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Here's some of the past posts and stories from 2010.

They were created by the following authors:

Shadowsage
Dani Hyrosha
trisana_wolfrider
Damagedude

Chapter Two: Language

Dannin had been looking at the books with armors on them when Askao mentions the tea is on the house. She smiles, having set her own bag near the door after comming inside, and walks to a table near the window.

"Hmm," she says, "Rosemarry sounds like a good idea. (I dunno about tea in real life, I don't drink it.)"

She sits, looking at her new friend, "I saw the books, and even if I can't read all the words, I saw the drawings on the spine. I wonder where they found those pictures."

"From what I've heard, the writer creates the pictures. Thing is, nobody knows who the author is, and the name "Kage" is genderless."

(I know a lot, and that is a kind of tea ^_^ )

She scooped some... stuff... into a ceramic teapot and added water.

Five minutes later, the tea was made, and Asako served them.

"What do you know about them, they are certainly interesting, ne? things like mystical armors sound lile little more than a myth to me."

Dannin thanks Asako for the tea, taking a sip before answering.

"Oh, you'd be supprised what it real tha people don't believe in anymore," she says, "there was a time when warriors and magic armor were a reaility, and the Clan ruled most of Japan. I know a bit, since I hail from one of the Clans, but only from our point of view. There are a lot of gaps in my knowledege of such things."

She falls quiet for a moment, holding the tea cup still in her hands. Her mind think back to her own childhood. She had promised the other Ronins no to reveal the armors, not yet anyway. Too many things had happened all ready.

"I know others who come from different Clans," she says, "but we stay low these days."

Asako snorted.

"I can see why. Most people thing anything less than ordinary is, well, enough for the loonybin. It seems like a lot of hocus-pocus to me. I *wish* magic was real... but it hasn't been for long enough for it to be legends. You really know of it being real?"

She seemed very interested.... too interested?

Dannin raises an eyebrow, but feeling good to talk to somone other than the five who had taken her in, she figures some can't hurt.

"Yah, a long time ago," she says, "a really long time ago. I hail from the Wildcats, the Hyrosha were the only surviviors of our Clan. Each Clan has is own ability, it's own magic I guess you could say. Science could probably explain it now, but back then is was all magic."

"So there really is magic? Like what?"

She took a sip of her tea, silver-grey eyes almost seeming to gleam in the soft light let in through the bonsai out fromt and the overheads.

Dannin thinks before speaking, not sure what to say.

"Lesse," she says, "elemental mostly, some with nature and animals, all stuff you really wouldn't notice unless you looked."

"Sounds a lot like the stuff the Kage person writes about in her series. Tell me about the clans? it actually sounds interesting."

Dannin tries not to smile. Her face looks for a moment like a child asked to recite something important, but that face fades when a memory comes to mind that shatters her child-like peace.

"I'm not sure I'm the one to tell you," she says, "you see, the Clan I hail from was wipped out long ago. My sister, my brother, and I were the only ones left. I don't know what happened to my sister, I think she died a long time ago, and my brother's death was only recently. They would have been the ones to tell you."
***

Cantonese. A language he should not have known, but did. Batrias, after all, was thousands of years old and had learned just about everything there was to learn about history. Most of the stuff he knew was stuff he forgot. Languages, however, found a way to stay. He had counted off fifty before he threw up his hands and decided that he knew a whole lot. But he had never been in China. He could cast his mind back, let his life pass before him in one long procession (this took hours by itself) and he could write down every place he had been. But China? Never. Nor did he remember learning the language anywhere else. He wasn't sure it was even taught anywhere else. Strangely enough, he had opened the book in the university library, saw the symbols and knew what they meant. This might have disturbed him, had he not been in the middle of a search for another text like the first one.

After being snickered at by students who thought he was a homeless man or, worse, a crazy guy who had managed to stay under the radar, he found what he was looking for. A book written in English described ancient Egyptian hieroglypics, worthy of note because the characters had never been deciphered. The Rosetta Stone had allowed linguists to unlock the mysteries of Egypt; Batrias knew because he had been a part of the team that found it, under one of his many identities. He had never even heard of characters in ancient Egyptian which no one knew about. The archaelogical world had apparently dismissed it as being unimportant.

Batrias noticed there were three symbols.

The Inferno Armor, the Soul Swords of Fervor, and the Jewel of Life, he thought. He, of course, had no way to confirm it.

Batrias tried to think what ancient Egypt and ancient China had in common. He had been to Egypt often enough. Desert, he thought at once. A language made of symbols. Perhaps that was the clue. If the biblical story of Babylon were true, then, logically, the Egyptians and the Chinese had the same ancestors, deep into history. A sudden thought came to him: Did those people, the Sumerians maybe, have anything to do with the netherworld?

If they did, he thought, the activities would have happened somewhere between 4000 and 2000 B.C. He could recall an incident during that time, when he was still learning about the powers of his armor. Something about the clans. The details were slippery- they would not be grasped.

He tried deductive reasoning instead. He knew that the Black Inferno Armor's home was in a place called Tanzania, Africa. He didn't know if that was the White Inferno's home, if that armor had one. The Ancient One had undoubtedly done something to the white armor to make it available only if five of the nine original armors united together.

Talpa, he thought, he was the origin of the armors. He tried to remember what the origin of Talpa was. No answer came to him. The most troubling thing about it all was that he had only speculation. Nor would his armor give him the answer. Then, it occured to him. An answer so obvious he should have thought of it from the first.

He still had friends, and these...Rowen.

Of course.

***

Rowen's mind could not quite cope with the fact that his armor was trying to tell him something. Teaching ancient history in Tokyo had distracted his mind from everything he had done with the Armor of Strata, fighting the netherworld and its master, Talpa. Now, the pricklling in the back of his mind, as if static electricity had gently made itself a home in his brainstem, made him pull the blue orb out of its pocket. The kanji on it, representing Wisdom* made him remember. It also made him think that the netherworld, while defeated, had never really been destroyed. The thought of fighting the large, green soldiers again poured frustration into his heart as if from a waterfall into a ravine. He had to fight again. He knew it, and there was no getting around it.

As he pedaled his bicycle through away from his apartment, he wondered where Ryo and the rest of his friends were. He wondered also about the wanderer through time, Batrias, the man through whom all time, (literally, he thought) was connected. If battle were to come, he would surely meet one or the other or all them eventually.

The thought did not please him.

***

Rowen isn't the only one effected by the armor's call. But by now, Ryo is used to it. With two armor bearers in his house, there is always something going on. Ryo walks down the sidewalk of Tokyo. He had moved here just after meeting Dannin, so the pair had a two-bedroom apartment with really only one rule. He (or she) that steps in the other bedroom may not walk out again. Whiteblaze made sure of that. The gian tiger even now is home, asleep, waiting for the two warriors to come home.

Ryo runs his hands through his unkept black hair. He had come out here to find some books to read, but nothing seemed to catch his interest. Now he is looking for some history books, to help Dannin change in this new time.

Some students walking around were gossiping.

"I heard that some girl wearing a bandana rode off with her on that black and silver bike of hers."

"Awesome bike! I heard she works at some tiny bonsai-infested tea house."

"Yah, and the old lady who runs it is obsessed with Kage and the Ancient Dreams searies."

********************************************************

"Then tell me what you can, it really sounds a lot more interesting that all the hocus pocus a lot of magicians and stuff seem to use."

Dannin runs her fingers through her long hair, nodding slowly.

"Well, each clan had a different name, almost like where their power came from I guess," she says, "example, the Wildcats' guardian is a giant black and silver wildcat. There are ancient legends on why each clan has been named the way it has. One of the more powerful clans was the Ancient Clan, the one who seemd to be able to medeate all of them. My knowlege is limited to some of the Ancient clan and the Wildcats, that's really it."

***

Batrias left the university- for the last time. He'd come and gone as he went (he owned property nearby, bought with a few coins from his private stash). Mostly, he took showers, ate when he had to, and went back to the library as soon as he could, looking for a book that would unlock the mystery before him. The mystery still remained unsolved, but he had a better idea of how to piece the puzzle together.

His steps carried him back to his home, valued, at, if he remembered correctly, something into seven figures. He had bought it out of vanity, because he lived alone and didn't need much space to sleep, eat and do his necessary. The large, empty rooms spoke to him of friends past and friends yet to come. He knew both would be important in what he needed to do. He paced his way upstairs to the only adorned room, the largest one, the master bedroom. He saw his usual sleeping mat, pillow, and bedsheet. He stripped off his dirty clothes and went into the shower.

Fifteen minutes later, he came out with a clearer idea of where Rowen had to be. Batrias would check institutions of learning first. All he needed to do, really, was look Rowen's name up on the internet.

