Disclaimer: I think you can guess.
Note: This story takes place about one year after Talpa's defeat. Due to instances of graphic violence, language, and sexual innuendos, I'm rating it PG13, so don't say I didn't warn ya.

Sage woke early in the morning to hear strangled cries and moaning, yanking him from a deep sleep into battle-ready mode. He jumped out of bed and scanned the dimly-lit bedroom for signs of trouble, but all he found was Rowen thrashing around in his bed, occasionally crying out in pain. Sage rushed over to his side and tried to restrain him.

"Rowen, it's okay! Snap out of it! You're having a nightmare!" said Sage, trying to pin his arms down at his sides and wake him up at the same time.

"No, stop!" Rowen whimpered deliriously, struggling against Sage's grip. "No!"

If he kept going on that way, Sage feared the whole house was likely to wake up and come running. He kept trying to cure him of the nightmare, but it was no use. Knowing he'd regret it later, he resorted to smacking his friend across the cheek. It worked, and with a cry Rowen bolted upright in bed, his hand to his cheek. Sage was standing over him, and the two made eye contact only briefly before Rowen darted out of bed and ran to the bathroom, where he promptly emptied his guts into the porcelain bowl.

He leaned back and sat with his back slumped against the bathroom wall, fighting back the evil dreams he'd had and the memories they had conjured. His body felt overwhelmingly hot and tired, and he felt no compulsion to move any time soon. Sage peered in the door, his brow creased with worry.

"Rowen? You okay? Should I wake Mia?"

Rowen rolled his head back and forth along the wall to signal a negative answer, and Sage took it as both a good sign and a bad one. He walked into the room further, leaning against the counter, and cringed slightly at the contents of the toilet. He watched his friend closely, who just sat there with a blank, sleepy look on his face.

"I don't suppose you feel like talking. Is there anything I can do?"

"No, I don't think there is. Just leave me alone for awhile, 'kay?" Rowen looked at Sage hopefully.

Sage tried not to look hurt, even though he felt a bit unwanted. He had spent the last two weeks worried sick for Rowen and thinking that he needed him, but now that he was back it was like he didn't want to be in the same room as anyone else. Forcing a weak, reassuring smile, he said, "Yeah, sure, Ro. I'll be downstairs if you need anything, 'kay?"

"Okay," Rowen said before Sage closed the door. Once he was alone, he reached over with a groan and flushed the toilet, glad to be rid of the stench. He raised himself to his feet and turned the shower on to let the water heat up. Stripping his clothes off and depositing them in a pile near the door, he surveyed the numerous scars and bruises still marring his flesh and looked at himself in the mirror. The place where a stake of wood from the porch had impaled him when he'd first been captured two weeks ago was the most obvious of his injuries. It was an angry red color and covered a good portion of his abdomen, but it didn't really hurt. He traced his fingers over pink slashes and weakened places in his skeletal structure, recalling nearly every blow that had put them there. He could almost feel the sting of Syria's whip across his tender, unprotected flesh or the forceful punches delivered by Lapin from time to time.

He leaned heavily on the counter, feeling sick to his stomach again, and found himself looking into the reflective surface at a pair of silvery eyes he was certain he'd never seen before. They were a deep, stormy blue color with streaks of sparkling silver swirling in them, creating a deep, mystical pair of pools that were filled with mystery and pain. They looked sad and weary to him, like they had seen one too many battles and hadn't come out the victor nearly enough. He felt like he was losing himself in them, and never would have recovered if the sudden crash had never sounded and brought him back to himself.

He stood erect suddenly, looking for the source of the crash, but it had only been a bottle of shampoo falling off the rack in the shower. He stepped into the shower, sliding the glass door shut behind him and returning the bottle to its proper place. He let the steamy, hot water rain down on his cool skin and warm it, grateful for the relaxing patter of a thousand drops of water striking his body. It numbed his senses and soothed his frazzled nerve endings until he momentarily forgot everything else.

But it didn't last.

Soon the thoughts returned to him, slowly at first and then with increasing vigor. He found one he didn't mind terribly and focused on it to drown out the others, drawing up the image of the quirky young blond who'd suddenly entered his life. She seemed nice enough, and she was definitely attractive, but something about Randi threw him off. Yesterday, in the dream world where she'd saved his life, and again back at the house and under the moonlight after she'd followed him outside, he had noticed what seemed like an inability to keep his distance from her. Ever since he'd gotten back, he had managed to keep a safe distance from everyone around him. Yet somehow she had gotten past that and been able to reach him like no one else. What was that? And what had he caught Alex whispering to her? Something about them being soulmates? He didn't think it was possible, but he still felt this odd...connection, something that surpassed what he felt with any of the others, Sage included.

