Unarmed But Still Dangerous

                                                            By Mardrena

 

     “Now that enemy activity has slowed down a bit I think this is an appropriate time to discuss not only certain aspects of your armors but details of Cye’s vision,” Kayura stated.

     “Okay then, shoot,” Ryo approved.

     “All of your armors retain their original powers including other, different powers. Your powers physical incarnations were destroyed but their spiritual being was retained by you, the bearers, thus providing a template for the creation of your new armors.” Kayura pointed to the boys. “While your armors have grown stronger they are still energy linked to the other Warlord armors. Your new armors, however, have a teleportation option that is accessible by all of you. Each of you has their own unique personal talent though. Rowen has longsight to home in on the position of a fellow armor. Sage retains his healing ability except it is more powerful.”

     “I do?”

     “Yes. You have what is called Touch Gradual healing. When Anubis wounded Mia, Sage was the one who treated her leg here at the House. It was able to heal on it’s own without further medical attention. Another example is when Tanya injured herself when she....kicked that demon. She would never have been able to stand on her own with a broken hip socket and dislocated leg.

     “When Sage touches the injury of a person who has been harmed his armor transfers healing power that remains with the injured until the wound is healed. That is how Tanya was able to perform that Wind of Fire maneuver with you, Ryo,” Kayura explained.

     “Wow,” Sage remarked and regarded his hands.

     “Just keep those magical healing hands of yours away from too many girls,” Rowen snickered.

     “Shut up,” Sage grumbled.

     “Kento....well...I have yet to find out what your power is.” Kento frowned in disappointment.

     “Other than him being strong and stupid,” Dais cracked.

     “Yeah, and being able to clear a fully stocked refrigerator within an hour,” Anubis contributed to the joke.

     “A world record breaker according to that book you always read,” Sehkmet chimed in. Kento furrowed his brow and gave them a warning scowl.

     “Cye can remain under water for extensive periods of time and can communicate with aquatic life,” Kayura noted.

     “Yeah, the only useful thing Cye can do is talk to his fishy friends,” Sehkmet joked. Cye glared at him.

     “Oh, and do you invite all your snaky friends over for love night in you basket?” Cye retorted. Cale began whistled in a low tone.

     “Damnit Cale, shut up!!” Sehkmet howled and lunged at Cale. He tackled the other warlord and knocked him off the sofa back and onto the floor.

     “Will you quit fighting guys. Kayura is trying to teach you things,” Mia scolded. Sehkmet released Cale’s jacket collar and stood up.

     “Yes mommie,” Sehkmet sneered. He held one hand up to his chest and waved the other while bowing in a manner with a thick atmosphere of sarcasm and mockery. Cale sat up and dusted himself off. The two returned to their seats.

     “Now as far as Ryo is concerned, I believe that this habit of him receiving premonitions of sorts is his own special power.”

     “Huh?” Ryo sat up straight in surprise.

     “Well, you had a dream about Talpa’s return, the reunion with your sister, and Anubis’ resurrection. Then this hunch of yours about fighting. You told Anubis that you didn’t feel right but now we are fighting again. This time we have no idea where those creatures that attacked us in the city originated from. Another thing that supports my hypothesis is the Legend of the Children of Hariel. It was said that the males bore an innate ability to receive prophethetic visions or dreams. Your power may just be emerging now that you are fighting more often.” Ryo raised an eyebrow in reaction to this. Prophethetic dreams? Whoa!

     “Then there is the issue with Cye’s vision. We all agreed that the prophecy of the torches has to so with allies who will aid us when dealing with newer enemies. We definitely can expect to have a wider variety of enemies from different realms other than those occupied by Dynasty forces.

     “I have, however, deciphered the meaning of the prophecy of the Rock and the Fire.” Kayura looked at Ryo and Kento. “This one foretells that there will be a conflict between you two. Kento, you will be affected in a way that only Ryo will be able to help you.”

     The two mentioned exchanged worried glances. Kento looked at Kayura. “So, what, do I go psycho like when Dais freaked me out?” he asked.

