Cye heard his alarm clock going off, but he didn’t feel like getting up. He had stayed up late last night playing an all night matching game against Kento on the PS2 station that Mia had just bought last week. So basically all he wanted right now was sleep. The alarm clock was insistent so he grumpily got up and shut the clock off, then dragged himself out of bed. He decided to skip a shower for the time being, or at least until he was a bit more awake and got dressed. He headed over to his dresser mirror and took his brush and started brushing his hair, just glancing at himself in the mirror. He brushed his bangs upward, then suddenly his eyes widen and he dropped his brush in shock as he stared at his reflection in horror. There above his left eyebrow was the hideous birthmark.

And Cye screamed.

Downstairs, Ryo, Sage, and Kento all jumped, and immediately raced upstairs in their subarmor. Rowen flew out of his room in his, having been awoken to Cye’s scream. All four raced to his room, getting ready for a fight as they all knew their friend was in danger. They burst through the door, expecting to see some soldiers or other enemy. There was no one there, except for Cye, who was standing before his dresser mirror staring at himself in horror.

“Cye?” Ryo gently called his young friend as he cautiously approached him. He could see Cye shaking and wondered just what had scared him so bad.

Sage was frowning deeply, not really sure what to think about what was wrong.

Kento was thinking Cye had seen a Dynasty monster in the mirror and he was wanting a good fight.

“Cye, what happened?” Rowen called to his young friend.

Cye stepped away from the mirror, still shaking as he turned around slowly. Tears were running down his cheeks as he lifted his bangs and pointed to his birthmark. “It’s back!” he cried.

All of them stared in shock at the birthmark. None of them could believe it either. It had been six months since Cye and Emily had destroyed Talpa and three months since Emily had gone on a tour with her Music Group from school. All of them had thought it was all over, that things were back to normal, especially Cye. But the birthmark was a living proof that trouble may come yet again.

“This can’t be happening,” Cye groaned as he covered his face. This had to be some dreadful nightmare he was having. He had to wake up. He kept his eyes closed for several minutes, praying that when he opened his eyes, the birthmark would be gone. But no such luck. When he opened his eyes, the birthmark was there, mocking him it seemed. He let out a long, disappointed, shaky sigh.

“Cye, are you going to be all right?” Ryo asked him gently.

“No,” Cye flat out told him as he held onto his dresser tightly as if he was afraid to let go.

Everyone frowned at him and none of them were sure what to say to him. They knew this was a difficult time for him. All they could do was support him the best they could.

In another world, a large being sat, his eyes filled with fury and hatred. It had been six months since his last defeat, and he was pretty steamed by the whole thing. How dare his son turn against him! This time instead of using tricks, he would resort to old fashioned force. The only problem he had was getting his son back.. That would take time and cleverness. He didn’t want to move too soon. No doubt Cye had seen his birthmark again and would be on his guard. He would have to wait until the young Ronin was at least expecting of him. Suddenly he got an idea and a cruel smile formed on his face as he laughed evilly. He suddenly vanished from his throne room in a cloud of black smoke.

Kento was worried about his best friend but there seemed to be little they could do for him. He had refused to eat breakfast saying he didn’t feel good and had locked himself in his room after having requested to be left alone. So now he was sitting in the living room, watching TV, Sage was cleaning up in the kitchen, Ryo was seated on the other couch, reading, and Rowen was sleeping again.

Ryo sighed to himself, feeling worried about his friend upstairs and wishing he knew how to handle this situation. Some leader he was.. He couldn’t even offer any advice to his young friend in this terrible situation, and it was making him feel worse with each passing moment.

“Ryo?” Kento called softly making the bearer of Wildfire look at him. “Do, do you think Cye is gonna be okay?”

Ryo looked down at his book, frowning deeply. He really didn’t know the answer to that question. He didn’t want to hurt Kento’s feelings, but he didn’t want to lie either. He raised his head again and looked at Kento. “Kento, it’s hard saying. This is very rough on Cye right now. I think he needs to understand it doesn’t matter where he came from, but that he has loving friends and family. His mother and sister care about him, we care about him. He needs to realize that. But honestly, I can’t really say if he’ll be okay. But I hope he will though. And I’ll be straightforward, Kento. I’m worried about him right now.”