Batrias's feet echoed loudly on the polished
wooden floor of his mansion. His eyes wandered down to
the his feet, inside a pair of indoor soccer shoes. He
could not explain why he liked them, but he did. His
atheletic shorts swished against his hairy legs; the
greying hairs above his ankles usually drew his
attention because it meant that, while he had lived an
inordinate amount of time, he still aged. Instead of
well-preserved food, he was the well-preserved man,
living through all the ages of history, seeing things
other men only read, wrote and speculated over. Yet,
here he was, dressed like an athlete, a t-shirt,
shorts and soccer shoes minus the spikes, walking down
his steps, walking out of his door, down his private
sidewalk, off his property that spanned over a hundred
acres of Germany and into an internet cafe.

The Germans, he had found, were far ahead of anyone
else in terms of technology. He had been very
surprised to find a Cantonese book in a
German-language library, and even more surprised to
find something about hieroglyphics in English. He
might have been surprised at the new way the internet
was accessed, if he hadn't heard students talking
about it while he was reading nearby. All the public
terminals were stand-up, with sensory gloves and VR
helmet. Very few people used keyboards anymore.
Instead, they roamed the internet in virtual reality,
using their hands to interact with what they perceived
as a touch screen. So it was that Batrias, a man who
had once thought Gutenberg's printing press a modern
marvel, was able to go online and into a search
engine.

The space he saw laid out before him like a contrived
infinity. He thought of it as a highway, because
square advertisements paced slowly on either side. He
stuck out his tongue and found that he had not passed
out and began to dream. His tongue touched against the
headset microphone in front of his mouth. He extended
a hand forward, pressing a "Search" button, and found
an empty box in front of him. The box was about as big
as his chest, and Batrias realized that he was
supposed to speak what he was looking for, and the
text would fall into the box. Then, he was supposed to
press either "Retry" or "Submit." He spoke Rowen's
name, saw that name came up correctly, and pressed
"Submit."

What he found did not surprise him. Rowen was teaching
in a university in Tokyo. He selected a "Print" button
above him and, though he expected to hear something
whirring and gearing up, he heard nothing. The
printers had advanced as well, so much so that they
made no sound while imprinting words on a blank sheet
of paper. Batrias disengaged himself from the system,
asked the only other person in the building, the
cashier, for his printout, and paid the man with his
bank card.

Batrias folded up the paper into a pocket and headed
for an airport.

***

Batrias opened his eyes on the plane, the voice of the pilot rousing him out of his sleep. He had taken a flight from Germany to Istanbul, Turkey, to Calcutta, India, and now to Beijing, China. He had wanted to see the Himalayas through the window, but he had fallen asleep, leaving a large white circle of his breath on the glass which he had leaned on. He stretched his arms above his head and slowly buckled himself in the seat. Air India wasn't the greatest way in the world to travel (Batrias smelled a goat somewhere on the plane), but, so far, the plane hadn't crashed or come apart at the seams, as he had expected it would upon boarding. He felt his ears pop as the plane descended and bumped against the ground. By then, Batrias was sure he was going to throw up.

***

The Chinese plane with the red star on either side took Batrias to Tokyo. Again, the feeling of throwing up came to him and he wondered if he might have gotten sick. Had he inhaled some bug or other? Was it the foreign air? He couldn't remember drinking any water, though he had passed some. He couldn't force himself to sleep for the short flight from China to Japan, as he was sure some missile would go flying through the sky, shot by a Japanese gunship, impact with the plane and cause his stomach to finally fly out onto the back of the seat he stared at as he tried to keep it inside.

He tried to think of when he had been sick before, and couldn't remember. Had he ever been truly ill? Do the armor-bearers suffer sickness? He didn't know, and the thought disconcerted him. If this bought of illness was his first, it was his first in five thousand years. Something had to be causing it, he was sure- and he didn't think it was the planes.

***

Ryo was walking, his mind so deep in thought, that he did not see the bike, or it's rider, until they were almost on top of him. A jump out of the way for Ryo, and a swerve by the rider. The rider skids to a halt, then finally the two look face to face.

"Hey Rowen!" Ryo says, "I thought it was Kento's job to run be over."

The Ronin of Wildfire smiles.

Rowen, swerving his bike around to keep from hitting the person he saw walk in front of him, jumped off and found himself hugging the person. He didn't even know it was Ryo until he released his friend and scratched his head.

"Uh, sorry there, Ryo," He apologized, "Almost ran you over." He paused, thought about it, and remembered that he hadn't seen Ryo in the longest time. More than that, the chance meeting had taken in Tokyo, where chance meetings never happened. "Something on your mind, there? Something I can help with? I haven't seen you in so long, and now you show up with a serious look on your face, and it's like time has fallen away, and we're back fighting the Dynasty again. So, what is it?"

"Oh! It's nothing that drastic," Ryo says, "Dannin and I moved up here a few months ago so she could attend school. She's having a good time and White Blaze is with us. I was just walking and thinking."

He shruggs, "What about you?"

"Well now," Rowen replies, "There's something that's been on my mind, Ryo. It's the armors. Something's going on. I don't know what, but it feels like, they're changing. I thought earlier that I would meet up with you eventually, and here you are! It's only a matter of time before Cye, Sage and Kento show up.

"Have you been feeling...a kind of...tugging? With your armor?"

Ryo runs his hands through his unkept black hair, "I was thinking it was just me, ya know, sharing a place with another armor bearer. You think it's something else?"

Rowen considers for a moment. "What do you mean, 'sharing a place with another armor bearer,' Ryo? I don't understand what that means."

He suddenly looks off in the distance. Something, or someone, called his attention. Someone coming. He shook his head, trying to figure it all out.

Ryo tried to hide his embarassment.

"Uh...You remember Dannin, she had her armor back when we met," he says, "well, you see, she's living at my place now. She's kinda like my girlfriend."

"Oh! That's what you meant!" Rowen put his right hand over his eyes and nose, laughing. "That word, place, it's awfully misleading, you know. Though...come to think...you having a girlfriend, isn't all that strange, is it? Hmm...do you still have your Armor of Wildfire, Ryo?"

Chapter Four: Arranged

Dannin's cat ears turn towards the sound only moments before she does. She looks in the direction she knows the sound came from, then shakes her head.

"Yah," she says, "but I can't place it. It came from over there, just across the street."

Asako's grey eyes glittered as the effective 'tin cans' surrounded her in an alley- coincidentally, directly across from Ryo's apartment.

"I'm warning you, I'm not someone you want to mess with."

She had been walking, following feelings, and had literally walked into one of them.

Their eyes glowed, and almost imultaneously, they lunged at her. Considering she was in loose jeans and a fitted shirt, her surporisingly high flip out of the center of the group did not seem *that* unuusal.... until she landed, and produced of all things a pen with a black marble set in the top.

"Gonna give me some new chapters to add, ne?"

Again, they attacked, and after evading them for a few minutes, she landed just shy of the mouth of the alley, and tossed the "marble" up, discarding the pen.

"Your funeral, metal-heads."

She flipped, and caught the marble midair, a mist surrounding her briefly before vanishing to reveal a pure black subarmor. Her brown hair was in a samurai topknot, her back facing out of the alley.

This time, she went on the offensive, finishing them all off in about three seconds flat. As they dissolved into mist, she snorted.

"Sayonara."

Again, mist for a split second, before she pocketed the marble, calmly picked up a messenger bag (that held her laptop) and started walking again.

Rowen's hand had been gripping his orb- what else?- and he felt it tingle. No, maybe the right was twinge. Someone had used some kind of power. He couldn't explain where...except that cat ears heard more than human ears, didn't they?

At once, Rowen stood up, shed his clothes, revealing his blue and white sub-armor.

"Ryo, Dannin, White Blaze, I think someone is challenging us."

The two fire warriors nodd, look at each other, then stand. Both end up in subarmor; Ryo in his red and white with Dannin in her pure black and silver lined.

"Come on White Blaze," Ryo says, "guess you're getting some exercise after all."

"Good idea," Dannin says, "best answer the challenge before it grows to a shadow like last time."

Ryo raises an eyebrow.

"Nevermind," Dannin says, "you don't remember, it was before your time."

Asako paused, and turned, now looking for the pen she had so casually tossed aside.

Starting to search a bit more frantically (after all, it WAS her favorite writing utensil) she was not aware of another 'tin can' as she so casually called them, starting to creep up behind her.....

Rowen found himself bolting out of the apartment door. Everyone would be able to see him dressed in what might have been mistaken as an experimental military uniform or a halloween costume. Those who saw him would remember, and perhaps tell others. The thought flashed through Rowen's mind that he had already revealed himself plenty, and he might as well see whatever happened to the end.

He stopped before the woman, who he thought he should recognize. But wasn't everyone like that?

"Friend or foe," Rowen shouted, "Answer now!"