     “Believe me Kento, this will be much worse.” Kayura answered soberly. “Spiritual turmoil is something that cannot be described. Something will happen to you that you will be totally unprepared for. You will be affected in a way that will severely frighten you and you will have a difficult time trying to cope with it,” Kayura explained. Kento lowered his gaze and scratched his head. “As for ‘Rune Waters’ and Spirit Springs’, I have yet to find out what that means.

     “For the one about The Ancient I can only guess that we can count on receiving help from him more frequently in the form of visions or dreams. The one about the Ronin Heirs describes the next generation of Ronin Warriors expected to take your positions when you pass on. Some of you will have children who will continue your duties. Others will have an heir chosen who is not of any relation. That decision will be based on the talents and skills of the one chosen,” Kayura said.

     “Well, I think we can count on Ryo having a kid. Hey Ryo, how’s it goin with Mia? Is she expecting?” Cye asked.

     “WHAT!?”

     “Anubis, damnit, what did I tell you about having any coffee?” Dais demanded when he saw Anubis about to drink a cupful of the prohibited beverage.

     “What?” Anubis argued.

     “You know how that stuff affects you.”

     “Oh come now Dais, it’s not like I foam at the mouth.”

     “No. Coffee produces a very bad psychological reaction when consumed by you. Put it down.”

     Anubis scowled angrily.

     “Put it down now.” Anubis grunted in disgust and shoved the cup into Rowen’s hands, who in turn, placed the cup on a table.

     “I don’t see why you’re bitching so much Dais. I’m not the one who went off to Thanged for two days and had sex with Danae,” Anubis retorted. *sound of a scraping record* Those other than the warlords gasped in shock.

     “You.....had sex with Danae?” Sage muttered.

     “Yes. Why, is that a problem?” Dais asked.

     “Uh......there’s....a very big generation gap,” Cye said.

     “So.” The others remained silent and blinked a few times.

     “I’m around the same age as Dais. If I had girls pinch me on the butt then what’s so bad about him having sex?” Anubis debated.

     “Back to the subject,” Kayura snapped. “Now we arrive at the subject of your sister, Ryo. The Ancient trained her separately for the purpose of aiding you. She is a very strong fighter but is also very stubborn and hard-headed like you. Instead of fighting in a group effort she fights solo, which is not always a good thing for her. She is not like Mardrena though. Mardrena was a skilled and experienced fighter but Tanya has both plus youth and energy. Whereas Mardrena was honorable and respectful, Tanya is a foul mouthed little brat who can out fight and out cuss you all on a whim.” The others groaned in disapproval.

     “She is very important though, for all her obscene language and ill mannered attitude. Her armor is....some sort of combining factor. Her power can combine other attacks. I’ll need to talk to her about this. Where is she?” Kayura asked.

     “She’s outside training in the forest,” Ryo answered.

     “I’ll go find her.” Anubis transformed into his sub-armor and departed to retrieve the Lady Ronin.

     “Hey Kayura, how is it that you know all these things?” Rowen inquired.

     “Well, it has to do with the Staff. Lately it has been telling me things in the form of detailed visions. I meditated to a while after conferring with Cye. I suppose you can say that it has been tutoring me,” Kayura explained.

 

     A pink and white armored form streaked through the high branches of the forest. It sprang from tree to tree with a grace befitting of a cat. Beside her a white form with black stripes ran with her.

     Whiteblaze pounced and Tanya sprang up to avoid him. She backflipped then landed on the ground. Then she crouched and sprang forward. She took off running at a rapid pace. Suddenly Whiteblaze tackled her from behind. Tanya squealed in surprise as her back knocked against a tree trunk. Whiteblaze backed away from her and Tanya pulled herself up into a sitting position.

     “Whoo! Damn, you’re pretty good Whiteblaze, but I’m a bit sluggish this morning. Maybe I’ll do better later on in the day,” Tanya sighed. She took a couple of deep breaths and slowly relaxed. Whiteblaze walked over to her and lay down by her side and set his chin in her lap. Tanya scratched him behind his ears. Whiteblaze hummed with pleasure.

     Tanya gradually slowed her breathing and rested in the calm, peaceful atmosphere of the forest. Then......

     “Tanya!” She looked up at the sound of a man’s voice. “There you are.” Anubis landed on a tree branch and rested his hand against the trunk.

