Rise of Morning Star

Part II

By Akuma-chan

"Y'know, it's kind of strange that we haven't seen more of the Dynasty soldiers," Ryo said, frowning.

"They've probably got some deal with the demons," Sage said, shrugging.

"Actually, the Dynasty soldiers were our warning to you," Kayura's voice said suddenly. She appeared before them, indistinct and wraith-like. They stared, wide-eyed. "I hadn't yet managed to master this technique."

"W-warning?" Rowen asked, trying to gather up his scattered wits.

"The demons are after anyone who can stop them. All over the world," Kayura explained. "They're attacking all the ancient Heros. Here, it's just you five and this Morning Star. There aren't any others anymore."

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Sage asked. Kayura's image shrugged.

"What Morning Star said was fairly accurate, as far as it goes. I don't know too much about the demons. They come from someplace else, not here. People call the creatures of the Netherworld demons, but they're not, really. And the four of us here can't help you at all. There's no way we can return right now--the Gates are sealed. It would take more power than we've got to open them. Besides, we have to keep a tight rein on things."

"Well, be careful," Ryo warned. "Watch your backs."

"You, two, Ryo," Kayura's wraith said, and vanished.

"Well, that was interesting," Sai said.

"Some warning," Kento snorted. "An attack force."

"C'mon, Kento, you know those things are too dumb to do anything but fight! Kinda like you!" Sai teased. Kento glared.

"Shut up, Sai! Shut up before I pound you!"

"Just try it!" Sai said, standing. He and Kento faced off and sparred half-heartedly. Sai grinned, and Kento glared at him.

"Not in the house, you two!" Miya cried. They stopped.

"Sorry, Miya," Sai apologized.

"Clowns," Sage muttered, rolling his eyes.

Rowen lay awake, staring at the ceiling. For once, he couldn't sleep. His thoughts were whirling around in his head. He sighed and rolled over.

{I don't understand all this. Why are these demons attacking us--attacking the world? What do they want?} He frowned. {Who is Morning Star? She seems vaguely familiar, and yet . . . } He concentrated, trying to remember her face. {Shit! What's happening to my concentration? I can't remember what she looks like! Barely even what her armor looks like.}

Rowen gave up trying to sleep and rose. He glanced over at Sage, to see his friend sleeping like a baby. He rolled his eyes as he threw on a housecoat. {Even Sage is fast asleep. Why am I stuck awake? I bet even Ryo's asleep.} He made a face and slipped out of the room.

White Blaze yawned and padded out of Ryo's room. "Hey, boy," Rowen greeted softly. The great white tiger padded over and nuzzled his hand gently. Rowen continued down the stairs as White Blaze went to check on Yuli, who was staying the weekend.

Rowen made some tea and went to sit in the dark dining room. He sighed and rested his chin on his arms.

"You look confused, Rowen of Strata," Morning Star's voice said softly. Rowen glanced up sharply, and Morning Star emerged from the shadows. She gracefully took a seat next to Rowen and poured herself some tea.

"I thought you only appeared when there was a demon around," Rowen said.

"Watch your back when you go out to get the paper in the morning," Morning Star replied. "There's a blue hanging around out there, but it's not ready to fight, and it's shrugging off insults like the rain." Only then did Rowen notice Morning Star's hair was wet and plastered to her face and neck.

"Why's it here, then? Do you know?" Rowen asked, more out of a desire to talk than for the answers.

"I think it's looking for something. I'll be ready when it finds it."

"We will, too," Rowen promised. Morning Star smiled.

"That's nice to know," she said. She paused for a moment before adding, "When I came in, you looked like you were thinking about something."

"About a lot of stuff, actually," Rowen confessed. He frowned. "My concentration's been kind of off since the first time I met you," he said suddenly. "I've been having trouble remembering some of the simplest things--like groceries, and somebody's name."

"It might have something to do with me," Morning Star said, smiling impishly. "How flattering!" Rowen blushed suddenly. Morning Star laughed and touched his hand. "Actually, it's this," she explained, touching the crystal at her neck. "It sort of encourages people not to remember what I look like. I think it's been blocking my memory of who I am, too. It might be dangerous, you see, if I knew, or if others knew. Especially demons."

"Ah," Rowen said, and fell silent. {I don't think it's entirely that crystal,} he decided, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. Morning Star sipped her tea.