***

Batrias, with a sense of unease, stepped before the intake receptionist and asked her if she had ever heard of anyone by the name of Rowen Hashiba. The woman looked young, as Batrias supposed all women were- until they got old. She clicked her red fingernails on the desk in thought.

"Yeah, I think Rowen-san is a professor here," She answered in Japanese. Batrias, for a moment, had to remind himself he wasn't revisiting some part of his samurai past. "Though I can't say for certain exactly where he is."

"Could you tell me," Batrias answered in the Japanese he had learned in the service of the Lord Nobunaga, "If he's teaching a class just now?"

The receptionist turned to her computer, typed in a few commands and brought up a list that Batrias recognized as a class schedule. "It says here," she replied cautiously, "That he was supposed to start teaching a class ten minutes ago, but that he hasn't shown up. Professor Hidehori-san is taking his place." She paused, letting the words sink in. "Wherever he is, he isn't here."

Batrias decided then that he would wait on the university grounds for Rowen to come back. Surely he would not simply abandon his career like that. But, if he did, could it mean that he stumbled onto something more important than he had realized? Could it mean that he had traveled all the way from Germany right to the very spot where the Netherworld, or some other force he didn't know of, had set in motion something he could only guess at? He felt sure that, whatever was going on, Rowen would be able to tell him something useful.

***

Dannin and Ryo were right behind Rowen, White Blaze on their heels. Anyone seeing them, well....wouldn't know what to think. The two stop, and Dannin sees the "tin head" in front of Rowen and the new woman.

"Ask later!" Dannin yells, "fight uglies first!!"

Rowen pauses for a moment. Before him, there is a woman and a soldier, a soldier of the Netherworld. He has a mad impulse to scream and tear out some of his hair, but he stays put, on guard. He can hear White Blaze growling from behind him.

I don't know if they're together, Rowen thinks to himself, Or even what's going on right here. Best to wait...

***

"There is someone here at work against us," Kayura proclaims in what once was Talpa's throne room. She stands in front of the throne, the staff of the ancients in her hand, the cloth of her yoroi shifting in a breeze from somewhere.

"The imbalance, then?" Dais asks. He no longer kneels before this throne, this place he once revered, thought of as his only reason for living. Now, he stands. He does not have to bow to Kayura, though he often does so, out of respect for the choice she came to make, and the trials Talpa, once his lord and master, put her through.

"It may be so. I am sensing a shadow in the realm of mortals, once again," Kayura speaks evenly, an indication of the tension in her voice. "I cannot fathom how, when we are the rulers of the dynasty, and after we have locked all the remaining Netherspirits away."

"As long as there is evil and malice in the human heart, the war will always continue," Dais declares, his one good eye narrowing. "It was Talpa's greatest hope that, even if he was defeated, he would one day rise again solely by the force of negative emotion and negative action. If Talpa has risen again, even as a spirit, he would command enough power to bring back the army of soldiers once at his command."

"I cannot understand why there is one on Earth," Kayura shakes her head. As she does so, the staff of the ancients shakes as well, tinkling like a wind chime. "Dais, I now charge you with the task of reuniting all five of the Ronin Warriors. You must let your armor guide you to them. Know that there are at least five armor-bearers in Tokyo, but only two are Ronins. If your armor leads away from Japan, follow its path. You will know the course once you step upon it."

"Wakarimas, Kayura-san," Dais says, bowing. When he faces her again, he asks, "What of Kale and Sehkmet?"

"They are hidden from my sight. I no longer sense them, or know where they are." Kayura looks into the outstretched wings on top of the staff, as if they would provide her with an answer. "I suspect that the shadow, in whatever manifestation it has taken, has them under its sway. They were once imbued with the power of the Netherworld, given to them by Netherspirits. That power has never left them, as it has never left you, Dais of the Spider. Be on your guard at all times, for whatever evil you encounter will surely wish to bring you over to its own cause."

"I will be careful," Dais declares. Then, without another word, he is gone from the throne room.

***

Dannin and Ryo are equally confused, but it seem that Dannin could be more so. The sight of the dynasty warrior brought back memories she would rather no have. Ryo sees that, his own armored hand on her wrist.

***

Dais arrives in a town he doesn't recognize. The air is cloudy with exhaust fumes; the sky is very nearly obscured by dark gray smoke. He arrives in his casaul clothes, a loose, yellow T-shirt, blue jeans with an occasional hole or two in the legs and sneakers. He has worn his armor for so long and so often that walking around in real clothes seems strange to him. Yet, he must look ordinary- as ordinary as he can while wearing an eyepatch- in order to blend in. Any one of the Ronin Warriors might be in this town, and they wouldn't recognize him right away. Well, Hardrock probably would.

The buildings are squat, round and look like abortions of ability. They were originally white, but now there are stains running down their sides. Dais sees what he thinks might be Mexicans pass by him, some giving him strange looks, most looking at the ground. An open air acoustic guitar store is the right him. Dais asks in Spanish to the shop owner, "Have you seen any foreigners here?"

The shop owner rubs his face, which is only half-shaven and rough, then says, "I have. Some lanky man with yellow hair falling over his face."

"Can you tell me how long ago this was?" Dais clenches his fist, anxious at the prospect of finding Sage.

"Must have been two-three days ago. Can't say if he's still here or not." The shop owner picked up a guitar, looked at it blankly and strummed one of the chords. Then, he looked up at Dais. "You gonna buy or are just gonna stand there like a cat who's lost his tail?"

"Thank you for the information," Dais replies, then coughs. He can't for the life of him imagine what would bring Sage to this dirty, depressing place, though he aims to find out.

Across the room, in a shadowed corner, a young woman watches the man asking about Sage. Korin had come here with Sage, a few days back, to study and to learn. But this man, he felt farmilliar. But she had never seen him before.

She stands, walking over to the man with the patch on his face.

"Are you looking for Sage Date?" she says, "he won't be back for a few hours."

Chapter Six: Positions

Hours pass...

Dais, walking down the steps and out of the airplane, he is struck at once by how busy everyone seems to be. He has never been to America, and only knows of it from looking at a map. Talpa, and Kayura, too, for that matter, didn't concern themselves with nationalities. Yet, walking into the terminal, he understands why people do. New York, after all, is not the same as Mexico, and neither are the same as Japan.

Very strange, He thinks to himself, How a change in geography is also a change in attitudes...

Korin smiles, grabbing her duffle back at baggage claim. She is a perky hyper warrior, almost like Kento in a way. She draggs Dais out of the airport and hails a taxi. It doesn't take long to hail one (Wildcats can be very loud, and being half Crane doesn't hurt matters) and they are on the road.

Dais's disorientation increases as he finds himself inside what he thinks of as a small, moving building. The building is yellow and has two rows for people to sit in. In the front row, a dark-skinned man whom Dais does not know moves a wheel beneath his hands. He is sitting in the back row, with Korin. He merely shakes his head. He never thought he would be travelling in someone's moving house.

Dais recognizes the scene of a battle when he sees one. He merely stands in the doorway, letting Korin find what she thinks she needs to find. His suspicions have been confirmed: Kento and Cye are gone.

Korin isn't gone long. She returns, shaking her head.

"No one is here," she says, "odd, especially this time of day. Who would have done this? No one is left that is powerful enough to battle Cye and Kento when they fight side by side."

"There are two I can think of," Dais says, folding his arms beneath his muscular chest, "Kale and Sekhmet. Kayura said she didn't know where they were, that they were clouded from her sight somehow. I have a feeling that they have done this."

"Kale and Sehkmet?" Korin says, "you mean Jackel and Spider. But they went with you and your Lady to fix things. Besides, would they have this power."

To make her point, she picks up a chair, which falls apart in her hands.

"Your armor is bound to theirs," she says, "Cye, Kento, and the others. Can you point me in the right direction."

Dais closes his mind for a moment, rather than opening it. In its closed state, his armor tells him only about other armors nearby, rather than the general direction of those far away. He has an image of...orange...and...blue. He cannot quite make out what is near the colors, because whatever it is, the presence he should be sensing is merely a void, an empty hole in the world.

"I can lead you. Though I cannot promise good will come of it," He says.

Korin sticks her hand in her pocket, pulls something out, and tosses it in the air. In a flash of light, she stands in silver subarmor, with black lines around the seams.

"Come on, this will make it faster," she says, "lead the way, I'll be ready. Don't worry about anything by finding the place. I'll handle the rest."

Suddenly, and without warning, Dais hears the heavy footsteps he remembers as his own. He freezes in place, letting his senses grip with the problem that should not be a problem. Someone in armor approaching- but who?

Dais closes his mind once more and finds that orange and blue feeling has come closer. At once he shouts, "Musou!" and transforms into his armor. His purple spiked ball, bearing dried stains of blood, thunks onto the floor, splintering wood.

Then, in a moment which seems to last forever, he sees the orange armor of Hardrock and the blue armor of Torrent, both empty, yet both moving, coming towards him. Somewhere from the emptiness, a vacuum cries, "Cho Ryu Ha!"