     “Hey Anubis, what’s up?”

     “Kayura needs to speak with you.”

     “Who?”

     “Kayura!”

     “Oh, the lady with the Staff? Okay, I’m comin. C’mon Whiteblaze, get your head off.” Tanya stood up and followed Anubis back to the house.

     The other warriors and Kayura were gathered inside the living room when they returned. Anubis took his seat leaving Tanya standing alone. She looked at them all. “Okay, what did I do that pissed you off this time?” she demanded and rested her knuckles against her hips.

     “This has to do with yourself, not your actions in the house,” Kayura corrected.

     “Then let’s get two things straight; One, I’m a girl, and two, I wear the same Type of armor as those guys.” Tanya pointed to the four warlords.

     “Tanya, you are way off the subject. The matter at hand is your armor’s ability to combine attacks. Sage told me about what happened in Dygra’s fortress, and we all witnessed the Wind of Fire maneuver. This, however, is not a power limited to you alone. When I was meditating the Staff showed me a sketchy visual record of the Great Invasion: A fight when all ten warriors, Ronin, Warlord, and the Lady Ronin, joined forces for the common good of mankind to ward off a foreign evil that threatened to conquer Earth.

     “The Armor of Typhoon is itself a combining factor. The Typhoon Blast can merge different fellow attack powers for any of several different attack combinations. Mardrena did this once. Her power combined all of the other Nine Armor’s powers into one massive force that severely weakened the evil. Not much of the battle itself is clear to me, only that Hariel was killed in that battle.

     “The Wind of Fire was partially created from the bond between you and Ryo as siblings. In the future you can use this power to your advantage but you must understand how to use it,” Kayura finished.

     “I don’t need to learn how to use it, I know already.”

     “There are several factors more complicated than that Tanya, you cannot ignore that fact,” Kayura argued.

     “Look, if I have some wonder power that is really important to our fight, that’s my business. I’ll work on it in my own time.”

     “Tanya, you cannot be so ignorant! You need to understand how your armor’s power works! You have great fighting skill but your skill with using your power is still average!”

     “Look, just leave me alone Lady. It this is a problem, it’s mine, not yours.”

     “Your stubbornness may be the downfall of us all! You need to behave and stop brushing off any good advice!” Kayura shouted. Tanya leveled her gaze at her and narrowed her eyes. She pursed her lips and glared at Kayura. “Tanya, you.......” Kayura trailed off when Tanya folded her arms over her chest. Then she began tapping her finger rapidly on the arm plate. Some of the boys threw worried glances at Kayura. Tanya increased her speed. *TckTckTckTckTckTckTckTckTckTckTck.......* Her finger was now a white blur moving up and down quickly. Kayura frowned.

     “Leave her alone Kayura. She doesn’t like being backed into a corner,” Ryo interceded. “She can take care of herself now.”

     Kayura remained silent for a while. “Very well then, I am sorry if I aggravated you Tanya. Even so, I’ll tell you this: When fighting an enemy force like an army or power you must attack by combining attacks that will be most suitable for the situation at hand.”

     “There was that one time when the Mutant Warlords attacked us at Shannon’s Halloween party. I used my Superwave Smasher and combined it with Tanya’s Typhoon Blast. Ryo didn’t want to risk causing any damage to the neighborhood. Because all the other’s attacks would’ve caused damage we were chosen to pull it off,” Cye mentioned.

     “Exactly. Depending on where you are and who you are fighting you must consider which powers to use before combining attacks. I hope all that I have told you will help out some,” Kayura concluded.

     Just then, as always, the phone rang. Sage was the one to get up and answer it. Kayura hummed in displeasure. Something wasn’t right. Sage ran back into the living room, now in sub-armor. “That was Shannon. She says that more of those monsters we fought are attacking. A whole bunch of them just arrived in the southwest part of the city,” he reported.

     “Near the amusement park?” Ryo asked.

     “Right beside it.”

     “Well then, what are we all waiting for! We all know where that is.” The other boys transformed and positioned themselves behind Ryo. “Let’s go!” Suddenly columns of light covered them, each corresponding to the color of the armor bearer. The columns flashed and moved up again before vanishing.

