Part 3- Captured

Cye woke the next afternoon with Tama still in his arms. He looked at her as he carefully eased out of bed. Tama's eyes jerked open. She sat up with wide eyes and looked at Cye. "Oh, hi," she said softly. Tama wrapped her arms around his body and hugged him. "Cye, did you mean what you said? You love me?"

"Yes. I've always loved you," he whispered into her hair.

"Then I'll be okay," she said nodding. "As long as I have you and Mama, I'll be okay, right?" She looked into his eyes with her own threatening to tear. "Right?"

Cye kissed her and smiled. "Right. But I may have to leave for awhile."

"To find the other Ronins." Tama touched the side of his face and gazed deep into his eyes. "Just promise me you'll come back."

He nodded. "I promise, Ta-chan," he said softly.

There was a light knock on the door, and Yuriko looked into the room. "Turn on the TV," she said lowly. "I'll get Kento."

Cye handed Tama the remote. She turned on the TV and saw a breaking news story.

"This pedestrian's paradise was interrupted today by the appearance

of a boy and his white tiger..."

They both looked at the boy with vivid tiger blue eyes and jet-black hair wearing a blue and white sweater.

Yuriko returned with Kento close behind her. "Cool tiger," Kento said rubbing his eyes. "Yuri-san, who's he?"

"That's Wildfire. The Dynasty is starting to attack and you two have to go to him and then find Strata and Halo," Yuriko said. She looked at Tama, who was gazing at Cye. "I'll be fixing a few sandwiches for you and Kento."

As Yuriko pulled Kento out of the room, Cye looked Tama. "So, I guess I'll be leaving sooner than expected," he said softly.

Tama wrapped her arms around Cye and hid her face his shoulder. "Yeah, it looks like it. You said you'll come back."

"And I meant it."

"You better," she said as she started to cry.

Cye pulled away from her and wiped her tears away. "As soon as all of this is over, and Talpa's defeated, and back where he belongs, I'll come back. I promise." As her eyes started to lower, he smiled sweetly. "Besides, someone has to teach you how to cook."

She looked at him and couldn't help but smile. "I can survive on my cooking," she argued weakly.

"Barely," he smiled standing up. He held out his hand and waited for Tama to take it. "Let's get something to eat before Kento eats it all."

*****

Ten minutes later, Cye and Kento stood in their sub-armors. Cye looked at Tama and kissed her deeply. When he pulled away, he saw tears in her eyes again. "Don't cry Ta-chan. Remember, we have cooking lessons planed," he said hugging her.

"You promised," she whispered. Tama turned to Kento and hugged him also. "Make sure you and Cye come back, okay?" she whispered into his ear.

Kento nodded and gave Tama a goofy smile. "Hey, with Kento of Hardrock around, this Talpa dude doesn't stand a chance."

"Just be careful boys," Yuriko said.

"Hai, Yuriko-sama," Both boys said in unison. They turned and started to run down the street. Kento looked at Cye and smirked. "So, Cye, you and Ta-chan are going out now?"

"Yes," Cye said as he started to blush. "What of it?"

Kento shrugged. "Just wanted to know. That was some kiss ya know." Kento's smirk turned into a grin as Cye blushed even more. "Did she slip you the tongue?"

"Kento!" Cye gasped as he turned bright red.

*****

Yuriko and Tama stood until both were out of sight. Yuriko looked at Tama before she walked back into the house. She sighed as she sat in the living room. She knew Tama had a lot of questions about the Dynasty and her father. Yuriko just hoped there would be enough time to answer them all.

Tama continued to watch the street Cye and Kento ran down. A small voice told her to ask about her father. She frowned. Her father was a really good man, and her mother didn't want to trap him into marriage just because of her.... Or at least that was what she was told. In reality, or whatever was left of it, Tama's father was a Warlord. A master of a number of slaves. How "good" does that make him.... and more importantly, why would her mother lie to her?

She walked into the living room and saw her mother. "Did you love my father?" she asked harshly.

"If I didn't, would I have lied to you?"

"You said you were his slave. And that his boss was a monster. How could you love someone like that?"

"Tama, there is good in your father. It's just buried deep inside of him. So deep he can't even see it."

"And you could?" she asked mockingly.

"Yes, I could."

The back door crashed open. Both Tama and Yuriko jumped up to face the intruder. Their faces paled when a large dark bag was thrown to their feet.

"He was a better fighter than I expected. He had the markings of your fighting style, am I correct Yuriko?" Sekhmet said looking at his former lover. His eyes drifted to the young girl with long green hair and vivid golden eyes.