The compressed water and energy hits Dais full-force in the chest. His body is flung backwards, crashing through two tables before coming to rest in a pond full of goldfish. Dais struggles to his feet. He knows that if no one is in the armor, his illusions will not be effective: they depend on a human being's senses misled to work.

"Korin, prepare yourself," Dais growls.

Korin nodds, "One step ahead of you, warrior of spider."

She looks at the empty armors and knows that no good will come of this. With little option, she calls on her own armor.

"Armor of Bright Flame!" she yells, "Power of Faith!"

In a flurry of cherry blossoms and silk ribbons, Korin stands in a silver s armor, with only black to tell where the pieces melded together. She pulls out a pair of katana blades, taking up a warrior's stance.

"I call on the virtues of Trust and Justice!" she says as her mask pulls away from her face, "That their armors return to those that bear them as a burden!"

The empty armors pause for a moment, then attack at once. Korin takes the water and earth attacks head on, her feet sliding backwards as she crosses her blades to hold her own. She glances at Dais.

"We need to get out of the building," she says, "If I attack, it'll bring the roof on our heads!"

***

Hah! knew the blasted thing was-"

Asako stood with her pen in hand and turned, before stumbling back woith an exclamation as the tin can leaped at her.

"Unholy thing! How many of you are there?"

turning her stumble into a back handspring, she put a decent distance between herself and the animated armor, her hiar clip springing, letting her long hair tuimble free.

She reached behind her and her hand met wall. A corner, to be exact.

"Okay, plan b: run."

she spun, and took all of two stepd before the thing hit her hard on the head and she went down in a heap.

"Okay, I guess they're not on the same side," Rowen mutters to himself. He calls, "Ryo, Dannin, White Blaze, time to go!"

The tiger hears him first and, being the quickest, is ahead of Rowen before he reaches the soldiers. The tiger's claws rip into the soldier's chest, and a wisp of pale green smoke emanates from the wound. White Blaze roars, forcing Rowen to stop. He sees what the tiger roared at: someone has sent a small army of soldiers.

"To arms!" Rowen yells. "Yoroi Tenku! By Wisdom!"

In a few moments, Rowen is unleashing arrows into the fray of soldiers. Many drop, and many more replace the fallen. White Blaze grabs a scythe with his teeth and starts slashing through the sea of green.

"Dannin, take care of that woman! Ryo, let's combine our ultimate moves!"

Chapter Eight: The Unknown

Dais, his body returning to normal, sits up and takes his helmet off. It clunks on the ground, displacing damaged road. He quickly moves in, kisses her and backs off again.

He picks up his helmet and looks towards where he felt the orange and blue feeling the first time. "We still have work to do. Are you up for it?"

Korin doesn't hide her supprise, but takes Dais' offer and stands. She almost falls of her feet. She rubbs her eyes a bit and tries again to smile at him.

"Sorry," she says, "that thing hit me harder than I thought. Sure, let's get going, I'll be all right in a bit."

Dais, the location fixed in his mind, leads Korin through the streets of Chinatown, and into New York proper. He ignores the police cars running around, sirens blaring, and the fire trucks trying to deal with the disaster zone they have created. He knows it will likely be on the local news before long, and he doesn't care. He doesn't spare a thought except for undoing whatever has been done to Kento and Cye.

Then, he stops in front of a warehouse. In front is a sign that reads: "Coming soon: Handy Logistics." He walks past the sign, into what would be a parking lot and looks to Korin.

"We can rest if you want. This is the place, so there's no hurry."

Korin literally falls on a box in front of the wearhouse. She sighs, tying her long hair back as best she can.

"They'll have all this on TV before long," she says, "we need to stay out of the spotlight."

She stands, her footing a little more sure this time.

"I'm not going to recover any farther without a lot of sleep," she says, "I'll be fine in combat, let's keep moving."

Dais nods, not bothering to argue with the woman who has saved his life. He leads her into the warehouse.

Inside, Kento and Cye lay motionless, in their sub-armor, on what looks to the former warlord like petagrams. Wires are strewn all over.

"It can't be this easy," He says, thinking about what illusion he might use should anyone arrive.

***

Batrias, in the waiting room and watching TV, sees someone interrupt a Japanese commercial with Timothy Dalton in it to announce a disaster in New York. Terrorists, the announcer says, have struck again. Then, the announcer, in a more panicked voice, mentions destruction in Tokyo. Explosions.

Batrias decides he knows where Rowen has disappeared to, and leaves the university at once.

***

"Ya think?" Korin says, "I can get them down. If anyone comes, distract them or something."

Like her cat bloodline, she climbs up the side of the things holding the two Ronins. She sees Kento first, slapping him hard across the face to wake him. It does the trick, and he opens his eyes to see her.

Dais, from the corner of his eye, sees something colasce, a cloud of fog appearing from nowhere. Before long, Dais sees that it resembles a Netherspirit, one that has had too many bowls of rice in a previous life. "You could not be, Shikaisen?"

"No," the spirit replies, "You are thinking of someone else. I am Hinkansu. I will not permit your interference!"

"Korin, watch your back!" Kento yells.

Korin can't turn in time. A demon with a blade had caught her off guard and the blade drives itself into one of the cracks in her subarmor. She screams in pain as the blade seems to pull the energy right out of her body. She clenches her hands and kicks back, impacting the demon-thing behind her and causeing it to crash below. She reaches behind her and practially rips the blade from her back, causing another cry of pain. She drops the blade as well, looking at Dais and whatever the thing he was talking to.

"We're taking our friends home," she says, "you can yeild now, or die now, I no longer care which you prefer."

Dais sighs deeply as he watches Korin challenge the random soldier who injures her. Kento has just woken up, and Korin herself is almost out of energy. Dais knows there is only one option left.

Hinkansu is the spirit commanding those soldiers. I remember how Badamon explained it to me. Talpa's soldiers had a piece of some great Netherspirit in them. When the soldiers die, the Netherspirit emerges. The problem Badamon always had was that soldiers got mixed up together and, when the Netherspirit tried to get out, it would intermingle with others and lose coherence. Not this time, though. It looks like they've figured it out.

Dais took in a deep breath and said, "I shall follow the will of Anubis and free the Ronin Warriors, even if it means my life."

In an instant, he saw his whole life before him. As a child, running around the rice fields as stoop-backed farmers alternately smiled at him and cursed him. As a young man, practicing with a wooden sword, being struck about the ribs. As a teenager, kissing a woman who fled the village the next week in shame. As a man, putting on the armor he'd used all his life. As a warlord, working for Talpa. As himself, fighting with Kayura against Talpa. Then...

He knew he didn't have time. He had to do this now, or he would miss his chance. As the spirit solidifies more before him, Dais jumps, grabs on, and lets all the energy he has run wild. He feels his body tearing itself to pieces, his armor's power consuming both him and the spirit.

He yells out, "Korin! I do this for you!!"

His body wracks itself with pain. He can feel his soul tearing loose from its moorings, barely clinging to the flesh that still was his. Then, the energy explodes, taking Dais and the spirit with it.

After a moment's silence, a gray orb with a purple symbol on it rolls along the floor.

Korin is frozen in place, not sure of what to make of what just happened. She shakes her head. Dais seemed to have been lost, but if he was or was not, now is not the time for Korin to decide.

She pulls the wires off of Kento, helping him to the ground, before climbing up and freeing Cye as well. Both Ronins are exausted, and with blood dripping under her subarmor, Korin isn't doing as well.

Cye, still not sure if he is dreaming of large, gray whales or if he has, in fact, returned to reality, enters the room with the armored woman under one arm and lays her on the bed.

He says to Kento, "Let's stand outside. I need to figure this out."

Kento replies, "I know what you mean. That was a real head trip."

The two Ronins step outside the room where they have stashed Korin, leaving her alone.

Korin slept for a long time, tossing and turning in her sleep. After a while, her subarmor, cracked and dulled, took on a pure glow and began to mend itself. After the armor has healed itself, Korin slept peacefully for a long while.

She woke suddenly, jolting upright. Had it all been a dream? No, I couldn't be, not with the Armor of Spider in her hands. She curled her knees to her chest, thinking almost saddly. She had only just met Dais, but had come to think of him as a kindred soul. After all, he had been alive in her mother's time, to be a servent of Talpa and recieve that armor. And now he was gone, just like all of her family.

She buried her face in her knees.

***

Without warning, the green-armored soldiers of the Netherworld fall out of their chariots, thumping to the ground. Pale green smoke emerges from their bodies. The horses turn and flee. Above, the smoke thickens, and the shape of a body starts to emerge.

"Here it comes!" Rowen shouts.

"White Blaze," Ryo says, "guard Dannin and the lone warrior."