     Tanya clenched her fists in anger. “F*** f*** f*** f*** f***!!” she squealed angrily and pounded her fist against a wall.

     “One thing I regret about leaving the Dynasty is losing Teleportation,” Dais muttered.

     “It’s a small price to pay,” Anubis said.

     “I can send you to their position by following their energy paths,” Kayura offered.

     “Oh, okay then.” Tanya ran over to the other warriors. They transformed too. “Beam us up Scotty!” Kayura raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to one side before raising the Staff. The golden sphere flickered and the other five Ronin vanished.

    

     “This is the place.” Ryo looked around. No people were in the area they had arrived in.

     “Dammit Ryo, and you say I’m impatient!” Ryo turned around to see Tanya and the warlords standing a few feet away from them.

     “Huh?”

     “Kayura had to send us here. We can’t pop in and out like you, remember?”

     “Where are the enemy forces?” Cale asked.

     “They’re here. Shannon said they had just arrived before she called. They probably don’t know we’re here yet. Shannon’s going to wait outside the area so she can help us if our power is low,” Sage said.

     “Yeah, if your power is low,” Tanya grumbled, addressing the five boys.

     “What?”

     “You know that stupid pendant only works on you guys, not us,” Tanya snapped.

     Meanwhile, in the amusement park, Shannon was holding her pendant, now in sword form, standing beside an empty booth. She looked to one side and jumped slightly when she saw Kayura standing beside her. “Sheesh! Don’t do that!”

     “Sorry. Has anything happened yet?” Kayura asked.

     “Not yet, but I know they’re there. You know how Rowen has longsight? I just found this out.” Shannon pointed to the blue gem on the hilt of the Claidhenieh-mor. Kayura stooped down to look at it. She saw the Ronin Warriors but when Shannon turned the sword slightly she saw a horde of monsters.

     “Ah, I see now. What about the citizens. Are there any people in the area?”

     “Not anymore. It took a bitch of a time to do it, but I relocated everyone in that area to somewhere safe. Then I used the Halo gem to cloak the buildings so no one will see anything weird,” Shannon explained.

     “Where are these things. Hey monsters, we’re right here! Come and get us so we can kick your asses!!” Tanya hollered.

     “Hey, look at that!” Rowen pointed at a purple beam of energy that arched above the buildings then passed to the opposite side.

     “What’s that?” Sage asked as more and more beams arched over the city.

     “Kayura, look at that.” Shannon pointed to the city area where the Ronin were. Now a sort of domed cage with bars made of purple beams covered the area. Suddenly one beam flattened into a thin purplish band that spread to either side. The other beams did likewise and now a clear purple dome of energy covered the area of the city.

     “Something’s not right about this,” Kayura muttered.

     “Something’s never right,” Shannon chimed in.

     “Hurry, we must make haste!” Kayura ran towards the dome. Shannon changed the sword back into pendant form and followed her.

    “I don’t get it, what’s with the light show?” Kento asked.

     Anubis looked over his shoulder when he heard a deep, guttural growl. Dais turned around and his eye widened as he saw hundreds of monsters perched on all the surrounding rooftops. They glowered down at the Ronin Warriors with angry, glowing eyes. The Ronin moved into a circle, back to back.

     “Now I think is the right time to call our armors,” Cye muttered.

     “Good call. ARMOR OF WILDFIRE!!!”

     “STRATA!!!”

     “HARDROCK!!!”
     “HALO!!!”
     “TORRENT!!!”
     “TYPHOON!!!”
     “CRUELTY!!!”

     “VENOM!!!”
     “ILLUSION!!!”
     “CORRUPTION!!!”........
     “Uh, Ryo. We have a problem. Nothing happened,” Tanya whispered.

     Outside the purple dome Shannon’s pendant glowed. “The Ronin are trying to summon their armors but something is interfering,” Kayura noted.

     “Ah shit, son of a bitch!” Kento moaned and stomped his foot angrily.

     “Thanks alot Dais!” Cye snapped.

     “Hey, what are you blaming me for!?” Dais argued.

     “Oh, not again,” Sage groaned.

