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    "I can't believe this is happening again."  Ryo's tiger blue eyes slid
closed as he sighed and leaned his forehead against the glass.  "We destroyed
Talpa.  We beat the Warlords.  We forged the Inferno together…why can't they
just leave us alone now?" He pounded his fist helplessly against the window
pane.
    He sighed again and turned away from the night shadows growing outside
his bedroom window.  A rumpled bed, an empty bookcase, battered sneakers
lounging haphazardly on the floor, half buried under a dirty tee shirt made
up the room's interior.  A normal boy's room.  A normal boy's room for a not
so normal boy.  He and his friends, Kento, Sai, Sage, and Rowen, they had all
fought together against the dynasty headed by Talpa.  They had charged into
that realm, not knowing what to expect but knowing that whatever they found,
they couldn't let it stop them.
    The final battle had been weeks ago.  But his body and brain still burned
on the inside from the scouring fires of the Inferno.   And he knew the
others were still recovering from that intimate joining of souls and
combining of powers that was necessary to form the white Armor of Inferno.
The joining that was the most painful experience of his young life.
    He could only remember vague flashes of what had happened.  It was like
it hadn't been him doing the fighting.  Like the armor was controlling
itself.  The way it had seared the inside of his head he wouldn't be
surprised if it had been directing the fight itself.
    Sighing, he flung himself onto his half-made bed.  He could still
remember the power surrounding him, flowing into him, melting him and
reshaping the slag into something more.  Each flow had been different; Halo's
cool green, Torrent's swirling blue, Hardrock's crushing orange, and Strata's
heavenly cerulean.  They had all swirled around him, tearing his Wildfire to
pieces and absorbing it.  He shuddered at the remembered feeling of
vulnerability.
    The way they had all combined together to form a white hot wind, like the
heart of the sun, that had swirled up around him and into him.  Strange words
of summoning had formed in his head, he had thought that he screamed out
loud.  Then out of nowhere his subarmor had darkened to solid black and his
arms were seized in a grip of white hot steel.  Gauntlets and forearm guards,
then bracers and spurs.  Each piece seared itself to the subarmor beneath,
the heat seeming to melt his bones.  Blazing white breastplate with its true
blue heart, wrapping itself around his chest almost cutting of his breath and
stilling his heart.  Then the helmet.  That horrible helmet.
    The thing had settled around his head like a stone, like white hot magma,
stealing what little breath he still had.  The thunderous heat had rolled
over, him filling his ears, nose, and mouth, spilling into his brain, burning
pathways meant to hold this new power.  And he had stood there, shining like
a young sun, full to the brim with blazing hot power, ready to strike and
destroy the evil.
    And when he came to, he and his friends had been lying there like rag
dolls.  Limp, near lifeless, and past the point of exhaustion.  It had been a
long fight and nearly cost all their lives.
    Their lives.  Especially theirs.  Not only did I let Talpa take them, but
I took their power, left them defenseless and nearly killed them in the
process!!  He squeezed his eyes shut against the tears that seemed too near
the surface these days.  Now we have to deal with this Saranbo jerk who's
trying to get me to summon the Inferno again. Why?  WHY?!
    Ryo growled in frustration and slammed his fist into the oblivious
mattress.  "Why?"
    Soft laughter drifting up the hallway smoothed over Ryo's rising hackles.
The laughter belonged to Sai; sweet, gentle Sai.  His soft British accent
giving his words a musical lilt.  "Kento!  It's just a video game.  Don't
take it so seriously."
    He smiled slightly.  Sai was the only one who could admonish Kento about
his video games without receiving an ear filling tirade on the vast amounts
of skill and hand-eye coordination required to play the digitized modules.
    Ryo could feel Kento's good natured grumbling about Sai "not
understanding just how hard this is man!"  And he could feel the more than
friendly warmth between them as Sai just rolled his eyes and smiled.
    Closing tiger blue eyes, Ryo turned his focus inward and looked for the
other two bonds tied to his heart and soul.  There was Sage, glowing cool
green and warm gold, practicing out by the lake.  Rowen was in the shower,
shining like the nighttime sky and singing slightly off key.