Kento nodded and sighed deeply. “Poor Cye. You know it has to be rough on him.”

Ryo nodded sadly and turned back to his book, trying to read it once more.

The tall man wearing the brown tuxedo, black hair slicked back, and carrying important looking documents entered the building of the Federal Court. He looked up and down the massive hallway which held several offices, most which seemed to be closed. He headed down the hall, passing famous paintings of famous Japanese men and women, a placard holding important notices and other plague. He kept his eyes on the last door as he walked toward it. When he reached it, he smiled once, and then knocked on the door of Children Affairs and Custody.

By the time Mia had come home from the university Cye had come downstairs, but only once to eat a little something, then had retreated back upstairs to his room. Mia frowned deeply and looked to the others for an explanation.

“He’s been acting like that all day,” Rowen said sadly.

“But why?” Mia asked in concern as she poured herself a cup of tea Sage had made earlier.

“Mia, you might want to sit down for this,” Ryo said with a bit of difficulty. Mia frowned deeply. Usually when she was told to sit down there was bad news. She sat down, staring at all four of them waiting for them to explain what was going on with Cye.

“Earlier this afternoon when Cye awoke he found out that his birthmark reappeared above his left eyebrow again,” Sage said sadly, yet calmly.

Mia was shocked. She knew about Cye’s birthmark and his relationship to Talpa, but she had never thought it would appear again. She thought it would be over for Cye, that he could get back to normal life. And yet it seemed as if destiny had a different plan for the young Ronin.

“And we can’t figure out how to help him,” Ryo said with a sigh. “He won’t talk to any of us, and we don’t want to pressure him into talking, but this is hard though. We’re really worried about him.”

Mia took a sip of her teeth, her green eyes full of concern for Cye. She looked at Ryo, then at Sage, then at Kento, and finally Rowen. “Have any of you told him how you felt?” All of them shook their heads and she continued. “Maybe you should. Tell him how concerned you are for him and that you want to help him. Be there for him, but don’t overcrowd him, you know?”

All of them nodded as they understood.

“Yeah, you’re right, Mia, one of us should talk to him,” Sage said as he leaned against the wall.

“Question is who’s going to talk to him first?” Rowen wondered.

All of them looked at each other, but before anyone could make a move the door bell rang.

“Who could that be?” Kento wondered.

Ryo shrugged as he headed for the front door and opened it. There on the porch stood a tall, dignified looking man and right beside him was a police officer. Ryo frowned deeply. This could mean trouble, how or why he wasn’t sure. “Um, can I help you?” he asked a bit suspiciously.

“Yes,” the man said with a smile. “I am here to pick up Cye William Mouri.”

Ryo stared at the man before him almost uncomprehendingly at the man. His eyes narrowed with suspicion, then he looked at the police officer standing just a few feet behind the man. “May I ask why you are here to pick him up?” Ryo demanded as he looked back to the man.

The man smiled coolly, then held out legal documents right before Ryo’s face. “I have custody of him. And he is to come with me.”

Ryo glared more. He could feel Sage, Rowen, and Kento right behind him, and they were also demanding to know what was going on. No way were they letting anyone take Cye away that easily.

“Step aside!” the officer ordered from behind, sensing the disturbance from them. The four Ronins glared at the officer.

“Hold it! You can’t tell us to step aside!” Ryo challenged. “This man just shows up wanting to take Cye away and we don’t even know him! Cye doesn’t know him! Cye has a mother and a sister who love him and who have custody of him also!”

The man seemed to smirk at that. “Not anymore. I have custody of him and that’s that. Now bring him here at once or the officer will arrest you for obstructing me.”

Kento glared angrily at him, but Mia spoke from behind, softly as she hid her tears. “You guys, we have no choice. One of you get Cye.” She was on the verge of collapsing and who knew what his mother and sister were going through right now. And what of Emily? How could this even be happening? This was a living nightmare.

“I’ll… I’ll go get him,” Sage said with much difficulty. He turned and slowly climbed the steps as if he was struggling to ascend them. It almost seemed like he would change his mind and turn around and come back down, but he continued to climb them.