Yuriko saw his eyes go to Tama and stepped in front of her. "If you let her go, I'll do whatever you want."

Tama knelt down and opened the bag. She frowned when she was what appeared to be wet hair. She grabbed a hold of it and pulled it out of the bag. Tama screamed as she stared into Ryuichi's dead face. She quickly dropped the head and dashed to the door. Her eyes narrowed as she saw two soldiers appear in front of her. "Mama, I take it, these are friends of yours?"

Sekhmet advanced on Yuriko. Make sure she doesn't go anywhere," he ordered the soldiers.

"Yes Lord Sekhmet," one soldier said grabbing Tama by her shoulders.

"No, please. Anything but her. Master Sekhmet, I'm begging you. Please don't take our daughter," Yuriko pleaded.

Tama looked at the man who had backed her mother to a wall. "He's my father?" she whispered.

Sekhmet looked at Tama and then Yuriko. "You ran away to keep her from me," he said lowly.

"I wanted her to get away from Talpa's evil." Yuriko looked into his eyes and pleaded. "I swear, I will do anything for you. Just don't take her."

Sekhmet ran his hand through her hair and looked into her eyes. "It would be nice to have you in my bed again," he said softly.

Tama felt tears come to her eyes as she saw Sekhmet kiss her mother. "Mama," Tama said. She saw one of Sekhmet's hands withdraw a sword from his armor. "Mama," she panicked trying to pull away from the soldier who held her.

Yuriko's eyes widened when she felt the cold metal of Sekhmet's sword enter her heart. She fell to her knees as her life left her quickly.

"No!" Tama screamed as Yuriko's blood spread across the floor. Tama pulled away from the soldier holding her. She turned with her sword in her hands. Without thinking, Tama slashed the two soldiers. She didn't wait for their soulless bodies to fall before attacking Sekhmet.

He looked at her slightly amused. "Let's see how good you are," he said blocking her blows with his own sword. Sekhmet continued to block her attacks as he saw her anger and rage take hold of her. "I see your mother has taught you well." Sekhmet dodged a thrust and grabbed Tama by the back of her neck. In one fluid motion, he stepped to the side and slammed her face first into the wall. He caught her with one arm and saw the trail of blood running down her unconscious face. "But not well enough," he said before teleporting back to Talpa's lair.

*****

She felt something cold and wet on her forehead. As she tried opening her eyes, she started to hear voices. "Where am I?" she said lowly.

"Hey, she's awake," a girl's voice said. She smiled as she looked at Tama with emerald green eyes. "Hello Sleeping Beauty. You've been out of it for a while."

"That was some knock you got there Sleeping Beauty," another girl with bright pink hair said standing behind the green eyed girl.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Tama asked sitting up.

"Because it would be rude to just refer to you as that girl and hey you," another girl said.

Tama looked for the last girl, but couldn't see her. "Thank you for being so polite. But my name's Ogawa Tama."

The girl with pink hair smiled brightly. "It's nice to meet you Tama. I'm Shinguchi Chiyo, but you can call me Chi. This bossy little red head's Douji Anya. And our Mistress of the Dark is Son Kyoko."

A sigh came from the shadows. "I was looking for anything that could get us out of here," Kyoko said walking into the light. She had long dark hair that matched her dark eyes. Tama wanted to say they were blue, but she wasn't sure.

"Where is here?" Tama asked.

"From what I gather, a dungeon of some sort," Anya said.

Kyoko looked at a dark spot and took a deep breath. "They might end up splitting us up. I heard some of the guards talking and they keep calling us the Warlord's girls."

"Have you heard anything concrete?" Anya asked.

Kyoko shook her head. "No."

Tama slowly stood and stretched her hand out. "Where's the door?" Tama asked. When Kyoko pointed to the door, Tama's eyes locked onto it.

"What are you going to do?" Chi asked.

"Hopefully, break down that door and get some answers." Tama closed her eyes and concentrated.

Anya's eyes widened as Tama's kitana appeared in her hands. "Will you be able to do it?"

"I said hopefully." Tama concentrated and felt the sword vibrate slightly. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. The sword was glowing in a deep green light. She pulled the sword up and swung it at a diagonal angle, releasing the light. Tama smiled as the door exploded. "Having freak powers can be a good thing," she said mostly to herself.

"How did you do that?" Chi asked stunned.

Four soldiers ran into the room and looked at the four girls. "How did you get a sword?" one of the guards asked.

"It came with the outfit," Tama said smartly. She charged the four guards and easily cut them all down. She looked at the door and saw a tail man wearing a dark armor and surcoat. "Great, now what?"