    Ryo felt each bond separately and together, like a patchwork quilt.  Each
piece was different and unique, but together they formed an inseparable
whole.  That was the one blessing from the Inferno.  It had strengthened all
of their bonds with one another; and now he doubted if he could live without
them or they without each other.  But it was also a curse.
    He had felt their half-formed feelings for each other.  Sage and Rowen.
Kento and Sai.  Ryo and?  Ryo and…his armor.  It was not easy to be privy to
such intimate secrets and not be part of them.  But he had felt them, their
desires, and their growing love for one another. He had felt it even if none
of them had previously acknowledged these emotions out loud.
    The melding required to form the Inferno must have kicked things
completely over the edge because ever since then the two new couples were
spending godsawful amounts of time together.  And it was obvious in little
ways that Ryo hadn't noticed before.  How Sage smiled a little more,
especially at Rowen, and how Sai added extra little touches to Kento's meals
that he didn't put on the others'.  Or even how Rowen was able to tease Sage
more without fear of getting his head torn off.  It was like staring through
a hazy miasma whenever he looked at them.
    It didn't help either that Kento and Sai's relationship had escalated to
the next level.  How many nights had he lain awake listening to them?  The
squeaking mattress and soft moans were easy to ignore, but the pleasured
overtones that ransacked his dreams every night were impossible, making
already torrid dreams sweat drenched visions of what had to be pure sin.  And
Sage and Rowen were just a thumbs breadth away from the same thing.  That was
even worse!  Dealing with their unsated lust for each other.
    He was sure that he wasn't supposed to know what was going on and he
carried on the charade, letting them believe that he remained innocent of the
whole thing.  But he was ready to barge into their room and tie them together
just to get things done and let him get back to sleep!
    Ryo twined slender dark fingers in his tousled hair, half grinning.  They
wouldn't be able to resist each other then.  And the looks on their faces!
Snickering slightly, Ryo rolled off his bed and padded silently out to the
hallway and downstairs into the kitchen where he was greeted by a slightly
peeved Sai.
    "Those two are starting to drive me mad!  I don't know what their problem
is.  They sit and moon over each other day and night, but they're both afraid
to either one make the first move!"  He stamped his foot and glared at Kento
who was wearing a "nothing I can do about it" look.  "Well?"
    "Well what," Ryo asked, half grinning at Sai's start.
    "Oh! Ryo!  I, I didn't even hear you come in." He ran long fingers
through thick auburn hair and sighed gustily.  "I just don't know what to do
with them."
    "Do with who?"
    "Oh, nothing.  I'm more or less talking to myself," Sai replied with a
grin at Kento.
    Kento's formidable eyebrows drew downward in a confused frown.  "Are you
making fun of me?"
    Sai just rolled his eyes and laughed again.  "No silly.  I'm just
commenting on how no matter what I say to you I'd get more of a response out
of a real rock.  Anyway, would you like something to eat Ryo?  I've already
cleared breakfast, but I can make you something."
    "Already cleared breakfast?  What time is it anyway?"
    "It's…eleven thirty right on the nose.  It's about time you woke up
sleepyhead.  I swear, you're becoming as bad as Rowen."
    As if summoned the moment his name was spoken, the blue haired archer
strolled through the kitchen doorway.  "Am I hearing my illustrious name
being taken in vain?"
    Sai shook his head and started washing the dishes, Kento snickered into
his milk glass, and Ryo just smiled and pulled a cereal box out of the
cupboard.  "What?  What's so funny?"
    "Illustrious…sure!  Whatever you say man," Kento snickered.
    "Alright, maybe illustrious was the wrong word.  Hmm, how about…"
    "How about pugnacious?  That word suits you more," Sage's cool voice was
touched with slight amusement as he shut the back door behind himself.
    "Pugnacious?!  I'll give you pugnacious blondie," he returned.  The
bantering continued back and forth for a few moments until Sai's soft voice
interrupted the flow of good natured insults.
    "Oh dear."
    Four heads swung to look at the bearer of Torrent who was looking very
grim.  "What's wrong Sai," Ryo rose from his seat and moved to look out the
window with the other boy.  "Dammit…"
    The other three waited expectantly as Ryo turned to face them.  "It's a
gate to the Dynasty."