     “Again?” Tanya raised an eyebrow.

     “In the first Dynasty War, Dais used the power of the Nether Spirits to block our powers. He totally kicked our asses until Mia came with The Ancient’s Staff,” Ryo explained.

     “Oh.”

     “Well, I think Dais should feel honored that someone decided to use his idea.” Anubis offered.

     “Yeah, an idea that proves to have a negative effect on us in this situation,” Cale grumbled.

     “Well, what do we do now?” Rowen asked.

     “Fight without our armors,” Ryo replied.

     Suddenly all of the creatures leapt down from the rooftops and attacked. The boys and Tanya counter attacked with punches and kicks.

     “This isn’t so bad you know. Not like fighting armorless against a fully armed warlord,” Ryo commented as he battled an armed goblin slightly taller than he was.

     “Well, maybe it’s good for you but it’s not okay for us!” Dais snapped as he ducked to avoid and axe slash from an ogre.

     “Huh?”

     “We’re not used to fighting in hand to hand combat like you are.”

     “You mean, you’ve never fought in sub-armor before?” Ryo asked in a surprised voice.

     “No. We always fought with at least a weapon.” Dais ducked again. “Here we’re armorless and I don’t like it one bit!”

     “Well, Anubis isn’t having such a hard time.” Ryo nodded towards the Warrior of Cruelty who was taking several goblin warriors. Anubis was beating up goblins left and right with a flurry of kicks to the ribs, punches to the jaw, and knees to the gut. “It’s not the coffee you know.”

     “Well, that’s only because he’s been living with the five of you,” Dais muttered.

     “What?” Ryo didn’t have time to ask why because a lizard-wolf mutant attacked him.

     Tanya caught an armored skeleton in a choke hold and began to noogie it. “Take that you can of bones. You want some more? Here, I’ll crank it up to high speed!” She ground faster but then stopped when she found out that she was only holding the helmeted skull in the crook of her arm. The decapitated body lay crumpled on the ground. Tanya tossed the skull over he shoulder. “Sheesh, you guys are no fun at all,” she complained.

     About half a block away a cunning little goblin pulled himself up into the drivers seat of a large delivery truck. It held it’s hand close to the ignition lock and suddenly the truck started. Tanya turned around and squealed in shock as the truck sped towards her. The goblin leapt out and waited for the truck to run the Lady Ronin over. Tanya, instead, jumped up and caught onto the front grate. She pulled her hand back and plunged her fist into the engine. She tore at whatever and reached in elbow-deep. The truck was now headed for the side of a building.
     Suddenly the engine died. The truck slowed down and rolled to a stop. Tanya looked over her shoulder. Her back was only inches away from the wall. She climbed up onto the top of the truck and held her fist up in the air.

     “OH yeah! I do reign supreme!” she cheered. Suddenly a small car rushed towards the truck and slammed into the side, causing it to totter to it’s opposite side. Tanya was thrown off and landed hard on the pavement, on her shoulder. She sat up and held a hand up to the area. She winced when she felt a sharp pain.

     Sage jumped over to her. “What happened?”

     “My shoulder, it got messed up pretty bad.” Sage reached down and placed a hand on her shoulder. Then he pulled back.

     “According to Kayura you should be okay in a short while. You think you can hold your own? Rowen needs some help.”

     “I’ll be okay. Thanks for your help,” Tanya replied.

     More and more the little goblins were using any nearby vehicles to try and run the Ronin over. Ryo saw a small car barreling towards him from several feet away.

     “This brings back memories,” Cye muttered.

     “Hey Cye, launch me up will you, I’ve got an idea,” Ryo said.

     “Okay.” Cye joined his hands together and Ryo ran towards him. He jumped up and placed his foot in Cye’s hands. Cye pushed him up and Ryo launched into the air. The car was coming closer.

     Suddenly Ryo landed on top of the car. He moved to one side and kicked in the window. Then he knocked out the steering mechanism and the goblin driving it with a powerful jabbing kick. He crawled back up to the top then braced his foot against one end and grabbed onto the other side. He pulled back and, using all his weight, tipped the car over. The car skidded for a few feet, sending showers of sparks. Then it stopped a few inches away from Cye. He flashed Ryo a thumbs up sign.