He quickly finished up his shower, dried himself off and wrapped a towel around his waist. After a half-assed job cleaning up the bathroom and gathering up his dirty clothes, he exited and turned to return to his room, almost running over a tall, athletic blond dressed in baggy red flannel pajamas in the process.

"Sorry, uh..." he muttered in apology.

"Amy. Don't worry about it," she blushed slightly, stealing a once-over of his mostly-exposed physique as she smiled and went on her way down the hall. After he had retreated to his bedroom, she exhaled heavily and mumbled to herself, "Remind me to thank Randi for that! Talk about a hottie..."

As she went downstairs to see about getting some breakfast, she reflected, "Those were some pretty bad injuries, though. I wonder what could've happened to him to get all those scars and stuff... Maybe I'll ask Randi if she knows later."

Within the next half hour, everyone in the house was stirring, and many were already dressed and wondering what was on the order for the day. Most of them ended up congregating in the living room, where Chris, Adriano, Samantha, and Maria were busy watching the morning cartoons of Japan, completely ignoring the fact that none of them knew even five words of Japanese. With them in the room, talking in several small groups, were Mia, Ryo, Sage, Dais, Kayura, Cale, Sekhmet, Amy, and Manda. A short while later, Cye and Kento came into the room with Yuli trailing behind, all bearing crestfallen looks of disappointment.

"Did you find anything?" Ryo asked, not liking their expressions.

"Nope," Yuli reported, "Cye said Kento ate everything and now we're all going to starve to death."

"Hey!" Kento protested indignantly. Cye laughed nervously and narrowly dodged a swat on the arm.

"Hey, stop fighting, you two!" Mia ordered, even though she knew it was useless.

"What's going on?" Manda asked inquisitively. She despised being left out of things.

"We had an emergency stash of junk food upstairs in the closet that we were counting on to tide everyone over until we can get some breakfast, but it looks like Hurricane Kento got to it first," Ryo explained as Cye and Kento wrestled like little boys in the hallway.

"So what are we going to do instead? I'm starving," said Cale, frowning at his grumbling stomach.

"Why not go into the city and have breakfast somewhere nice?" Mia suggested optimistically. Everyone listening seemed to like the idea. So, after rounding everyone up, separating Kento and Cye, and figuring out how to pile twenty people into four vehicles - Mia's jeep, Kento's van, an old, junky Dodge Caravelle, and Ryo's somewhat beat-up vintage Mustang - they set out for Tokyo to find a place to fill their stomachs and relax for awhile.

Randi and her friends looked at the bustling city all around them with wide-eyed wonder as they drove through the busy streets of Tokyo. None of them had ever been to Japan, except for Tai, who'd been there only once - as an infant, on her way to America after being adopted from Korea - so the bold signs written in Japanese characters, the markets full of people, and the legions of businesspeople on their way to work in the giant skyscrapers were all a bit breathtaking for them.

Mia and Ryo were discussing the best place to go eat from the front of Mia's jeep at the head of their four-car parade, and Randi only half-listened from the backseat as she watched the cityscape through her window. She glanced over at Adriano, who was doing the same on his side of the car, and smiled. She was sad to have dragged all of her friends so far against their will, but she was happy to have them there, too.

"Why don't we just go to Denny's?" Mia sugested after a long list of other places she or Ryo had rejected.

"You have one here?" Adriano interrupted, surprised.

"Sure. They have them all over Japan. They're really popular with teenagers, but I think there should be enough room for all of us now since it's a school day and all," Mia explained.

"Sounds good to me," Ryo said. "What do you guys say?"

"Sounds good," Randi responded. Adriano agreed, so they headed for the nearest one, knowing that everyone else would follow them and they could see if anyone had any objections once there.

As it turned out, no one did, and they were soon seated in the restaurant and waiting for the waitress to come take their orders. The whole troop took up three booths and two conjoined tables total, accumulating almost half of the non-smoking section, and other parties nearby kept stealing glances at the gigantic, somewhat noisy group of youths.