Dannin goes to object, only to have the pain in her wrist shoot up her arm like fire. She hisses and steps back.

Cye, looking away at nothing in particular, says, "What was that?"

Kento replies, shaking his head, "I don't know. Something had a hold of us, though what or why or...I can't say."

***

Sage taps his foot nervously, looking out the plane's passenger window.

***

Korin finally stands, her eyes red from crying. How could she be so attached to someone she had just met. It didn't make sence, but then again, living for a little under five thousand years didn't make sence either.

Her subarmor fades into jeans and a t-shirt. She puts both the orbs for her armor and the Armor of Spider in her pockets. She looks at Cye and Kento.

"We're needed in Tokyo," she says, "quickly."

Kento rubs his palm slowly over his face. "Who are you, lady? And what's in Tokyo, anyway? What's going on?"

Cye puts in, "Yeah, I'd like to know too. What's so urgent, and why are you crying....?"

Korin shakes her head.

"My name is Korin, daughter of Kaylyn and Alaric," she says, "I am a friend of Sage Date, who bears the burden of Nimbus. I was with him here in New York, I met your uncle in your resteraunt Kento. But it seems you were not there. Some evil stirs back home, and the other Ronins are all ready there."

"You know Sage?" Cye asks, then nods to himself as the word 'Nimbus' comes to mind. "Yeah, I suppose you do."

"Okay lady, this is too weird!" Kento exclaims. "First, I'm eating hamburgers at McDonalds, then I'm in some desert somewhere, getting chased by giant worms and then I wake up on some weird bed and there's an explosion. Can you tell me, am I dreaming or what?"

Korin smiles slightly at the mention of knowing Sage. When thiking of the battle, however, she saddly shakes her head.

"You were captured by a sorcerer, much like Sage was years ago," she says, "Dais, the warrior of Spider, destroyed it with his own life, so we could continue against the evil stirring in Japan."

Kento sighs deeply and says, "I don't know what you're talking about, lady. But, okay, take us to Tokyo, then, if something's going on."

Cye interjected, "Are you going to trust this person?"

Kento replies to his friend, "Yes, Cye, I suppose that I am."

***

Batrias, running through city blocks as best he can through the people, the policeman and the tanks slowly progressing towards the battle zone, changes into his sub-armor. The riddle of the Cantonese text and the ancient Egyptian symbols occur again to him. Then, he sees what could only be a Heaven's Shockwave streak through the air, followed by orders on megaphones and the revving of tank engines.

Batrias bursts through a plastic roadblock telling him, in Japanese, not to pass.

***

Korin smiles slightly, "Like he has a choice Torrent? I will explain what I know on the way, but it is very little. I give you a reason here. My mother helped create the armor you wear. He was the Lady Hyrosha, and though you may not know the name, my uncle was the warlord Anubis. He aided you once, and now I have come to do the same."

With that, she turns and begins to walk away.

***

The shape coalesced, solidified and finally came to a rest beside the dead horse Rowen had shot. The creature looked wispy, thin and ragged. Rowen thought of a torn shadow.

Just then, a streak of light soared through the air. It was an RPG, Rocket-Propelled-Grenade, fired by a young student with a "Kawasaki" T-Shirt on. The student ran when the shadow turned towards him, dropping his weapon.

"Ryo, I'll follow your lead," Rowen said.

Ryo nodds, "Right. We need to know why it's here."

Dannin mutters something about attacking first and asking questions later.

"I don't want to repeat Black Inferno," Ryo says.

---

Batrias arrives at the scene ahead of the tanks, though they are close behind. He sees- can it be chariots? Netherworld chariots? And dead soldiers. He doesn't know what to make of the scene until he sees Rowen, Ryo, White Blaze and someone that looks like a Hyrosha girl.

---

The torn shadow extends what might be hand and shoots a dark burst of energy at Rowen, knocking him backwards off his feet. Rowen finds himself staring at the sky. He tries to stand on his feet, except for a glob of black smile across his chest, holding him to ground.

"Ryo..." Rowen manages, trying to stay conscious.

"Forget the questions," Ryo says and launches into combat. Weilding his two katanas, he makes easy work to get next to Rowen and try to aid his friend.

Dannin isn't so lucky. With an injured wrist, she has a hard time weilding her no-datchi. Fortunatly, no one had come for the young Wildcat, yet.

"Ryo," Rowen coughs out, flinging black slime off his chest, "It's...what is it?"

---

Batrias, on the other side of the battle, puts on his armor and hears a loudspeaker announce from behind him, "You are all under arrest!"

Chapter Ten: To Arms!

In a flurry of cherry blossoms, Dannin dispells her armor. Her wrist is bloody, and limp, but otherwise intact. She sighs, leaning against the closest thing; Ryo's shoulder.

Ryo shakes his head, "Either way, we better get a move on. We can talk at my place, it's not far from from here. It's between here and where the fighting was."

Rowen lays his bow on his back and says, "I agree. Though I don't know if the danger has passed completely or not."

"Wait," Batrias says, "I saw a lot of tanks on my to help you guys. The army was out there. Won't you be noticed in your armor?" Batrias dispels his quickly, causing a breeze to flow from him in all directions.

Rowen dispels his armor. "I suppose I can call it again if I have to," He says. "Ryo, I forgot which it was. You'll have to lead."

Ryo nodds, dispelling his own armor. He looks at the uncouncious warrior (can't forget Shade).

"We'll have to take her with us, she can rest in Dannin's room," he says.

"Why my room??" Dannin says.

"You think White Blaze will let a girl in my room," he says, "besides, he should be home by now."

"Point," she says.

Meanwhile, at the Sanada house, White Blaze pads in behind Sage from out of nowhere.

Sage feels the tiger rubbing against him. "White Blaze, why did Ryo leave without you? All the damage to the city I saw." He pauses a moment as the tiger considers him. "Do you know where Ryo went?"

---

Rowen surveys the carnage in the city and shakes his head. The military is everywhere, along with fire trucks standing idle, flashing their lights and policemen talking to each other, trying to figure out what to do next. Helicopters circle overhead.

"I just hope that's over for good." He says to himself.

Fortunatly, Ryo and Dannin's apartment is just outside the police lines. They walk inside and Ryo looks up to see Sage. But now, Dannin's cat ears have faded away, but she still holds her injured arm.

"Hey Sage," Ryo says, "forgot you five could get in here. Hope White Blaze kept you company."

Dannin smiles, sitting on the couch as the tiger curls up in the floor beside her. Ryo laughs.

"Who knew two cats would get along like that," he says.

"Ryo," Sage says, brushing back his shaggy blond hair, "What happened? Did you guys tear up the city or what?"

He notices that White Blaze has a cut on his leg, and he thinks: He was in the battle, too, though he got back. What's going on? White Blaze abandoned Ryo?

Ryo had taken the uncouncious warrior into Dannin's room, then returned to hear Sage's question. Ryo scratches White Blaze by the ears then looks up.

"I vote or what," he says, "not sure what started the fight, we were here when they attacked out of nowhere."

Dannin yawns a bit, setting her head on the side of the couch. Ryo looks at Sage.

"I'll explain, but I need a favor," he says, "Dannin broke her wrist. Can you still fix that stuff?"

Sage, thinking of the tanks outside and that military sensory equipment, thinks it best not to call his armor. It might produce gamma rays or something detectable like that. He instead tears off strips of his shirt, looks to Ryo, receives a nod, then tears out a plank of the floor. He breaks it over his knee and splints Dannin's wrist. "That should hold it for now, though I don't suggest you call your armor while you're wearing that," Sage explains. "If you have to call your armor, take that off first."

"Ryo, I have a question," Rowen says. "How come White Blaze didn't follow us when we led that creature out of the city to kill it?"

Dannin smiles, "If we have to call armor, I'll remember that. But it should be a while and Wildcats heal faster than humans."

Ryo looks at Rowen, looking slightly embarissed.
"Oh, that, I sent him here," he says, "in case anything went down. I do that a lot these days."

"No, that's not it and you know it!" Dannin says, "If a fight gets too thick, he'll send White Blaze home and me soon after. He's overprotective of me."

"But, Ryo," Rowen persists, "You know that Black Blaze can take White Blaze's place if anything gets too heavy. I mean, send him away? Would he obey such an order?"

Sage murmurs to himself, "Wildcat...Korin..."

Ryo shruggs, looking at Dannin. But the Wildcat was looking at Sage.

"The look on your face," she says, "do you know another Wildcat?"

"I do," Sage says, "Her name is Korin and we were in Mexico on our vacation when, you wouldn't believe it, Dais shows up, says he's on a mission from Kayura, Lady of the Netherworld. Something's up, Ryo, more than just that big fight. There's a plot in motion, and you have to know about it."

"There is always a plot," Ryo shakes his head, "I think it comes from being Ronin Warriors."

