This…this is very different. Self-discretion is advised if strong language or situations disturb you. More will come at the end. Standard disclaimer on all my works applies.

c. 6/27/98

And I’d give up forever to touch you

‘Cause I know that you feel me some how.

You’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be,

And I don’t wanna go home right now.

Goo goo dolls, "Iris"

Iris

Chapter 1

There was an incessant "thud" at the front door. Mia and Ryo broke apart from the impassioned kiss they had been sharing.

"Hold that pose," Mia said to Ryo who was sprawled half-clothed on the couch. She hastily adjusted her blouse. "I’ll be right back," she said with a seductive little smile and ran for the door.

Ryo was more than willing to remain just where he was. Six months ago, he never would have let Mia go anywhere out of his sight in the daytime, let alone at night. But now Talpa had been destroyed. The world was back to normal, well as normal as life could get with five teenage guys on the cusp of adulthood, an 8 year-old, one incredibly busy doctor slash teacher, the ex-warlord turned monk turned teacher she was in love with, and of course the incredibly good looking and desirable, in his own opinion, land-lady all living in the same house. Oh, and add to that a huge white tiger and two equally huge dogs. 'Yes,’ Ryo thought as he stretched, ‘life is good.’ And then he heard Mia’s scream.

Ryo made a mad dash for the door and was greeted with a sight he hoped he’d never see again after the Ancient had brought Anubis to their front door months ago. Standing in the doorway were the other three ex-warlords. But what made the image burn in Ryo’s mind was the condition of the girl that Cale held in his arms. Mia swung the door open and the stoic crew stumbled in.

"Mia, where’s Raine?" Sekhmet asked.

"I believe she and Anubis have already turned in for the night. They’ve been to bed early every night since they returned from their honeymoon," Mia replied.

"What can we do for you?" Ryo asked.

"I’ve got a girl dying in my arms here, Wildfire! What do you think we need?!" Cale all but attacked Ryo. The only thing that prevented him was said girl in his arms.

"Come on, you can lay her down in what used to be Anubis’ room. I’ll wake the newlyweds. Ryo you go find Sage and the others. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long night," Mia said as she showed the warlords to the upstairs bedroom.

***

"Can you tell me what happened?" Rhiannon asked as she examined her patient. Neither she nor Anubis had bothered to dress; they both wore robes over their nightclothes. But Rhiannon’s hair was pulled up into its customary bun.

"I don’t know," Cale replied from the chair he had parked himself in. "One minute we were sparing, the next she was lying on the ground moaning. We weren’t even working that hard so I don’t think our sparing has anything to do with it." Once again, he buried his head in his hands. Sekhmet stood silently behind him, a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Dais paced the floor. Anubis hovered over his wife. Mia and the Ronins waited outside the door.

Rhiannon looked up from her patient and her eyes locked with those of her husband.

*Whatever you have to do* she heard.

Rhiannon laid her hands across the girl’s chest. She shut her eyes and felt the power flow through her blood. A light blue healing aura surrounded her. From Anubis’ viewpoint, everything seemed to be fine. Then something changed. The aura disappeared. Rhiannon screamed and fell to the ground. Anubis ran to catch her. Onyx and Opal burst through the door howling. The Ronins were not far behind. Dais stopped pacing. Cale nearly lost his mind. Sekhmet had to restrain him to prevent him from injuring anyone. The girl bolted upright on the bed and a voice that could not have come from any human, let alone a woman of her size, emanated from her mouth.

"You will fail in your quest, Warlord of Darkness," the voice said. "Can’t you see that it is already too late for this one? And soon he will have the entire Netherrealm under his control. Nothing can stop my master, not even the pathetic Ronin Warriors who somehow managed to defeat that miserable excuse for a ruler, Talpa," the voice continued. The girl’s head turned to where the Ronins stood in the doorway, her sightless eyes glaring at them. "The Goddess will fail as well," the voice said, then stopped. Convulsions wracked the girl’s body. A scream in her own voice was heard. Her body collapsed back to the bed and a black haze floated from it. Cale was at her side immediately. The haze dissipated and it was over.