"Quake with Fear!" Anubis called out. He threw his kasura gama into the dungeon and smiled evilly.

Tama, Chi, and Kyoko were all caught in the Warlord's attack. Anya barely dodged the chains that started to fill the room. She quickly picked up Tama's sword and tried to attack Anubis with it. She gasped as he wrapped his entire hand around her throat and picked her up.

"You're a spirited one aren't you?" he asked looking into her eyes.

"Let me go!" she shouted kicking him in his head. Anya's eyes widened when Anubis slammed her to the floor. She saw his helmet on the ground next to her and looked into his face. Her eyes turned wide with shock as looked into his face, which was almost a mirror of her own.

Tama closed her eyes and felt her entire body tingle. Just as she felt the chains around her break, Tama fell back on a hard stone floor. She looked around and saw no one. "Kyoko? Chi?" she called out. She stood and sighed. "Where am I?" she yelled out.

"No where, everywhere, here. It really doesn't matter," another girl's voice teased. She appeared in front of Tama wearing a black kimono with red trimmings. "Why would you want to know?"

"Because I want to know how to get out of here."

The girl laughed in her face. "You're very foolish if you think you can escape from my father."

"Who are you?" Tama asked carefully.

"I'm called Nariko," she answered. "And I'm the only friend you have here. So forget about escape." With that, Nariko disappeared in a flurry of sakura petals.

Tama closed her eyes as she sank to her knees. "Maybe I should stop thinking for a while," she thought as she passed out.

*****

When Tama woke up, she looked around and smiled. She was in her own bedroom. "Was it all a dream?" she asked sitting up.

Cye turned from the window and smiled at her. "You're awake. You know, you really scared me there."

Tama climbed out of her bed and hugged Cye. "Oh Cye. Does this mean it's over?" she asked looking into his eyes.

"It's all over. Talpa was destroyed, and I found you in his dungeon. You've been out of it ever since."

"How long has it been?"

"Almost four months." He ran his hand through her hair before leading her to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

She smiled touching his face. "I'm fine now," she whispered. Tama kissed Cye deeply and wrapped her arms around his neck. She let Cye lay her on her back and climb on top of her. "I love you so much," she said into his mouth.

"And I, you," he whispered as he started to kiss her neck.

She frowned as he started to unbutton her shirt. "Cye, what are you doing?" He kissed her with startling intensity. She tried to push him off of her, but failed.

Tama felt her shirt open completely. Her mind was thrown into her utter confusion and horror. She knew what was happening to her, but why would Cye do something like that. Cye was always kind and gentle, and way too shy to try to do this.

"Tezuka! What did I tell you?" Nariko hissed. She appeared next to "Cye" and grabbed the young man by the back of his neck. As she threw him across the room, his illusion fell.

Tama sat up and saw that she was still in Talpa's dungeon. AWhy can't this just be over," she thought as she closed her blouse.

"I will deal with you later. Go and wait for me in my chamber," Nariko ordered. She glared at Tezuka as he disappeared. She looked at Tama and sat next to her. "Are you okay?"

"I thought he was really Cye," she whispered. Tama looked at Nariko and really saw her.

Nariko was sixteen, maybe a little older. She had thick wavy white hair that fell down to her waist, and vivid red eyes that almost scared Tama.

"Who's Cye?" Nariko asked.

"He's my boyfriend," Tama answered.

"Where is he? I'll try to have him brought to you."

Tama shook her head. "He's off fighting Talpa."

Nariko’s eyes widened slightly. "Your boyfriend's one of the Ronin Warriors?"

"Yes. He's Torrent."

Nariko then sighed. "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do," she said softly. "All I know is that the Ronins are fighting Talpa right now."

Tama started to rock back and forth. "He... he said I've been out for about four months.... Is that right?"

Nariko looked at her and nodded. "I would guess that."

There was a loud rumble in Talpa's lair. Nariko looked at Tama and sighed. "The battle's ending. I have to go into hiding for a while. You have Dynasty blood in you. All you have to do is concentrate on what you want, the magic can take care of the rest."

A large stone fell from the ceiling. Nariko pushed Tama out of the way. Tama's cry of pain alarmed Nariko. She ran over to Tama and saw her holding a large cut on her leg. Nariko's hand glowed as she touched Tama's forehead. Nariko gasped when she saw the kanji Piety glowing under green bangs. "Go to Cye," she said lowly.

Tama disappeared in a bright green light, and reappeared barely conscious in a large park. "Thank you Nariko," she whispered just before passing out.