.... Thanks to Kestra and the usual others that helped me...

"A New Beginning"

By Toma-chan

Chapter Four - Thoughts

Shin sat near the window of Nasti's den and stared out at the rain falling outside. It seemed to be mirroring the depressing mood they had all taken after Touma had mysteriously vanished. All they knew was that he had apparently resisted the force briefly that Nasti said had taken him over, for the pain had lasted for a couple of minutes before they could even think that it was Touma in trouble- it had seemed like all of them were in jeopardy...He sighed. He had felt it the most, with his strong mental powers, of which he wasn't exactly sure of what he could do. He tried sensing for Touma, like he had done many times before this morning, like the other Troopers tried to do too, but it was always the same for him- Touma was alive but not anywhere he could sense...

He heard his best friend rise to his feet and turned to look at Shu. "Any luck?", Shu gruffly asked, his eyes still holding a glint of hope. Hope that was quickly dashed as Shin shook his head.

"He's not anywhere I can sense...", Shin quietly said, and turned to look out the window. "All I know is that he isn't dead." He heard Shu leave the room, and sensed him going to the kitchen. A little smile quirked his face before he cleared his mind to search again. He cast his thoughts about, as he had done when he had become aware of the psychic stirrings in Africa between his friends and Mukara. He had found out about his mental powers when the block placed on him by Kaosu had been taken away. So he had known the truth about their armors when he had first seen the African fighting his friends, about the armors' will to just fight. Shin had felt the suffering caused by the split of the yoroi soul-link, so he had learned to teleport just by thinking.

This time, he felt a little feeling of terror now, so he rose to his feet. He followed it to Touma's room, where on the bed, there was a presence. He reached out towards it, and fell limply to the floor as it overwhelmed him.

When he was aware of things again, he was in a temple. A young girl with blonde hair was praying to the gods, wishing for peace, when her vigil was disrupted by a man in red robes. "Otou-san!!" she screamed. He looked angry as he came towards her.

"Daughter", and he said this with contempt. "How can you be so naive? I gave you life and your powers, and this is how you repay me?" He drew his sword, and as Shin watched with horror, raised it above her head. "You must die for disobeying me!"

Shin ran forward, to try and stop him, but he passed right through the man and the girl. He turned and looked away as the girl met her death without a sound. Shin knew he was dreaming and tried to wake up, but he couldn't. He just stared at the girl's body as the man left without looking back. Then the girl's body stood up, and it was whole, no deathwounds. She walked towards him, even as he fell to his knees.

"I am sorry you had to see that," she said softly. "And I am gratified you tried to do something. But this is the past, and nothing can be done to change it."

"Who are you?" Shin asked.

"I am called "Rei", as you can not pronouce my real name. I am trying to find a way to stop my father, an evil mage who is trying to take over the world." Tears started to fall as she said, "I tried to tell your friend, but my father followed my spirit to him. You see, my father needed a person with strong magical capabilities, and the battle on the tower was a way for him to test all of your powers. I tried to help, first with Shu, then I found Touma's powers were what my father was looking for..." She put her face in her hands. "I tried to help him defeat the demon, but all I did was allow my father to take over!"

The scene changed, and Shin found himself in Touma's room now. He saw a red aura envelop Touma as he was sleeping. Then Touma had started to mutter in his sleep, which changed to talking, then he screamed that went on for a minute. It stopped abruptly, and the figure in the bed rose. It was Touma, but Shin could not sense Touma's spirit anywhere. Nasti appeared in the room, and was tied up. Then Touma vanished, as did the room, and now it was all grey, except for him and Rei. She was still crying. "I am sorry!" She wailed. "I only wanted his help, not to attract the mage!" She raised her head, still crying softly. "I will help you all I can, for I can aid you in finding out what you can do with your powers. I can also tell you where I think my father may have taken Touma."

* * * *

When Shu came back to the den, Shin was gone. He sat in the same place Shin sat, by the window. He heard Ryo and Seiji come in, so he turned and saw that they had both spent the night worrying. Seiji's hair was messed up(for once), and both had circles under their eyes. "Where's Shin?" Ryo tiredly asked.

Shu shrugged. "He was in here when I left to go get something to eat. Then when I came back..." A shrill scream interrupted them. They ran to where Nasti was about to faint. Ryo caught her as they entered Touma's room to find Shin lying on his back, eyes open. "No, not again!" Shu shouted, and tried to rouse his friend.

After some moments, Shin blinked his eyes, and looked at them. "What is it?"

"Oh man, don't ever scare us like that again!" Shu said as he hugged Shin. There was a thump as Seiji turned white as a sheet and fainted.

* * * *

Later, after Seiji had revived and he and Ryo slept for a while, they returned to Nasti's den. The rain had stopped falling, and the sun was peeking out of the clouds. Nasti turned on her computer, and the words that Seiji and Nasti had seen flashed again, but they stayed on longer this time and in modern words. They stared at the screen as it read "The key to the truth can be found in the past..."

"What does that mean?" Ryo asked, baffled. The armors appeared on the screen, and the ancient text had notes written to each of them. "I wrote those," Nasti stated. "I managed to translate alot of it, but there are still sections I don't understand."

Shin was watching her when a familiar voice said softly in his mind, 'I have to talk to them, but I can only do it through you because of your powers. Will you consent?' He agreed, and felt kind of shunted over to one side as his voice stated, "I can read it."

