The Ultimate Test

Caige was in surgery. Sage paced nervously in the waiting room. He had been told that the surgery would take at least eight hours to complete. And as soon as school had let them out, Ryo had driven him to the hospital, dropping both him and Rowen off, while he and Kento went home. They had a few more hours to wait.

Rowen glanced up from his math book. "Sage, why don't you just chill and sit? When he's done, they'll come out and tell you."

Sage sat down with a long sigh. "I know, Rowen. But I feel so attached to him."

"Yeah, most twins are like that. I read once that twins can feel each other's pains."

Sage nodded. "Yeah, that happened to me and Caige several times." He tapped his fingernails against the arm of the chair. He felt someone staring at him, and looked up at a young girl who was probably about thirteen years old. When he smiled at her, the girl smiled back shyly and diverted her attention to the cast on her leg.

She was cute, Sage noted, but definitely too young. He was seventeen for crying out loud! He would prefer going out with someone more toward his age.

Rowen was answering several math problems, one right after another. He could feel that Sage was tense. Of course if it was it was him, he'd probably be nervous too. He only hoped that Sage wouldn't go through the doors and ask how much longer it would be. That was something Ryo or Kento would do. Rowen smiled. Come to think of it, this was the first time he had seen Sage this frantic. Usually, he was so calm. One thing you could tell for sure. Sage did love his brother.

He lowered his book. "Hey, Sage, who's the older out of you two?"

"Well," Sage began, "our mom had a C-section done. The pregnancy caused complications on her, so we were both taken out at the same time."

"So you guys are the same exact age in minutes?"

Sage nodded. "Yeah, so not one of us is younger or older."

Rowen shook his head. "That's the first time I've heard about something like that. Usually it's with conjoined twins."

"Well, our mom's fluid sac didn't have enough for the both of us by the time her ninth month came around. The doctor took us right then and there."

Rowen nodded his head, just as a surgeon came out along with Mrs. Date. Mrs. Date was smiling. The two boys stood up.

"You can tell them, Mrs. Date," the doctor said.

Sage looked questionably at her. "Mom?"

Mrs. Date smiled a huge smile. "The surgery was successful!"

Sage hugged her happily. "So that means...?"

Mrs. Date pulled him away. "That means after a few weeks of regroup therapy, Caige will be able to walk again. And the wheelchair will go to someone who needs it."

Sage smiled and hugged her again. He was extremely ecstatic for his brother.

Ryo, Cye, Kento, Mia, Yulie, and White Blaze looked up when Sage and Rowen walked in. Sage was smiling. "The surgery went well, and in no time after regroup therapy, Caige will be up and walking within a matter of weeks.

"That's wonderful!" Mia said.

"What's regroup therapy?" Kento asked.

"It's where they teach a person how to do everything all over again," Rowen explained. "Caige hasn't walked or used his legs in what six months?"

Sage nodded. "It'll take some time, but Caige can do it."

"So how is anyway?" Ryo asked.

"He's fine, but tired though. He'll be going to regroup therapy tomorrow afternoon."

"So soon?" Cye asked.

"Yeah, he, Mom, and the doctor want to get it started right away. I think it's a good idea too. Fact is I'll still have to take care of him, until he's able to."

Kento raised his eyebrows. "Doesn't your brother get mad at you for you having to do that?"

Sage sighed. "I imagine he does, Kento. But Caige's heart is bigger than his ego. Besides, he prefers me to take care of him rather than a hospital."

"You're family, that's why," Cye said.

Sage smiled and glanced at him. "I see you're feeling better."

"I've been feeling better," Cye said.

"Excellent! Because by the time we're done with you, you won't get a second chance to get better!"

Everyone looked toward Kento. He threw up his hands. "It wasn't me, I swear!"

The lights in the manor suddenly went out. White Blaze roared, the hairs on his back rising. Yulie grabbed onto Ryo. "I'm scared!"

"Cale!" Sage hissed.

There was a flash, and the five of them were in the subarmors.

"Where are they?" Cye wanted to know. It was so dark. They heard clanging. Mia was frightened too, but a thought entered her mind. "There goes my house, again."

Ryo heard that. "Come on, guys!" Using their instincts, they made it to the front door, and outside. White Blaze followed. Once outside, the Ronins and the tiger could see their enemies, standing at least ten feet above them, one on the eastside, one on the west side, and one on the north side. Dynasty soldiers were on the southside.

"This will be your last day alive, Ronins!" Sekhmet laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Ryo retorted. "That's what you always say! Armor of Wildfire! Dao Jin!"

"Armor of Torrent! Dao Shin!"

"Armor of Halo!" Dao Chi!"

"Armor of Strata! Dao Inochi!"

"Armor of Hardrock! Dao Gi!"

Dais rolled his eyes. "Why do we always wait to attack them? We could have nailed them by now!" The other two just shrugged.

Cale attacked Halo, but Sage wanted no part of him. "It's not you I want, Cale!"

"Oh, then who, Halo?"

"That's for me to know, and you to find out!" Clang, strike, punch, kick! "Black Lightning Slash!" "Thunder Bolt Cut!"

Sage's surekill canceled out Cale's. The force of the power hit him with an incredible force. Cale flew high into the air and out of the radius area. Sage went after Dais.

Kento was trying his hardest not to fall prey to Dais' illusions, but that wasn't easy. He had fallen victim a few times already.

"Can't you fight once without your stupid tricks, Dais?" Kento demanded.

"It's more fun for me this way!" Dais laughed.