Cye laid on his bed, trying to forget about the hideous birthmark. It had been on his mind all day and he could barely think of anything else. He had tried to sleep, thinking it would put him in a better mood, but sleep did not come. It seemed no use. Perhaps he should just ignore it, but how?

A knock came on his door and he frowned. They probably came to see how he was doing or something like that. At first he didn’t get up, but a tiny thought in his head convinced him he was being somewhat selfish, so he got up and went over to the door and opened it.

Sage stood before him, looking completely miserable. Cye frowned deeply, wondering what could be wrong.

“Sage, what’s the matter? Did something happen?”

“Cye,” Sage choked a bit, then swallowed. “Cye, there’s a man downstairs. He’s… he’s got custody of you. We don’t know who he is or how he was able to get custody, but he’s waiting for you to come down and leave with him.”

Cye’s eyes widen in horror and he shook his head. “No! I won’t! My mom’s got custody of me!”

“Not anymore, Cye,” Sage said sadly. “And you have to go. There’s a police officer down there with him.”

Cye looked on the verge of tears. Sage hated seeing him like this, but what choice did they have? If Cye didn’t go with the man, there could be trouble. If only they could just run away with Cye or fight this in a court of laws, appeal the decision that the judge had made, but how? There seemed to be no hope at all. Sometimes life just wasn’t fair.

Finally Cye turned and headed for his closet. Sage watched silently and sadly as the young Ronin begin to pack his belongings. It took him ten minutes to do so, and half the room looked bare. Cye looked around at the rest of his stuff, frowning deeply. “Will you save my things for me, Sage?” he asked, looking at the taller Ronin. “Until, until I can come back?”

Sage nodded, holding back his tears. “Of course I will.” He swallowed sadly, then took a deep breath. “Do you need help carrying your things?”

Cye nodded, not daring to speak. Sage took one suitcase and followed Cye out the door. Once downstairs, Cye saw the man he was to go with and frowned deeply. He truly did not want to go with this man, but what choice did he have?

Farewells were made, and everyone tried to hold back their tears, but it was useless. Ryo promised Cye they would get him back somehow, and Cye believed him. Finally he took his suitcases and his duffle bag and followed the man out to a 2002 dark blue and silver Ford Escort. Cye’s belongings were put in the trunk and he climbed into the passenger seat up front and buckled up. A forlorn sigh escaped his lips as he stared at his friends who were all watching him from the porch, all having tears running down their cheeks as the car was started up and put into gear. The man next to Cye drove off without looking back. And just like that, Cye was taken away from his friends, and from his family.

Kento’s fists clenched tightly down at his sides as he shook with anger and despair. “CYE!!!! NO!!!” He thought about chasing the car down, but the officer was still close by. So he glared at the officer, cursed some and stormed back inside the house.

Sage frowned deeply and followed Kento back into the house.

Ryo stayed a bit longer as Mia and Rowen followed. He looked at the officer. “One way or another we will get Cye back.”

“You do that son. I wish you luck.” The officer turned on his heels and walked back to his car. Ryo glared at his back and went back into the house and slammed the door shut. His temper got the better of him and he punched the door in frustration, then slunk to the floor miserably. “Cye…”

Cye wiped his eyes, trying his best not to cry. This just couldn’t be happening. Who was this man to take him away from his family and friends? This just wasn’t fair! He stared out the window watching the scenery fly past, wondering where he was being taken to.

The driver smiled then, an evil smile, and his eyes glow red. “Someday you’ll see your friends again, Torrent.”

Cye’s eyes widen and he quickly snapped his head toward his right. His mouth dropped open as he could now see the true form of the man. “TALPA?!”

Talpa laughed as Cye tried to get out of the car. None of the doors would open though, no matter how hard he tried. Every time he pulled the lock up, it would go back down. He tried to break the window, but it wouldn’t break. He glared at the being next to him. “LET ME GO!”

Talpa’s eyes glowed red. “Never. You are my son and you are staying with me, forever.”

Cye glared at him, but he gave up trying to get out of the car. He knew he had to reach his friends somehow. He was trying to figure everything out though. His sudden reappearance of his birthmark, Talpa being alive, how he had gotten custody, and what he was going to do now. Little did he know that they had arrived at their destination. The nightmare was just beginning.