A triumphant bellow shattered the still quiet. Upstairs, there were screams and shouts, and then the guys poured down the stairs, clad in their lower armor. Rowen summoned up his own.

"It found what it was looking for," Morning Star said grimly.

The demon was small, even for a blue. It topped Kento's height by only a foot. It was also definitely wary of them all. It clutched a small golden idol to its chest and glared malevolently at them.

"What's that it's got?" Ryo asked.

"Who knows?" Kento replied.

"Something it feels is important," Morning Star said at the same moment. "You know, Blackie, you've got the worst taste in home decor! That thing is so ugly it turns my stomach worse than your face!" The others winced. The demon snarled, but remained where it was, out of reach and ready to run. Morning Star looked surprised.

"I don't get it! I thought you said these things can't stand to be insulted!" Sage protested.

"The idol's apparently more important to it than a fight!" Morning Star replied. "If its master wants it so badly it can compel a blue demon to forgo a fight, we can't let it get away!"

The blue demon raised the idol, and the crescent moon struck it. The gem-encrusted idol was incredibly gaudy, as most of these things tend to be, and it bore a passing resemblance to its bearer. This was all anyone had time to notice as the ground beneath their feet shuddered and spat out a few shambling, moaning zombies.

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" Sai cried, clapping his hand over his mouth.

"That smell will turn your stomach!" Sage agreed, looking disgusted.

"Oh, the poor things!" Morning Star sympathized. The looks she received were the best disbelieving stares possible. The zombies shambled forward to attack, though not very well.

"Ew! Gross!" Kento cried, striking out convulsively. His staff cut the zombie in half, and it fell to the ground, moaning and shuddering.

"By the Rays of the Moon and the Power of the Goddess, I command ye--return to thy rest!" Morning Star said in a soft, yet resonant voice. The zombies obeyed with what sounded like grateful moans. The others turned to see Morning Star clad now in flowing white robes that were vaguely Grecian in style, with several silver bangles on her wrists, simple white sandals that laced to her knees beneath the side-slit skirt, and a silver circlet with a crescent moon at the center of her forehead.

The demon moved quickly, striking Morning Star on the side of the head with the idol. "Morning Star!" Rowen cried, alarmed, as the girl let out a muffled yelp and fell to the ground. The demon fled with incredible speed.

"Ow," Morning Star moaned, rubbing the side of her face as she sat up. "What was that all about?"

"You're the resident expert on demons, remember?" Sage pointed out. Morning Star made a very silly face at him. He couldn't keep from laughing, and she smirked.

"I'd better track it down," she said, standing. As she vanished into the shadows, Rowen thought he saw the robes disappear, to be replaced with her armor.

"Uh, why don't we all go back inside and pretend this never happened?" Ryo suggested, shaking his head.

"Yeah," Sai agreed, still a little green around the edges. "Let's."

Rowen yawned suddenly. "Maybe I'll actually be able to sleep," he mumbled.

"You, Rowen? Having trouble sleeping?" Sage teased. "Aren't you feeling well?" Rowen rolled his eyes and went back inside. The others followed.

Morning Star raced across muddy, treacherous ground through blinding rain. Ahead, the shape of a blue demon fled from her. Morning Star slipped, recovered, and kept going.

{Thank the Goddess for boots!} she thought. {I wish the Ronins were here to help. Fighting a demon alone in the rain isn't my idea of a good time.} She laughed softly. {Though why I think it would be more enjoyable with company . . . }

The rain slackened and stopped. So did the demon. It stood before a small, dark temple, clutching the golden idol to its chest. It entered.

Morning Star shivered. {Not the most inviting place,} she thought. {Well, no help for it. Even if it is a Demon Temple, I have to go in.} She went up the stairs one step at a time, every sense alert. The door slid back silently under her hand, and she went in.

"Ohhhhhh!" she moaned, falling to her knees. { . . . so dizzy!} The dizziness eased, and Morning Star pushed herself to her feet. She stumbled down the corridor, one hand lightly on the wall. She came to a junction.

{Which way?} she wondered.

The sound of demonic chanting drifted to her ears. Her eyes widened. {Oh, shit! If that's what I think it is . . . } She started to run, seeking the source of the chanting.