"Korin..." Dannin says, "my sister, I remember she said, when she found out she was going to have a kid, that if it was a boy it would be Rekka, or a girl, it would be Korin. So she is alive too."

Batrias speaks up, "What is a Rekka?"

Sage, petting White Blaze, does not attempt to answer.

"Rekka," Dannin says, "another name for Wildfire. My sister's friend, the first bearer of Wildfire, she is the one that gave him the name Wildfire. Once he took the armor, she called him Rekka."

Ryo goes to speak when a bang comes from his door. He walks over and opens it. Cye, Kento and Korin are all standing there.

"What did you do?" Kento says, "have the fun without me?"

Ryo laughs and lets the last of the Ronins here. Ryo goes to grabs something from the kitchen, but Cye is quick to kick him out and take over making lunch for the crew. When asked, Cye says he has some energy to work off.

"Looks like we're all here," Ryo says.

Korin nodds, and her eyes look at Sage.
"Dais won't be comming," she says.

Then she see Dannin and the two Wildcats fall silent, staring at each other.

Sage lets go of White Blaze and hugs his friend at once, noting the sad look on her face. "Korin, there's a room back here, if you need it." He squeezes her tightly.

Rowen, finding Cye and Kento sit on either side of him, scratches his head. "I don't understand why he'd leave like that," He wonders.

"What are you talking about, man?" Kento asks.

"White Blaze, left Ryo in the middle of a battle." Rowen declares.

"Hang on," Cye says, "Are you telling me the truth?"

Rowen says, "I am."

"He left because he felt a threat here," Batrias interrupts them. "And there is. We're not safe, none of us."

Ryo turns bright red as Dannin breaks her look with Korin and pokes him in the ribs.

"That's not the only reason and he knows it!" Ryo says.

Korin shakes her head, "I'll be fine...." she pauses, making sure the others weren't looking, and lets out a long sigh, "He gave his life to save ours, just like my Uncle Anubis when he freed the Lady Kayura."

Cye says to Ryo, "Hey, man, you don't need to be so protective of her. She has her own armor."

While Sage says to Korin, "I'm here if you need me."

Ryo and Dannin look at each other, then at the floor. Finally, Ryo raises his head.

"I gotta protect the girl I'm gonna marry..." he says.

"RYO!!" Dannin's head snaps up, "You weren't supposed to say anything."

"They're my friends," he says, "I was gonna say something sooner or later."

"Then I guess sooner is better than later," she smiles.

Asako groaned and sat up, opening her eyes to an unfamiliar room.

She heard voiced..... and decided to follow them, trailing a hand along the wall for balance, her equilibrium a little more than unsteady after the whack on the head.

She reached the doorframe just in time to hear Ryo mention his intent to marry danin.

"Congradulations?"

"Okay, this is TOO weird!" Kento exclaims. "Can someone please explain what's going on here? I feel like I've walked into a bad foreign sitcom."

Dannin looks back at the strange warrior with a slight smile as Ryo explains.

"Well, there is one main reason that Dannin moved in here," he says, "we'd been dating a while and she needed a place to stay. We deceided a few weeks ago that it would be all right if we made the change permement. I asked her to marry me and she said yes. Since then, White Blaze has been watching out for both of us."

"Kento, I think I can explain," Rowen said, "But first, Ryo, why don't tell us what you were doing before I came here and all this madness started?"

Ryo nodds, "Well, see, Dannin's been acting more like a cat lately. Someone came after her, and knew she was a Wildcat. How that is possible, I don't know. My armor has been reacting to something."

"You know, Ryo, that's really weird," Sage says, turning his attention away from Korin. "Mine has too. But I can't explain what, or anything. None of this makes sense to me."

"Me neither, man," Kento grumbles.

"All right then," Rowen says, "I'll tell you what I know so far."

---

Outside the city, a passer-by, walking in the wilderness, comes across what looks like an tar spill. On top of that, golden arrows have been shot into the ground, into the tar. The random traveler picks up the arrows, thinking he might be able to sell them somewhere. Then, as he leaves the area, the splotches of tar move again, gravitating towards each other.

Before long, the shadow is re-formed.

---

Ryo shruggs, "Well, I thought it was just me, you know, getting use to the new Wildfire and everything."

Dannin smiles, "Don't let him fool you, he's been wandering the city and thinking for weeks."

"From I know so far, there are soldiers of doom roaming freely in our world again," Rowen states, "Logically, this means two things. The first being that someone has opened the gates of the Netherworld to let them through. The second being that someone is giving them very specific orders: to target anyone with an armor. Now, the last I checked, Kayura was in charge of the Netherworld, and things were peaceful. Except someone over there has decided to cause a fuss again."

Cye jumped ahead, "So, whoever is commanding those soldiers wants all of us dead."

"I couldn't say for sure, but it's a possibility," Rowen replies. "It's also possible that we're just supposed to be captured and have our armors drained of their energy for some purpose- as Talpa once made a sword out of your armor's power."

"I remember that," Kento said. "Man, I'm just glad we got rid of all those guys."

"It would seem, if Heavens is correct," Batrias put in, "That we have not. You have suffered some ordeal, I can see, Hardrock. Please tell us about it."

"Well, I'm not exactly sure what happened," Kento said. "Except I was running in the desert in my boxers, being chased by this huge worm and then I woke up on a table. I think...I remember seeing Dais grab hold of something or someone, and they both exploded. I remember looking back as I left. It was some kind of laboratory."

"So, it's a repeat of the same thing I went through," Sage said. "Ryo, what have you been thinking about?"

Ryo looks up, "Just our past. The fight with Talpa, what happened last time we were all in New York, the fight with the Inferno armors, and then when we got these new armors. I guess, I've been thinking recently that it's been too quiet."

"A repeat, exactly," Batrias says, "Things are repeating themselves, aren't they, Korin of the Wildcats?"

Korin nodds, "They seem to, but I don't remember a lot of what Wildfire is talking about."

"I do," Dannin says, "it's a war all over again."

---

The torn shadow limped its way into Tokyo. It took the long way around, knowing what the tanks and helicopters could do, acting like someone had invaded their country. The shadow hurt- all those attacks, then all those arrows. It had been dormant, almost unconscious, for a time, and it wanted revenge on those that had struck against before it had a chance to figure out what it was. It wanted to rage upon those who had presumed it evil, when, in fact, it didn't know what it wanted.

---

Rowen stood up at once, and then grabbed his side. Something there felt a little off. "Damn it, we didn't get rid of it!"

Outside, a parked car exploded in a ball of flames.

Dannin gave out a true cat's meow when the flames erupted outside, well, more of a yelp than anything.

"Great!" Ryo says, "now what do we do."

Korin shruggs, "well, there are all five of you this time..."

"Yah," Ryo nodds, "and Inferno would blow up half the city."

"Wait a moment," Batrias says. "I thought someone said that the Inferno Armor had been destroyed. Was I lied to, or did someone discover another Inferno?"

"Well," Rowen rubs a hand on his neck, looking to Ryo. "You explain."

Ryo runs a hand through his hair.

"Uhh, actually, you four don't know the whole story either, it was kinda an accident, really," he says, "you see, ever since we used the Inferno the first time, I could feel it as a part of my armor, a part that was asleep for most of the time. When we destroyed the armors, all of them, I couldn't feel it, or the Wildfire anymore. When I got this new armor, I still couldn't feel the Inferno, just Wildfire. Then, about a month ago, me and Dannin hit a major fight with some neather-demons when we were visiting my hold home in America. I could feel the Inferno calling for me to use it, but you guys weren't there so I could call it. Ever since, I can feel Inferno waiting to wake up again."

Dannin speaks up, "I know he sent letters to the four of you when we returned from Amercia. He found the Inferno, but would not say why."

Something else blew up outside the apartment, closer this time.

"Ryo," Cye says urgently, "Now's the time. If we can summon the Inferno to kill whatever's doing that, I say we go for it!"

"Yeah, Ryo!" Kento pumps a fist into his palm. "Let's get ready to rock!"

"I'm with you, Ryo!" Rowen exclaims. "Just give the word, and it's go time!"

Sage nodds slowly, "Now is the time to act, we're all with you."

Ryo takes a deep breath. He looks at each other Ronins, Batrias, Korin, and finally his eyes rest on Dannin.

"I haven't used Inferno with this armor," he says, "They were made out of hatred. I don't know if I can control it this time."

Dannin smiles, resting her uninjured hand on his knee, "From what you told me, these armors were made to summon the Inferno. If anyone can control it, you can. You are Wildfire, in more ways than one."

Ryo nodds and looks at the others, "All right. Let's get things started. To Arms!!"

Chapter Twelve: Obstacles

Dannin watches Rowen leave, then looks back at Ryo. He seems calmer now, but still remains uncouncious.

"We need to get him somewhere to rest," she says, "give me a hand."