Randi sat in a booth next to Tai and across from Manda and Rhianne, studying her menu as she sang 'My Own Worst Enemy' under her breath.

"Ri, can you understand anything on these?" Rhianne asked exasperatedly, holding out the Japanese menu in her hands.

"Most of it. What do you want to know?" Randi replied nonchalantly, listening politely as Rhianne and the others told her what they wanted and she tried to locate something similar on the menu.

In another booth, Amy was relaying her run-in with Rowen to Maria and Sam as Adriano listened disinterestedly, and at the last booth, Chris was interviewing Kayura, Cale and Sekhmet on their Dynasty-related pasts. The last group at the two tables they had pushed together were mainly discussing what they were going to do that day. After awhile, Mia came up with the perfect suggestion.

"Why don't we all spend a day in the city and have some fun? None of the kids have ever seen Tokyo before, and they'll need to get a few changes of clothes and basic supplies to last them their stay here. We can go shopping for awhile, do some sight-seeing, maybe see a movie or something. Besides, I'm sure we could all use the break."

"That sounds like a great idea, Mia," Ryo smiled.

"Yeah, sounds fun," Cye added.

"Yeah!" chimed Yuli.

The idea was presented to everyone else, and before they'd even recieved their food, the matter was settled. They would split into several groups and head out for the mall. The plan was to meet at Kento's parents' restaurant for dinner around six and then they'd all head back together.

Eventually, everyone figured out their menus, placed their orders, and enjoyed an overall good meal. By the time they left, Chris seemed to have made friends with Cale and Sekhmet, everyone was in a pretty good mood, and they were all up for a day of fun and relaxation.

Tai's eyes were wide and sparkling as she surveyed her surroundings appreciatively. There were stores of all sorts and sizes rising up for three stories in any direction and stretching a considerable ways down the long, wide corridor where she now stood with Randi, Mia, Ryo, and most of their friends. Tai couldn't decide which way to go first. She was a natural-born shopper, and just the sights she could see from where she was made her feel anxious with anticipation.

"It's no Mall of America," Randi said admiringly beside her, "but I think I like our options. Where to first?"

"Wherever you want to go," Mia said. "We can split up into smaller groups if you all prefer. What does everyone want to see while we're here?"

"Everything!" Randi grinned giddily. She loved shopping just as much as Tai, if not more, and she couldn't believe Mia had said they would be able to buy just about anything they wanted. They had stopped at the bank on their way, and Mia had pulled out enough money to give each of the new Ronins and the former Dark Warlords about 30,000 yen, or approximately $275 American money, plus a little bit for the other Ronins to spend as well. Mia figured that should be plenty for each of them to get a few changes of clothes and anything they really needed or wanted while they were here. Plus, she figured, they could always come back for anything else they forgot, so the 30,000 didn't have to be a final number. It was just a lucky thing she had inherited so much money from her deceased parents and late grandfather, or she may not have been able to do things like this.

"Everything? How about getting some clothes?" Tai suggested.

"And food!" Kento and Manda both said, getting cries of approval from multiple others.

"I just want to find a place to kick it for awhile and maybe meet some girls," Adriano grinned.

"I hear that!" Chris grinned, high-fiving his pal.

"Well, how should we do this?" Cye asked patiently.

"Why don't we just split up, go see what we want to see, and all meet back here later?" said Ryo.

"Okay, who's going with who?" Kayura asked.

"I'm going with Randi!" Maria exclaimed immediately. According to them, so were Tai and Sam. Rhianne agreed to go with them because Tai and Randi were, Manda did because she couldn't pass up a chance to publicly humiliate her friends, Amy said she would stay with Chris and Adriano, and Chris and Adriano got dragged with by the others. Mia and Ryo decided they should tag along with them so the nine of them wouldn't get totally lost in an unfamiliar city with the dangers that existed for all of them.

After that, they simply decided it made just as much sense to just stick together for now and split up as occasion called for rather than have one huge group and however many smaller ones they ended up with.