{If that's what I think it is . . . } She found it. Twenty black demons attacked, while their blue counterparts tightened the circle and chanted to the golden idol on the altar. Morning Star summoned forth her shield and mace. She flung herself into battle with a vengeance. { . . . I have to stop it!} Her mace struck flesh, and brilliant silver-blue light flared. The demons fought back, and the light was nearly extinguished.

Morning Star screamed in defiance and anger. The chanting continued.

"Hey guys . . . come take a look at this," Sage said slowly, staring out the window. Kento groaned.

"Not more stupid lightning!" he moaned. Sai smacked him and went to see what Sage was looking at. He frowned, staring at the pyrotechnics out in the forest.

"That sure doesn't look like lightning," he said. "And it's stopped raining, anyway, hasn't it?"

"What's up?" Ryo asked, coming over to the window, as well. He frowned, much like Sai. "Really weird."

"Ya know," Kento said, his curiosity finally getting the better of him. "We haven't seen Morning Star for almost two weeks now."

"That is the kind of thing it seems like she'd go in for," Ryo agreed. He stepped back decisively. "Sai, go get Miya. Kento, you get Yuli. Sage and I will drag Rowen away from his books. Meet us out front. We've got to take care of . . . whatever it is."

"Right," the others agreed, nodding. Sai headed for the study, Kento the kitchen, and Ryo and Sage the attic.

"Yo, Ro, something's up," Ryo said. Rowen made an absent sound and slouched lower in his battered bean-bag chair, raising his book ever so slightly. Sage glanced at the tittle and frowned.

"'Black Holes, Dwarf Stars and . . . ' what?"

"'The Missing Mass'," Rowen quoted glancing up briefly. A second later, he looked up again, a frown furrowing his brow. "What's up?"

"Weird display out in the woods--real serious battle, we think. And we haven't seen Morning Star in two weeks, as Kento pointed out," Ryo explained.

"Let's go, then!" Rowen said, dropping the book. He pushed past his friends and almost ran for the front door. Sage and Ryo exchanged a long look.

"He is after her," Sage said.

"Looks like it," Ryo agreed. There was a moment of silence, and then he cleared his throat. "We'd better get going."

"Yeah," Sage said. The pair followed in Rowen's wake.

Morning Star was blown out the Demon Temple's wall. Most of the wall vanished as she did so. The Ronin Warriors, with Yuli and Miya safe with White Blaze, arrived just in time to see her bounce across the turf a few times. Rowen gasped in horror and raced to her side.

"Morning Star!? Are you all right!?" he asked, pulling her gently into his arms. Morning Star moaned softly and pried her glorious aqua eyes open.

"Rowen . . . " she gasped. She raised a trembling hand to grasp his shoulder. "You must . . . you must stop them! Even if it costs your life! They'll . . . destroy everything!"

"Shh, shh, Morning Star, everything will be--"

"No!" Morning Star found the strength to sit up. She clung to Rowen to keep herself their. "You don't understand! It's--it's pure evil! The idol--if they awaken it--!" She groaned and collapsed, barely breathing.

"Morning Star!" Rowen cried, his eyes very wide. He bowed his head for a moment, then rose. When he raised his head, his face was set and coldly furious. He turned to his friends. "Let's go," he said, his voice a dangerous purr.

Ryo nodded. "We won't fail her!" he promised. {I've never seen him this angry . . . I hope he won't let it affect his judgement.}

Rowen launched a positive blizzard of arrows, each of them finding a target. The black demons went wild and attacked each other. "There," Rowen said. "That takes care of them."

"But not them," Sai pointed out, indicating the blue demons that were chanting.

"My turn," Kento said, grinning. He raised his staff. "Iron . . . Rock . . . Crusher! Yah!" He slammed the staff to the ground.

The force of the Iron Rock Crusher slammed head-on into some sort of shield. They were blown off their feet, and the remaining black demons were knocked unconscious. Miya and Yuli screamed as a tree toppled towards them, but White Blaze leapt forward and saved them.

"You were saying?" Sai said to Kento. Kento glared.

"How was I supposed to know that would happen!?" he demanded.

"Guys, fight them first!" Sage yelled, pointing at the blue demons. They had stopped chanting and were now charging. Sai ducked just in the nick of time, and Kento parried and struck out.

The others were faring better, having paid more attention to business. Ryo managed to slice open the throat of one demon, and it gasped and died, writhing on the ground. Two others stopped to eat it. Ryo flinched and turned away.