     “I’d hate to be the guy who owns this thing,” Ryo laughed. Then he yelped  as two larger monsters leapt down from above.

     While Anubis wan having a relatively easy time, Dais was having difficulty against an axe-bearing troll. He jumped away then noticed Cale as he tore off the end of a cable holding up traffic lights then swung it at a group of attacking monsters. The lights knocked their.....lights out. Cale glanced down at Dais.

     “Don’t compromise, improvise,” he said.

     Dais hummed in agreement but had to jump back as the troll attacked him again. Dais landed behind a parking meter when a thought came to mind. As the troll charged, Dais kicked the parking meter so that it buckled forward. It struck the troll in the groin, causing it to stumble forward. Dais hurriedly moved back as the troll fell flat on it’s face.

     Sehkmet jumped from building to building with a goblin wielding a wide-bladed sword and a whole bunch of teeth following close behind. Sehkmet noticed some power cables a few blocks away and jumped towards them. He caught onto one and pulled it taught. Then he held it up as the goblin approached. Suddenly the goblin lunged and bit down on the cable. Sehkmet let go that exact instant and grabbed onto another cable. He winced when he saw the goblin being electrocuted. It fell down to the street below, dead.

     “Ooh, that is gonna hurt in the afterlife,” Sehkmet commented.

     Tanya had dealt a kick to a dog mutant when she noticed that some of the smaller creatures scurried away from her. She looked up when a huge shadow moved over her.

     The thing......had to be more than twenty feet tall. The club it bore was as long as a person was tall. It glowered down at the Lady Ronin with glowing orange eyes. The creature bared rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth.

     “whoooooi sheeeeit,” Tanya muttered.

     The beast pounced and leapt down towards Tanya. She backed away just as the monster landed. The street caved in under it’s immense weight. Tanya was caught off guard by the collapsing pavement. She skidded but managed to catch her balance and began to scoot back. Someone grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the widening sinkhole. It was Kento. He pulled her back as the pavement under her feet fell away.

     For a few seconds there was nothing but a big hole and a bunch of dust. Suddenly, the behemoth rose up from out of the hole and raised it’s club. It swung down at Tanya but Kento jerked her out of the way. Instead, the club struck Kento in the chest. He fell backwards onto the street as the giant pulled itself out of the hole. It set it’s feet down on the sides of the hole and rose to it’s full height.

     Tanya looked at Kento, who was trying to sit up. “Why the hell did you do that for?!”

     “I was trying to pro-” Kento cried out because of a sharp pain in his chest. The armor plate was cracked. Tanya shook her head in disbelief and turned to face the gargantuan being. She narrowed her eyes then backflipped a couple of times. Then she braced her feet against the street and pounced, launching herself like a missile.

     “Tanya! Don’t!” Kento cried out as Tanya’s head made contact with the behemoth’s gut........and went through!! Tanya skidded on her feet and crouched down as the monster sank down into the hole in the street. She stood up and noticed that a dark green liquid was dripping from her ponytails. She raised her arms and saw that her sub-armor was covered with a thin film of the ooze. Large globs of it were on top of her head.

     “Oh, oh man, ugh! Augh! Oh shitshitshitshitshitsheeeit! Ewwww,” she moaned in disgust.

     “Yecch,” Sage groaned at the sight. “Man, I’m glad that wasn’t me.”

     “Yeah, of else you’d have a real hard time trying to wash that stuff out,” Rowen joked.

     “I think we ought to pull back to a temporary tactical retreat,” Anubis suggested as a horde of monsters charged towards them from down the street.

     “Let’s make a jump for it!” Ryo called out. The Ronin pulled back from the fight and took to the rooftops by jumping from wall to wall. Tanya had almost reached the roof level when suddenly, a group of little gremlins pounced on her from behind. She was knocked off course and, instead, fell back down towards the sidewalk. The gremlins followed close behind.

     Then Tanya shook her head forward and her ponytails snagged onto the protruding arm of a corner lamp. She swung around and landed in a crouching position on top as the gremlins dropped past her and landed on the sidewalk, face first.