So, after a couple hours, Randi found herself with a mess of items in a couple big bags at her sides and sitting down at a bench to figure out how much she'd already spent. She had gotten several outfits for fairly reasonable prices already as well as some essentials - light make-up for daily wear, deodorant, a toothbrush, hairbrush, and the like - and with that out of the way she couldn't help getting a few impulse items - a couple volumes of Marmalade Boy she hadn't been able to get a hold of in America, some accesories for her outfits, new stud earings for her thrice-pierced ears, some cool tennis shoes that she'd never seen the likes of at home, some delicious chocolate that Tai said she thought even rivaled Godiva's, her favorite, and a few books, CDs, and magazines she'd fallen for. Also, most importantly, she had bought a blank, leather-bound journal with a silver Celtic knot design on the front and a sketch diary along with two sets of colored pens and pencils.

She had almost 7,500 yen still, to her utter shock, and was just pondering what more she should get when Tai spotted her and plunked down on the bench next to her.

"Hola!" she smiled. "What's up?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering what you were up to."

"Admiring the spoils of my latest raid."

"Ah, fun!" Tai smiled.

"How about you? Gotten a lot?"

"Yeah, I guess. I bought some super-cute clothes. You wouldn't believe it, but they actually carry my size in these stores!"

"That's because you're Oriental and we're in Japan, dummy. The clothes here are made for people more your size."

"Yeah, I guess," Tai shrugged. Tai set her bags at her feet and sat back on the bench.

An innocent moment of silence between the two lengthened and soon became an uncomfortable tension. Randi looked off in the distance, having the feeling she knew what was coming one way or another. Tai's expression changed only slightly, like when a taste gets old and becomes bad in your mouth. Her dark eyes flashed briefly, and she forced herself to say what was on her mind.

"Randi..." Randi looked at her. "What's really going on here, anyway?"

Randi sighed slightly. That was the question of the hour, wasn't it? She hesitated a little, making a futile gesture of defeat and frustration. "I...I don't really know." She shook her head slightly, looking down at her lap. "My visions have been so scattered these last months, especially these last weeks, but all of a sudden it's beginning to come together. The armors, the war and the evil, Rowen... I've seen them all so many times I almost thought it was another dream when I first got here, but I know it's all real. I..." She stopped and sighed softly, trying to make her thoughts come together into coherent statements. "I can't explain it, but whatever happens, I know my coming here was no accident. My visions, however vague, have been clear about one thing: I am meant to save Rowen during this war. I'm sorry I dragged you guys into this too, but it seemed like you would've been in more danger if I left you there with no clue of the dangers, and I couldn't let anything happen to you."

"It's okay. I'm just glad you're alright," Tai said sincerely. With a mock glare she said, "You had me scared stupid, you jerk! Getting so sick and then just disappearing like that? You're lucky I don't-"

"What? Kick my ass?" Randi laughed and joked lightly at her friend's expense, knowing Tai would never try to fight Randi. Growing up with her older brother and his hordes of older friends, Randi seemed to have been born with the ability to fight and fight well, and only one or two of their friends had the guts to fight her, even though Randi never meant to hurt any of her friends while they were sparring.

"So anyway," Tai said after a few seconds, changing the subject, "what are we going to do now that we're here?"

Randi exhaled deeply and looked ahead as if seeing something Tai didn't. "Well... I guess we just try to survive and get home. I stayed up while the others had this talk about just that last night. It was really weird and I know I was missing a few things, but from what I gathered they think we'll get ourselves hurt if we try to use our armors to help. However, they also admitted that they can't keep an eye on us while they battle, so we'll most likely have to be involved. I don't know about you guys, but I personally am not going to sit on the sidelines and watch. I know this is right. This was meant to happen. We're going to help them win this war, whether they like it or not."

Tai nodded silently, not really knowing what to say to that. She wasn't really the fighting type, but she'd do what she had to to get by.

"Tai..." Randi whispered, almost hesitantly. The dark-haired girl looked up at her, and she said, "There's something else. Something that happened last night. I don't really know if I should be telling you this, but you know I hate keeping secrets."

"What is it?" Tai asked, preparing for something bad.

"Well...after that dream I had, I couldn't get back to sleep, so I went to the bathroom. And through the window I saw something, so I went out to see what it was. It was Rowen, and we ended up talking outside for awhile. We saw Sage and that horse, Legacy, going into the woods, so we followed them, and we ended up all talking with the ghost of Rowen's older brother, Alex."

"Wha'?" Tai asked her doubtfully, trying to make sure she'd heard right. "Are you feeling okay?"

Randi shot her an irritated look. "Of course I'm okay. Are you honestly going to tell me after all we've been through lately that you can't believe that ghosts are real?"