"What the hell just happened?" Ryo said, attempting to assess the situation. The dogs had stopped howling, but they were still growling. The girl has stopped convulsing; she lay still on the bed. Cale was sobbing openly, his large and battle scared hand cradling the girl’s own smaller, fragile one. Dais and Sekhmet exchanged glances above Cale’s head. Anubis helped Rhiannon to her feet. He quickly examined her for injuries. Their eyes locked briefly and she returned to her patient.

"Seiji!" she cried urgently.

Sage rushed to her side. All in the room knew that things were serious if Rhiannon was using Sage’s formal name.

Cale’s head snapped up and his gaze locked with Rhiannon’s, his unasked questions plainly visible on his face.

"The demon has left her body, but he has also left her closer to death than she was before. I need Sage’s help to try and stabilize her. She’s pretty far gone, we might not succeed."

Fresh tears welled up in Cale’s eyes. He swallowed and nodded for her to continue.

Rhiannon nodded in return. Without a word or another look, she extended a hand to Sage. Sage took it and she immediately felt power surge through her body. Sage braced himself for the pull the power would put on his body. The two of them had done this enough during the war that both knew exactly how to react.

Rhiannon laid her free hand across the girl’s forehead and closed her eyes. She began to chant in a language older than anyone in the room. Anubis’ monk instincts took over and he added his voice to the gradually growing hum in the room. Sage felt the pull of a magick older than time itself and he could not prevent himself from joining it. Onyx and Opal sensed the power in the room ad began to howl in tribute to the Goddess who was pushing her powers to the brink to save a young girl’s life. The others in the room watched in awe as three of the strongest members of their team struggled to undo what an unknown demon had done.

Rhiannon stopped suddenly; here eyes flew wide open. The eyes of the girl on the bed opened as well. Cale’s expression turned from one of grief to joy as their eyes met. He bit back a moan as her eyes slid closed again. Rhiannon’s eyes rolled up into her head before she simply passed out. Anubis had her in his arms before she hit the ground. Wordlessly, he scooped her up and carried her into their bedroom. All eyes in the room, save Cale’s, were focused on Sage. Even the fogs were staring at him.

"What the hell just went on?" Rowen asked.

"Something very strange," Sage replied.

"Well, I think we knew that already," Ryo remarked sarcastically.

"Ryo, calm down," Mia soothed.

"Perhaps we should go someplace else, to another room?" Dais offered, glancing at Cale who by now had stopped sobbing, but was hiccuping in a very unmanly manner.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Cale," Sekhmet began, Cale did not look up, "we’ll be down the hall." Sekhmet did not receive a response. He looked at the others. By mutual consent, they filed out of the room, leaving Cale alone with the girl.

***

"Sage, will you please tell us what is going on!" Ryo yelled as soon as they had all been seated around the dining room table.

"I don’t really know," he sighed. "I saw so many strange things and I don’t know how to interpret them."

"Well, why don’t you start talking and we can all put our heads together and try and figure out what it all means," Sai said as he returned with drinks from the kitchen.

"Good idea, Sai, now how about a snack?"

"Kento! You just ate!"

"Yeah, but that was before the warlords arrived. When something unusual happens, I get hungry."

"You’re always hungry! You can wait till later," Sai said as he sat down.

Ryo motioned for Sage to begin.

He closed his eyes and pondered how he should go about telling the others of the chilling visions he saw.

***

Oh, personal remark I need to add. Some of you might have read/ heard some where (ystml) that I do not like Kayura, or Mia/Nasuti. That is true. Then, you might ask, why does she have Mia with Ryo? Why does she have Mia in any of her fics for that matter? This Mia is my Mia. This Kayura is my Kayura. I have made some "personality adjustments" so to speak to fit them into my stories. Things just worked out that way. Just had to clear some things up. Thanks again!

Toodles all!