Korin nodds and goes to lend a hand.
A voice from outside the abandoned dojo says, "Come out with your hands up! You are surrounded! This is your only warning!"

Then, like a nearby explosion, a tank fires its ammunition into the sky.

Batrias, inside, looks at everyone and says, "They think we did it..."

Kento sighs, exasperated. "Okay, what do we do, Dannin?"

Dannin sighs, "We need to get out of here without them seeing us."

She takes a deep breath, suddenly taking command.

"Sage, you take Korin, Batrias, and get Ryo out the back if you can," she says, "Kento, you, Cye, me, and Rowen will create a diversion. Everyone else will go with Sage. Those with the diversion will armor up, masks down, and give them a run out of the city. We'll meet back by the lake where Mia used to live."

"Right," Sage says, hauling Ryo up over his shoulder. "Korin, you'll need to keep an eye out. If trouble starts, I'll need to dash off with Ryo as fast as I can. You too, Batrias."

"Sure, whatever," Batrias grumbles.

"I'm counting on you guys." Sage declares, then leads the way out the back.

"Okay, deeversion time!" Kento says as his mask slides down.

"Don't get too excited, Kento," Cye says to his friend. "Remember, those guys out there should be on our side. We're not out to kill them."

"I know that already, sheesh," Kento throws his hands up. "Anytime you're ready, Dannin."

Korin nodds, "Be careful, all of you. We'll do what we can."
And with that, she runs out with the others, taking the lead in her silver subarmor.

Meanwhile, Dannin's black mask falls over her face. She draws her large sword, and walks towards the door.
"All right, off we go," she says, "get their attention and start running."

---

Rowen grabs the missile with his armored hands, but it explodes before he can send it away from him. The blast knocks consciousness out of him, and he is falling, down through the sky, a motionless body descending to the earth. He impacts on a Japanese tank, crushing the tank's cannon stem. After a few moments, hands grasp at him and carry him away.

---

Sage, with Ryo on his shoulder, looks around the corner of an alley. He sees nothing but a newspaper, torn and floating about the alley and a dumpster, closed and locked. "All right, let's go," he says.

Dannin doesn't see Rowen's fall, she gets outside just afterward. With her mask down, she looks just the same as the other Ronins. She whistles, causeing a handful of troops to turn around. She gives them a warrior's salute, then turns and becons them to follow.

Korin nodds, walking down the ally way for a bit.
"All clear," she says, "wait a few minutes and the others should get the troops moved."

"C'mon soldiers boys! Try to keep up!" Cye says, loping away from them.

"We're the bad guys, so try and catch us, why don'tcha?" Kento asks the soldiers who do not respond.

Before long, someone shouts orders and the soldiers point their guns at the Ronins. Cye and Kento, knowing what it means, run.

Dannin nodds and starts running towards the edge of the city as the troops open fire.

A thunderous crash from behind Cye tells him that a tank has just opened fired at him. He stumbles to his knees as asphalt sprays around him from the impact of a large cannon shell. Kento grabs his hand, jerks him to his feet and Cye is going again.

He shouts to Dannin, "Which way is it again?"

Dannin skids to a halt at the city limits. She glances behind her.
"This way! We'll keep them after us a bit longer," she says, "just stay with me!"

Then a tank shell goes off next to her, throwing her from her feet. She skids to a halt in the cement and falls perfectly still.

"This is enough!" Kento shouts. "It's time to fight! I don't care anymore!"

"Kento, restrain yourself, we're still in the city; think of the innocent people you'd kill with your power," Cye advises.

Kento doesn't respond, and Cye looks at Dannin's form on the ground. The soldiers, only five hundred yards away, shout for them to surrender.

Kento says, "I don't think we have a choice. We have to defend ourselves."

Dannin slowly pushes herself up, blood dripping between her eyes.
"It's not the time!" she yells, "we have to get out of here!!"
She tries to get to her feet, fails, and tries again. Finally she does so.
"You know, I'm begining to think this is not healthy," she says, "Hardrock, Torrent, RUN!!"

"All right, I understand," Kento says, then, acting on his own, circles his staff above his head. He shouts, "Gan Tes-sai!!"

The city streets immeadiately begin tearing themselves to pieces. Kento disengages the attack before it can gain its full power. He grabs Dannin in his arms and runs away. Cye, following, notices that a rather large pot hole has formed in the street...

Dannin keeps running for a while, finally making to to the woods outside the city. She skids to a halt, pulling Kento with her.
"In here," she says, "quick!"

Kento and Cye duck into the forest at the same. Kento puts Dannin on the ground once inside. Above, the helicopters fly past, some flying circles in the sky, searching for targets. The tanks, however, do not follow.

"If we stay here long enough, think they'll stop looking?" Kento asks.

"I doubt it," Cye says. "We can only rest a minute. Dannin, you'll have to take the lead. If you're too injured..."

"None of that," Kento cuts his friend off.

Danni pulls off her helmet, showing the line of blood comming from a cut just above her hairline. She shakes her head, holding her hemlet in her hands.
"No, we keep going," she says, "stay under the cover of the trees until we reach the lake. We'll dispell our armor at the lake and run for the house. They'll just see three kids going home."

Kento opens his mouth to object, but sees a hurting woman before him, and can't bring himself to do it. "All right, it's a good plan as any."

"Anytime you're ready," Cye says.

---

Sage sits Ryo against the dumpster, panting out breath as he does so. "Either I'm out of shape, or he's been eating too much rice," He says. "Korin, can you wake him up? I don't know what's wrong with him, but we'll be easy targets if we're slowed down like this."

Korin sighs slightly, "I can try. I too am a fire Ronin, but I can't say if I will succeed or not."

"I think you should try, at least," Sage says. "If it doesn't work, we'll be no worse off."

"So you say," Batrias mutters to himself.

Korin glares at Batrias for a moment, then shakes her head and turns to Ryo. Her hands glow softly and she takes Ryo's hands into her own. Their armors start pulsing as Korin closes her eyes.

Batrias notices the reverberation of Korin's and Ryo's armors. For a moment, he thinks they are trying to merge together. Then, the moment passes and he feels a sickness in the pit of his stomach. From the side of the dumpster, he sees what looks like black ink dripping on the ground. It makes no sound as it falls. Before long, there is a puddle of black in the alley. The puddle rises up, forming into a shape that Batrias recognizes: it is the Torn Shadow.

"Of all the times," Batrias says under his breath. "Nimbus, prepare yourself!"

Korin opens her eyes seconds before Ryo opens his own. He still looks in pain, and remains silent. Korin turns to see the Torn Shadow.

"Of all the...!" she cries out, "not now!"

The Torn Shadow stands still for a moment, looking at the four people before it. Its head, or what might be its head seemed to fall sideways, off its head. Then, it hung there, nearly severed until the Torn Shadow darkened and regained its original form.

"It's weak," Batrias declares, "It's the same one. Korin, you and I can beat it if we combine our attacks!"

Batrias already has his sword over his head, pointing at the sky.

Korin shakes her head, "And bring the whole army down on us again?! We need to get it out of here, fast. Ryo, can you stand?"

"I...I think so," Ryo says, pushing against the dumpster to get to his feet, "sure."

The Torn Shadow shoots a stream of black out towards Ryo. Sage blocks the attack with his sword.

"We run? And lead this thing to Mia's cabin, where the others?" Batrias asked.

"Do we have a choice?" Sage asks. "Either way we go, I think we're dead."

The Torn Shadow seems to fade slightly, its color lessening. Then, it shrieks, the terrible sound carrying into the air.

Korin nodds, "Just out of the city, then we kick it's tail. Ryo's in no condition to fight."

The Torn Shadow advances on Batrias. The bearer of Holy, in the middle of preparing his ultimate attack, gets caught off guard. The Torn Shadow merges into Batrias's body. His white armor of Holy now turns as black as night. The red symbol for wrath burns on his forehead.

The Torn Shadow says through Batrias, "Die. Because. Now. Kill."

Chapter Fourteen: The Machinations of Darkness

In a room that is nowhere, the warlord Kale feels his creation return to him. He senses that it has been wounded, significantly and is at once pleased and disappointed. He is pleased at himself that the Torn Shadow exceeded his expectataions as far as endurance. He is disappointed that it has returned, when its specific mission had been to possess Sage of the Nimbus, thus allowing the Torn Shadow to transform into what Kale had intended it to be. Kale had known going in that it was a dangerous bargian, as Sage's power of light could undo the Torn Shadow almost instantly. Yet, for whatever reason, Sage had not played a part in the extended and grueling battle the Torn Shadow had endured.

Sehkmet appeared beside Kale, following Kale's gaze to where the Torn Shadow lay, absorbing the complete darkness of the room. Yet Sehkmet and Kale were both able to see with the new powers they had been granted for their alliegance to their new master.

"The Wisp is ready," Sehkmet reported.