     Tanya shook her ponytails loose. “Man, that is gonna hurt in the morning,” she commented then jumped back up towards the roof level.

     Ryo looked over his shoulder. “They can jump down but they can’t jump up very easily. Let’s go higher!” he cried. The Ronin continued jumping from building to building towards a skyscraper.

     “Why don’t we try calling the AnimArmors?” Rowen suggested.

     “Good call.” The six Ronin raised their power rings. Their AnimArmor sub-armors replaced their Ronin sub-armors.

     “Lion!”

     “Eagle!”

     “Mountain Ram!”

     “Green Iguana!”

     “Great White Shark!”

     “Jaguar!” Their cries summoned the AnimArmor incarnations. Ryo twisted the image on his ring to the side.

     “White Dragon!” The dragon sub-armor replaced his lion sub-armor but the AnimArmor incarnations did not appear. “Hey! What gives?!”

     “Kayura, look!” Shannon pointed to a lion with red fur and five other animals.

     “Lyor, Jaguaradina, what are they doing here?” Kayura asked. The ground shuddered and she looked over her shoulder. Raurgoth raised himself up on his back legs and laid his thick tail on the ground.

     “Ryo, look. It’s Raurgoth!” Cye shouted and pointed to the white dragon.

     “I don’t believe it! They’re outside the energy field!”

     Raurgoth could see the Ronin Warriors from where he was standing. He groaned in confusion and tried to bite at the energy field. He couldn’t get at the proper angle. Then he tried scratching at it with his claws. “Rrrrnnnarrrgh!” Raurgoth grabbed onto the force field and pulled himself on top of it.

     “What is he doing?” one of the boys asked. The dragon crouched and leapt into the air despite his great size. Kayura and Shannon were knocked down by the powerful down-draft created by the beating of Raurgoth’s wings as he lifted himself into the air.

     “Kayura, what do you think he’s trying to do?” Shannon asked as she stood back up.

     “I don’t know, but the Ronin should at least have their sub-armors now,” Kayura answered and looked at the AnimArmor incarnations. Boulderdash pawed at the ground belligerently. Razor Wing settled onto the ram’s horns.

     “At least we have our clawnchers,” Rowen said.

     “We’ll need them, look.” Cye pointed to a group of approaching monsters. They had finally reached roof level. Rowen and Kento shot at them but the monsters were undaunted.

     “Uh, I’ve got a problem. I don’t have clawnchers!” Ryo called out. The smooth white gauntlets bore no weapon.

     “That’s your problem then!” Tanya snapped as she loosed a barrage of gatling fire.

     Anubis kicked off an ogre that tried to climb onto the roof of the building that they were on. He walked to the roof edge and spotted a goblin trying to climb up too. He grinned. “Hello.” Anubis kicked it between the eyes with the toe of his left foot. The goblin dropped down several stories to ground level. “Good-bye.”

     Suddenly the roof edge cracked and gave way, taking Anubis with it. A huge troll had beaten at the wall until it came loose.

     “Anubis!” Ryo lunged and grabbed the warlord’s wrist. They both fell off. Ryo reflexively reached towards the building and the wing on his arm furled out. “Huh?” he remarked as the two of them floated down slowly.

     “I can make it,” Anubis called out. Ryo released him and Anubis dropped to the ground and landed safely. Then Ryo stretched out his right arm and the wing spread out.  He held out his arms and waited patiently as he floated down to land beside Anubis.

     “I’m going to go back up. I’ve got a feeling that the warlords are going to need my help,” Anubis said.

     “Go ahead.” Ryo looked over his shoulder at a contingent of approaching uglies. “I’ll take care of these guys.”

     Anubis jumped and Ryo slipped into fighting position. An ogre slashed at him with a sword and Ryo brought his arm to shield himself. The sword clanged against the edge of the wing and Ryo pushed the sword away. Then he punched at the creature’s stomach but it moved to the side. Ryo was surprised when he saw the wing edge slice into the ogre’s gut. The creature stepped back. Ryo studied the wing.

