about anything except what would happen when it made contact? Would the Circle of Light break it down? Would the gate repel it? Would the gate suck it in and then strike down the Ronins? Fear took over the Ronins’ hearts causing each of them to hold their breath.

There was an explosion. It was quite deafening in sound and it was bright as an atomic bomb. All of the Ronins, including Firestorm and Star dove down to the ground and covered their heads as pieces of the gate flew around them. The ground shook and moaned as if it could feel genuine pain.

But at last it was silent. Ryo, Sage, Kento, Rowen, Cye, Star, and Firestorm did not dare to move. It may have been quiet, but it did not mean that danger had passed. After several minutes, Ryo was the first to lift his head. He gazed cautiously about the place and then looked toward the place where the gate had once stood. His eyes widened in amazement and discouragement. “It’s gone!”

One by one the others raised themselves off the ground to have a look. The gate was gone and nothing stood in the empty room except for seven teenagers in mystical subarmors. They had worked so hard to weaken the gate; they had not meant to literally demolish it. How would they ever get inside the pit of the demons?

Yata’s eyes narrowed as he suddenly became still and silent. Around him the party continued on as hundreds of hulking demons conversed with one another in several different languages, among them Latin. The small demon had a bad feeling. He sniffed the air, rising ever so slightly onto his toes to catch a familiar scent that drifted toward the throne room from a mile away. His ears twitched, but the only thing he could hear was the loud music that resonated off the walls.

A tall, muscular demon suddenly clamped his hand around Yata’s throat and lifted him into the air so they were eye to eye. “And what has your attention, shrimp?” he sneered.

“Do not call me a shrimp!” Yata retorted in anger. “I smell something familiar,” he added in a more of a monotone voice.

“Do you?” the larger demon’s voice was ice filled. He continued to stare into Yata’s eyes, sneering, mocking. “Perhaps it is your own disgusting filth that you smell.”

Yata growled low in his throat as his eyes stared at this monstrosity holding him. Had Leokoni survived this might not have been happening. After all, weren’t they celebrating their freedom from the demon master? Still, the smallest demon wished to yield his suffering to the demon now holding him so rudely.

Without a single warning, he swung the lower half of his body forward and clutched onto the demon’s forearm with his claws digging deep into the skin. The moment the larger demon loosened his grip around his throat, Yata took a daring chance and sank his fangs deep into the leathery hide between the fingers and the thumb.

The bigger demon screamed in pain and anger. He suddenly threw Yata across the room and looked down at his bloody fingers. Black blood seeped from the wound. He scowled. Yata would pay for this. Without a word to anyone else, he turned swiftly and exited from the throne room.

Across the room in a corner, Yata slowly stood up with an immoral grin spreading slowly across his face. Chanteaq had learned the hard way about fooling around with him. And Yata was definitely no one to mess with. But his attention, once again, was distracted. He sniffed the air several times in hopes of finding an answer to the familiar scent. Then suddenly his eyes widened with realization. He knew that scent.

 A/N: I’m not entirely happy with this chapter. I feel it could have been a bit better, perhaps more intriguing. However, as it follows chapter 32 directly, I had to keep everything in line, rather than jumping about like I wanted to. I had hoped this fanfic would be complete by now; how wrong I was. But you can tell I am definitely getting closer. And yes, all of you may now faint in shock as I’ve updated early.