Kento tried to strike him with his nanjinta, only to discover that it was an illusion. "Man!"

Dais appeared behind him, laughing his head off. Sage sneaked behind him and suddenly grabbed Dais by the hair. Dais froze.

"This is for what you try to do to my brother, and what you did to me!" Sage hissed. He took his sword, and before Dais could move, Sage had cut off half his hair, cutting it very close to his ears.

Kento, Ryo, Rowen, Cye all dropped their mouths open. Even Sekhmet stared in surprise. Dais backed away from a furious Sage.

"You.. you.. you cut my hair!" he screamed at the blond Ronin.

Sage gave him a stone cold look. Dais backed further away. "How could you!" Dais yelled as tears came to his eyes. "It took me a hundred years to grow it this long!"

"Poor baby!" Sage sneered. "Try Rogaine!"

Dais sniffled some tears. "You're so mean!"

"Thank you!"

"Augh!" Dais rushed at Sage. Sage was ready. As the two fought. Rowen, Ryo, and White Blaze took care of the Dynasty soldiers, while Cye and Kento took care of Sekhmet.

The battle was fierce. White Blaze had taken out several soldiers, even managing to grab one of their own weapons, and using it against them. Ryo used his Flare Up Now to wipe out several soldiers. Rowen called his own surekill, taking out more. The two eventually combined their powers. "Flare Up Now!" "Arrow Shock Wave!"

The rest of the soldiers were gone.

"Hm," Rowen said. "We could have turn them into something useful. Like a paper weight."

"Nah," Ryo said. "It would have been corrupted."

Rowen thought about that and nodded. "Yep, you're right."

Sekhmet swatted his swords at Cye who blocked the attack with his Yari. Sekhmet blocked a blow from Hardrock in time to feel a strike from Torrent. He turned around, and glared angrily. "Snake Fang Strike!"

Cye wisely leapt out the way. The surekill canceled out. Kento quickly called for his surekill. "Iron Rock Crusher!"

Sekhmet lost his balance when the ground shook. Before he could get up, he heard, "Super Wave Smasher!" Sekhmet growled and tried to move out of the way.

Too late! Cye's surekill hit him dead on. He flew back several feet where he hit a tree and landed hard on the ground. He quickly teleported away.

"That takes care of him!" Cye said.

Sage had enough of Dais. The stupid Warlord of Illusion apparently had forgotten that Sage couldn't fall prey to his tricks. Oh well, too bad. Time to say good-bye once and for all. "Thunder Bolt Cut!"

Dais screamed out in pain as the lightning hit him. He went flying into the air, crying out in pain. He was eventually gone too.

Sage lowered his sword. "Stupid Dynasty jerk!"

Ryo placed a hand on his shoulder. "I can't believe you did that!"

Sage smiled. "I told you I was going to."

"Yeah, but you said you'd rip out his hair," Rowen stated. Sage just shrugged.

They shed their armors. "Come on, mates," Cye said. "Let's get back."

That was agreeable enough.

Caige was soon in regroup therapy. Sage went with him everyday. Occasionally one or more, or all of the Ronins went along with them. The work was hard, and often Caige had a tempting thought. No, he wasn't going to give up! He was going to do this for his brother and for himself!

He learned everything again. He learned how to walk again, how to use his hands, how to climb stairs, and how to pick things up, and even more.

One day, about three months later to be exact, Rowen, Ryo, Cye, Kento, and Mia were all outside waiting for Sage and Caige. Mia was relaxing. Yulie wasn't there. He had gone over to his grandparents for the weekend.

Cye was floating in the lake, while the other three stood on the deck, and Mia laid on the beach on her blanket.

"I hope they come soon," Kento said.

Rowen raised his eyebrows. "They get home at the same time everyday, Kento."

"I know, man, it's just this has been going on for three months."

"Therapy takes time, Kento," Cye said from the lake.

"Wasn't he already in therapy?" Kento asked.

"Yeah," Rowen said. "But they taught him how to speak again. Sage told me that two months before Caige came to live with us."

Kento just nodded. Cye climbed out of the lake, dripping wet. They heard Mia's jeep, and everyone looked toward the east just as the familiar red and white jeep came up.

White Blaze came from around the back of the house as the four Ronins and Mia walked toward the jeep. Sage was climbing out.

"We've got a surprise for you. Come on, Caige."

The passenger door open, and Caige stepped out. He walked around the other side, joining his brother. Mia, Ryo, Rowen, Cye, Kento, and White Blaze all stared, shocked but not shocked, and definitely happy.

"You can walk!" Kento exclaimed.

Caige laughed and nodded. "Yeah! Been walking for at least a week now. We didn't want to say anything, because we wanted to surprise you."

"Oh, you surprised us alright!" Ryo said with a laugh.

Mia hugged the boy and he hugged her back. "Congratulations!"

"Yeah, congratulations," Rowen echoed, and Kento nodded.

"Arigatou!"

"I say we celebrate!" Cye said.

"I'm in for it!" Kento said.

Cye laughed. "Come on, everybody! I'm going to make homemade pizza and lots of goodies!"

They cheered and went inside.

Later that afternoon after everyone had eaten Caige slipped into his jacket and looked hopefully at his brother. "Sage, wanna go for a run?"

Sage stood up. "You know it." He slipped into his jacket. The two were off out the door. The twins ran down the hill, past the lake, and off into the night. For once both were happy together and free. And that's the way it was suppose to be. Freedom once and for all.