Tai didn't answer her, so Randi continued.

"The thing is, Alex used to be one of the Ronin Warriors himself. In fact, he had the Armor of Strata, the same one that Rowen and I have now. But he worked for Talpa, the bad guy who's doing all this."

"What?!" Tai exclaimed.

"I know! He was forced into it when he was just a kid. Some lady who worked for Talpa killed their sister and was going to kill Rowen, so Alex agreed to work for him. But he was never actually evil. When Talpa was about to invade this world a couple years ago, Alex tried to stop him. He ended up dying, but Talpa had to wait to try to invade again, and Alex made sure Rowen got to be the next Warrior of Strata.

"He started telling us about all this stuff, about what Talpa's really up to and what's been happening to Rowen - oh, it's really freaky, Tai. From what I've gathered, Rowen was imprisoned in the Dynasty, Talpa's lair, for like two weeks. And they did something to his armor, they changed it and made him, like, really, really powerful. Apparently if Rowen learns to control his powers, he might be able to defeat Talpa himself."

"Awesome! Are you sure?"

"Not totally, but that's what they were saying. I hope they're right. This guy seems pretty powerful..."

They were quiet for awhile longer, neither one saying anything, until Randi spoke again.

"Tai... Whatever happens, you know I love you guys, right?"

Tai nodded. "I know. Don't worry, nothing's going to happen."

"I wish I knew that for sure..."

Tai sat contemplatively for awhile, thinking about her friend and what the future might hold for them. Remembering something, she smiled excitedly and exclaimed, "Ooh! You know what, I saw a clothing store with really cool, not very expensive stuff over there! Wanna go check it out?"

"Sure, why not?" Randi hopped up, gathered her stuff, all of which was piled into two big, bulky bags, and went off in the direction Tai had motioned. "Oh, and after that, there's this cute jewelry place I saw not too far away."

"Cool, let's go," said Tai, walking beside her friend.

Catelyn walked among the 'normal' people leading their 'normal' lives in the busy place they called a mall, wandering aimlessly and hoping to blend in for awhile. She was even wearing some fairly common clothes she had gotten from a girl in an alley that morning. After leaving the Dynasty, she had wandered around the city all night and into that morning, only stopping briefly to enjoy a light meal she stole from an elderly couple's house. Eventually, she had been drawn to this place, thinking it would be a good place to lose herself without fearing an attack from her fellow Warlords - or anyone else, for that matter.

She hadn't walked among her fellow man for years beyond her clearest memory, and it was stirring up some interesting emotions. She couldn't remember a time when she'd been both as doubtful and as certain as she was now that her path with Talpa was the correct one. As she observed the everyday behaviors and patterns of the common people, she found their happiness and naivete to be as intoxicatingly blissful as it was disgustingly pitiful. She felt more than ever that they were lowly insects who needed to be squashed under Talpa's steel boot. And yet, deep down, a stirring of longing and envy was unsettling her, tugging at the corners of her mind in a way she didn't like at all.

Her mind was suddenly shaken from its line of thought when she brushed up against a blond American teenager crossing paths with hers. The girl didn't look up at Catelyn because she was preoccupied with her conversation with the small Korean teen next to her. Catelyn cocked her head to one side and stared after them curiously. Furrowing her brow, she said, "Hello, little warriors. I remember you, blond one. You were the one who shot me." She closed her fist tight around the white bandages covering the wound in her palm. "Where are you off to? To see Strata, perhaps? Why thank you, I would love to let you lead me right to him."

Maintaining a safe distance, Cat let herself blend into the crowd as she followed the two girls, watching them and waiting for a sign of the Ronin Warriors. Where there were some, there would be more.

Notes From the Psycho Herself

I've gotten some submissions for my ficart page. To see what's there, you can go to http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/stonekeep/965/ficart_star/ficart.html Remember, I'm still taking more ficart from anyone who wants to give me some, so feel free to submit anything you've got. Contact me if you'd like to know what characters I'm looking for the most right now or ways to get your ficart to me if you do not have access to a scanner.

Yeah, yeah. I made you wait forever, I know. Sorry, couldn't be helped. But I'll make up for it. How, you ask? Just check it out. The next two chapters of 'Star' are already here and waiting for you to read them! Aww, thanks. I know I'm the best. ^_^

Aleksa ~~~<~~@