The others, hearing a feminine quality to his voice, whirled around to face him. "What?" Shu blurted. "Sh..Shin?" "You may call me 'Rei', as my real name is unpronouncable to you. I am using Shin's body with his consent as a way to talk to you and help you." She turned towards Seiji. "You should have told them what Touma told you." He nodded, and said, "Yes, I realize that now, but I was a little preoccupied at the time."

"Yes, I also realize now as well that none of you are experienced with your powers. Shin has a little more experience, as you learned in Africa." She held up a hand to stall Ryo, who had opened his mouth to speak. "I watched Touma's dreams, so I know what happened to all of you. Anyway, when you found him before, he was talking to me. I had asked Touma for his help, and I had shown him what to do in the battle. The demon was sent by my father, which was the presence you sensed when you healed him. I had only meant to ask his help, not get him taken over. I am sorry, if it hadn't been for me, my father would not have chosen him..." A tear slid down Shin's cheek. Using Shin's hand to wipe it away, she went on resolutely. "I can help you, however. What it says on the screen is that the armors you received from Suzanagi have no powers, unlike your previous yoroi. You have the powers." Everyone gasped. "It also says that the way to beat my father and rescue Touma is to look in the past, and find a record of where he might be. In fact, I remember seeing a blue-haired young man that looked just like Touma in my youth, but that was so long ago..." Shin's eyes grew distant before she shook his head. "I think I know where, though, but it has changed so much..." Rei turned towards Ryo. "I will need your time-traveling abilities, and Shin..." Shin's face took on a blank look.

Inside his mind, he was facing Rei again. "I will need your help the most. You can sense for my father's aura with my help. We will have to search by the places where the aura is the most powerful." Her face became caring. "I know you do not like to be what you are. I felt the same way when I learned what my father intended for me to do. I refused, and died for it. But I know you have a choice and can use your powers for good. But you must use it at least this time to find Touma."

He nodded immediately, and his gaze locked on Ryo again. "Shin? Is that you...or her?" Ryo asked, uncertainly.

"It's me," Shin replied. "She is inside here though," pointing to his head. "We have to search all the places where we encountered the mage's presence."

* * * *

A young man woke up, but he had no idea who he was at first, just that he was lying in a patch of straw. He remembered a person in red robes that threw power at him that he tried to shield against. Then redness invaded his mind, and everything had gone black...Then it all came back to him, and Touma groaned. He tried to put a hand to his head, but something cold held it back. He glanced around, noticing the brick walls and the door with a tiny slot in it. He looked down at himself to see the same jeans and dark blue shirt he'd been wearing the day before, but chains were on his wrists and ankles. There was a cloth in his mouth, and his sight was still slightly blurry. Touma tried to contact someone, any one of the other Troopers, but there seemed to be a clamp on his mind. It was also keeping him from doing anything with his magical powers. He tried to think of a way to get out of there, and after a while, fell asleep.

A grating sound emerged in his sleep, and he opened his eyes to see a young girl with blonde hair and violet kimono push out a block. She saw him and crawled over by him. For some reason, she looked familiar to him. Then, 'Gods, it's Rei!' he realized. She reached out a small hand and touched his hair. "I've never seen hair this color before," she said wonderingly. "Such a pretty blue!" She took the gag out of his mouth. "Why are you here? Did you do something bad?"

He gasped the air, for the cloth had tasted terrible. "No, I haven't done anything wrong. I'm here against my will, because the mage brought me to this place. He means to take over the world."

"You mean my father?" the girl was shocked. "He wouldn't do that!" Touma was shocked as well, for this was something the older Rei he had met hadn't told him. So as not to disturb her anymore, he said, "my name's Touma. What is yours?"

"Reirako - my father gave it to me. I think it's pretty, don't you?" He could only nod, for she obviously didn't know it meant 'girl of destruction'. She raised her head. "I had better go - he's coming. He doesn't want me to come down here so I don't wreck my dress, at least that's what he says." She shrugged and turned to go.

"Wait, put the cloth back in my mouth." She looked at him, bewildered. "So your father doesn't think you were down here." She nodded, and put it back. She crept back towards the block and went behind it just as the door opened. It revealed the mage in a red kimono. "Such ignorant help these days, eh Touma?" Touma started when the mage said his name. "Yes, I know just about everything about you and your pathetic friends." Now Touma was glaring at him with hatred and anger in his eyes.

"Oh don't look at me like that," the mage sneered. "You wouldn't be using these powers if it weren't for me." He sent a bolt of magic that struck Touma in the foot. He yelped through the cloth, and glared again at the mage. The mage took off the gag as Touma panted for breath.

"Why are you doing this?" Touma whispered painfully.

The mage smiled wickedly. "Well, there is a spell that I must complete that will ensure my domination over this world, and I need someone gifted with magical powers to become a channel for my link to another world. I would have used my daughter, since she has powers, but since you're here, I don't need her anymore. I will have to construct the wards that will keep me safe, so tonight we can begin. I had better warn you - it will be extremely painful for you."

Without another word, he left. The block moved out again, and the girl was crying. "I thought he loved me!" She looked at him. "You were right, he is going to take over the world."

Touma nodded sorrowfully. "Yes, I realized that when you said your name. It means 'destruction'. I have to get out of here, and warn my friends. Can you help me?"

She shook her head. "Not now, he's too close. He'll sense my powers." Rei's eyes narrowed. "He's going to take a nap in about two hours to prepare himself for tonight. I'll come back then." She walked towards the opening in the wall and pulled back the block.

* * * *

Shin shook his head as the memory wore off. He raised his head wearily to see Nasti and the other Troopers staring at him concerned. "We have to move - Touma's going to be killed tonight."

......to be continued......