"Which of the Ronin's powers can undo it?" Kale demanded, drawing his sword and letting the Torn Shadow feed on its inherent powers of darkness. He didn't like doing so, but he had to admit that the creature had stood up to a lot and survived. It would prove very useful, he decided.

"Only a Heaven's Shockwave from Rowen of the Yoroi Tenku," Sehkmet said. "All other powers fail, even the Inferno."

"So, the armors fall yet further, and White Inferno Armor awakens again," Kale said, laughing to himself. "I wonder if our master suspects how close a thing it will be to have his way?"

From out of the shadows she comes silently on Kale and Sekmeht. Dressed in the black and red of the ancient Wolfriders, with shoulder-length white/blonde hair and dark brown eyes, her presence is commanding.

She is Tusuki, Heiress of Talpa's Dynasty.

"It has done you well, Kale of Jackal" she says in a cold voice, "tell me, did it finish what you sent it to do?"

Kale glances at Sehkmet, who quickly disappears. He smiles to himself, because he knows a secret that Tusuki does not. "It did not accomplish what I set it out to do," Kale admits, "But Sehkmet's Wisp will soon find its way to the Ronin Warriors, and, with the Shadow fully healed and ready, it is only a matter of time before you have what you desire."

The Torn Shadow, now standing, finishes siphoning off energy from Kale's sword. The warlord motions at it, and it vanishes.

Tusuki gives Kale a wicked smile.
"Very well," she says, "it is still too soon to show our full hand, but I guess a card or two won't hurt. Do what you will, but their armors are mine, remember that. The warriors you may do with as you please."

Kale vanishes from the room. In transit, using teleportation, he goes to the place where he and Sehkmet have arranged ahead of time.

"So, what did she say?" Sehkmet asks at once.

Kale replies, "The armors are hers, she says."

"They all say that, don't they?" Sehkmet says, then bursts out laughing.

Kale joins him.

---

Tusuki hisses as Kale leaves.

"Things are in motion that cannot be undone," she says to the shadows, "the armors, Ronin and Flame alike, will be mine."

Then she turns and leaves, returning to the throne room she had created.

---

Rowen winces as smelling salts are shoved under his nose. His armor is gone, and he is naked. His arms hang above him, tied together to a rafter near the ceiling. He is hanging down, and his bare feet touch only air.

"What do you want?" Rowen asks at once.

"You are a terrorist," A gruff voice says from behind him. Rowen recognizes the voice as Japanese- probably military. "You will tell us what you were doing, why half of Tokyo is burning, and where we may find the other terrorists who were with you. If you do not, I will become very hostile indeed. I will not hesitate to torture you, as you are not recognized as a prisoner of war. You see, no declaration of war has been made from either side, whichever side you are on and the nation of Japan, which you have so impudently assaulted. Now, tell me everything!"

---

Kento hears the knock at the door and freezes in place. "Do you think...they followed us? They were in helicopters..." He trails off, not wanting to think what might happen if he gets captured by the Japanese military.

Ryo bangs on the door again, "Kento! Danni! Open the door!"

Dannin is on her feet in seconds, shoving away caution to the wind. She bolts to the door, opening it just in time for her to catch Ryo falling forward. She silently lets Ryo and Sage in, kicking the door shut and sitting Ryo on the seat across from a sleeping Cye.

"Where's Korin and Batrias?" she says.

"Got seperated," Ryo says, "Rowen should be with them by now, so they'll be all right."

Kento rubs a hand through his hair, smiling nervously. "Ah, Ryo, you always did like to overdo it." Then, he sees Sage follow behind and asks, "Everything ok?"

"Well, other than the city of Tokyo burning and destroyed," Sage shrugs, "I'd say we did all right. I don't know where Korin or Batrias is, though I think Rowen's with them. Where's Cye?"

"He took a nap," Kento regards Dannin and Ryo hugging each other and motions for Sage to go into another room. Once there, he says, "Something's up."

"Yeah, I noticed," Sage replies.

Ryo and Dannin talk for a while, more about the Inferno armor than anything else. But it isn't long before Ryo is asleep in his chair and Dannin walks towards the kitchen to spot Kento and Sage.

"Nothing we can really do but let him sleep it off," she says, "you hungry?"

"Oh, yes, I'm really, really hungry!" Kento exclaims, his mouth starting to water. "Can you make 20 hamburgers? Oh, and I want onions, ketchup, soy sauce and pickles on them! Oh, and also, I think I could eat a watermelon. Is there any here?"

Dannin roars with laughter, forgetting that is was she that had been hurt in the fight.

"I can make anything Mia did," she says, "she taught me how to cook. Lesse what's in the kitchen."

"Dannin, don't you think it's weird?" Sage asks the woman while looking in the freezer for hamburgers. "I mean, the Rage of Inferno can destroy just about everything, can't it? And yet, it wasn't able to destroy that...whatever-it-was. Doesn't that strike you as odd?"

Dannin nodds as she starts cooking the hamburgers, "Yah, it is rather odd."

"Hey, didn't you say that there was something wrong with the Inferno?" Kento asks, taking a place at the kitchen table.

Sage pulls out a bottle of gatorade, takes a gulp and says, "Yeah, I think you said something like that, Dannin. I was thinking the powers of Ryo's white armor aren't working like they're supposed to."

Dannin nodds, setting enough food on the table to feed five people. She sits across from Kento and Sage.

"The Inferno is much stronger this time," she says, "it has a will of it's own, the will to fight, and Ryo has to learn to control it."

"Wait a minute," Sage interrupts her. "You said...the Inferno has a will of its own? That would imply that it has an intelligence of its own, as well, wouldn't it? The only way that could happen is if the armor has some kind of spirit inhabiting it, right? I mean, you can't just fit together pieces of metal and expect them to start thinking all their own, can you?"

Kento takes a large bite into one of the hamburgers, and says, with his mouth full, "Heesh right, now that I...think," He swallows, pounds his chest and continues, "About it. I mean, armors aren't supposed to have wants all their own, right?"

Dannin slowly nodds, "Each armor has the will to fight. It's the only way they would have their power. Your new armors were made out of hatred for a single purpose. You control them, yes, but think about it. From what Ryo tells me, they are filled with hatred and bloodlust. Mine is as well. We learn to control our individual armors, but the Inferno combines five. Five times the hatred, five times the will to fight."

---

In the underground of the Tokyo, Korin backhands Batrias after healing what she can from her attack.

"Come on you lug," she says quietly, "wake up."

Batrias, reacting on instinct, punches whoever it is that's slapping him in the face. His eyes focus and he sees that he has punched Korin. Well, not that it matters, he thinks to himself. Then, as he tries to stand, he realizes that he feels nauseous, even though he hasn't eaten in a while.

"What did you do?" Batrias demands of her.

Korin rubs her cheek where Batrias' hand had impacted her face. She shakes her head.

"You were taken over by that Shadow thing," she says, "Ryo and Sage went on ahead and, well..." she pauses, "I hit you with my Dawns Inferno."

Batrias swears at her. "Fool woman." Then, he stamps away from her, not wanting to see her face again.

Korin stands slowly, "Batrias, I'm sorry. There was no other way. The shadow was using your armor to kill the others. Ryo couldn't fight and you know it! Please, they're waiting for us."

"Funny thing," Batrias says, turning back to her, "When I used my attack, it went away. But then, that might be because I have all the elements of the nine armors in my own. Have you not thought that there is an opposite to everything? What is the opposite to shadow? It is light- Sage's armor. I only realized it when I used my Divine Vengeance to dispel it the first time. Yet, you commanded Sage that he should run away from the battle while you engaged it. That makes you a fool. If you had only let Sage fight in your place, I would not..."

He trails off. Batrias suddenly finds himself doubled over, throwing up.

Korin is beside Batrias in seconds, "I am the pair to Halo, I am the light of the Flame armors, it's just fire based. Sage was the best to tend to Ryo. Is it better than I should fight, then sacrifice another?"

Her armor fades to her subarmor, but her hands glow. She sets one hand on Batrias' shoulder, letting what healing power she had to spare flow into his body.

"I am truely sorry," she says, "there is opposite in all things."

"Don't touch me again," Batrias says, batting away the woman's hand from her shoulder. In truth, her healing touch makes him feel worse. He walks away from her again, then stands still, trying to get his bearings. An explosion sounds from above and Batrias is sure a war must have started up there.

Korin sighs, "Whatever, you can go out there and die if you want, but don't blame me when they come and kill you."

She turns on her heel and starts to walk away.

Batrias, thinking over everything that's happened, is glad to be rid of Korin. He can still hear the sounds of what seems like a battle going on outside, and when he sees a patch of steam in front of him, he stops. It doesn't look like steam...it hovers...kind of...wispy-like.

"So, what have we here?" Batrias asks of what he understands is another evil creation.