Sage parried and sliced and maimed more demons. They, like the black demons, started to attack each other. Rowen took out two more during the fray, each with an arrow straight through the brain.

"Look! The idol!" Sai shouted. The handful of remaining blue demons moaned and fled in a small knot, disappearing past the terrified Miya and Yuli. They all turned to stare at the idol.

Dark lightning flashed around the idol, and a murky, oozing fog started to spring up around it. Above, the stormclouds darkened even further. The dark fog completely obscured the idol.

When it faded, the idol was a twelve-foot Demon.

"Oh, shit," Ryo breathed, eyes incredibly wide.

"Y-you said it!" Sai agreed fervently, taking a step back. His grip tightened on his spear.

The Demon opened its eyes. They flashed ruby-brilliant. Then, it started to laugh.

"Attack!" Ryo cried, starting forward.

"Ryo! The Inferno Armor!" Rowen yelled. The Demon turned its hideous gaze on Ryo, and he suddenly decided not to argue. His friends sent him their power, and Black Blaze leapt forward with the Soul Swords. Ryo drew them.

"Rage . . . of . . . Inferno!" he yelled, maxing the power out. The Demon was consumed in blazing fire. Ryo stepped back, panting from the effort.

The Demon laughed. "Puny insect! I am a creature born in the raging flames of Hell! Do you truly think fire will hurt me?" It then proceeded to soundly trounce them all with barely an effort.

Across the clearing, unnoticed by all, Morning Star's hand twitched.

A break appeared in the clouds, and brilliant moonlight, bright as day, washed across the girl's still form. Her armor started to glow.

Ryo groaned and tried to push himself to his feet. It didn't work; he collapsed again before he was halfway up. He groaned again and let his head fall back against the tree. Tears hovered at his lashes. {I'm sorry, Morning Star . . . we've failed you . . . }

"Ryo!" Miya screamed, racing to his side. "Ryo, please, wake up!" Her voice was shrill, and the whites in her eyes showed.

"The game is mine!" the Demon gloated.

"Think again, Ysdrasin." Morning Star stood, awash in moonlight. Ryo gasped and opened his eyes. Morning Star kept her eyes firmly on the Demon. "I know who and what you are, and you will not win!"

"Pitiful excuse for a girl! You cannot defeat me!"

"It was my ancestress who bound you as a simple statue. It was a mistake for her not to melt you down while she had the chance," Morning Star said grimly. "I won't make that mistake!"

"Shining Star was weak! Too weak! It was my minions who tore her to shreds, and it is they who will rend the flesh from your bones and leave them to bleach in the sun."

"Oh, so graphic," Morning Star drawled, an impish smile coming to her lips. She raised her hand to the sky. "Oh Goddess of the Moon, strengthen me and lend me Your power!" The moonlight suddenly became quite solid, and Morning Star's mace and shield appeared, glowing brilliant silver-blue.

"Now you die!" the Demon snarled, attacking. Morning Star dodged.

At first they thought it was a trick of the shadows. After a few seconds, they realized Morning Star really was growing--even as she dodged the Demon's blows. She stopped at twelve feet tall and smiled at the Demon.

"You cannot defeat me, Ysdrasin. I will not let this world fall before your evil." Morning Star struck out with lightning speed, and her mace became a morning star, the chain a beam of light. The Demon howled in pain as it bit deeply into his flesh. "Begone, oh Demon, and return no more to this world!"

"Never!" the Demon hissed. It struck out, and its claws showered not sparks, but lightning bolts on the surface of Morning Star's shield. Morning Star struck again.

"Begone, oh Ysdrasin, and return no more to this world!"

"NO!!!!!" the Demon howled, its voice causing destruction of the nearby treetops. It fought furiously, desperately, and Morning Star parried. She raised her morning star higher than she yet had. When she spoke, her voice echoed to the heavens.

"Begone, oh Ysdrasin, and return no more to this WORLD!!" They watched as Morning Star's weapon came down. The light spread, swirling around girl and demon, wildly ruffling her hair. The spiked ball bit deeply into the Demon's side. The Demon howled, and the light grew too bright to look at. The howl faded into nothingness, echoing for seeming eternity.

Morning Star's laughter sounded. "Looks like I win, Ysdrasin."

The light faded, and Morning Star was her normal size again. She opened her eyes to smile directly at the Ronin Warriors, now gathered around Ryo and Miya. Then, she pitched forward, and her armor vanished.

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