     “Hey, it’s almost like a sword,” he commented. The masses attacked again, from all sides now. Ryo swung with his arms and blocked and parried hits with the wing swords. He sliced and slashed with the sharp edge. When a troll tried attacking from behind Ryo moved his arm back, jabbing the creature in the neck with the wing tip. He thrust his arm forward and the wing furled out. The sharp edge struck a goblin in the throat.

     “Ick.” The monsters kept coming. “Okay, now I think is a good time to get out of here.” Ryo jumped out of the grasp of oncoming monsters. He spread his arms and beat the wings. He was surprised to see that he was actually pushing himself up. “Hey, this is pretty neat.” Ryo flapped his arms and flew back up to the roof. He landed with ease.

     “How are things going up here?” he asked.

     “Bad. We’re having trouble keeping these things at bay. We need our armors Ryo,” Dais said.

     “Whooishit! Look out!!” Tanya screamed and pointed at a huge white form that slammed into the energy field.

     Raurgoth fell back and collapsed onto the ground, semiconscious from the impact. He was lying on his side in a large parking lot. No buildings were destroyed. Kayura and Shannon jogged up to the fallen white dragon with the incarnations following close behind.

     “You know, there’s a better way to solve this problem than by using brute force Raurgoth,” Kayura scolded.

     Raurgoth pushed himself on all fours and snorted, as if saying, “Don’t tell me how to do my job!”

     Kayura hummed in displeasure. Shannon looked down at her pendant. “The guys are in trouble. They need their armors but I can’t help them because of this thing,” she said. Raurgoth growled in anger. Then he reached down and gently nudged Kayura to the side, which was more of a violent shove.

     “Hey, watch yourself-”

     “Kayura, get back!” Shannon grabbed the woman’s wrist and pulled her away. Raurgoth’s mouth opened and a huge jet of flame poured out.

     For a while it seemed as if the dragon fire wasn’t affecting the shield. Then something caused a small explosion. The energy field flickered and seemed to grow dimmer.

     “Wait, something just happened. Raurgoth, can you stop for a moment?” Shannon called out. Raurgoth closed his mouth and moved back.

     “Shannon, use the Strata gem. Maybe you can see what he can’t from his height,” Kayura suggested. Shannon willed the pendant to transform and peered through the sapphire.

     “I can see it. There are a bunch of crystals sitting on the ground. They’re in a circle around this area of the city. When Raurgoth accidentally destroyed one it caused the shield to weaken. They’re invisible to the naked eye.” Shannon looked at the animal incarnations. “Do you think you guys can sniff em out?” Shannon asked.

     Iguadalupen nodded and the animals ran out along the edge of the purple dome. Boulderdash stamped wherever he could sense a crystal. The shield flickered again. Razor Wing grabbed one with his beak and dashed it against the ground. Lyor destroyed another with a blast of fire from his mouth. Jaguaradina bit down on it and shattered it. Iguadalupen had a better idea. He curled up and rolled along the edge of the dome like a saw blade. Foam Reaver followed his example and chomped down on crystals as he swam. The shield continued to grow weaker.

     Suddenly Raurgoth pulled his head back then lunged forward. His nine-foot long horns ran through the shield and it shattered, falling away in a shower of glittering purple fragments.

     Ryo cried out as his sub-armor changed back into Ronin sub-armor. The same thing happened with the other boys and Tanya. With it, the animal incarnations returned to the rings. Anubis held up his arm as the spiked gauntlet formed. There were several startled shouts as their Battle Armors suddenly formed on their bodies.

     “Huh, I guess they were waiting outside the energy field. When the field was destroyed they came to us,” Rowen remarked and readied his bow.

     Ryo drew out his swords and glanced to either side. The rooftops were covered by a congregation of monsters. The Ronin were alone on that one building. “Oh great, how are we going to get out of this one?” he muttered.

     “Wait! Tanya,”

     “Huh?”

     “We can use her power,” Rowen began. “If we combine some of our attacks with hers we can get rid of these things.”

     “But remember what Kayura said: we have to use them according to what situation we’re in.” Kento reminded.

     “We’re on a building with monsters all around us. All of them are up here, I can see them with my longsight. Nothing’s at street level. We also need to be careful not to cause any more damage to the buildings already messed up,” Rowen said.

     “How do we do that?” Sage asked.

     “Well, let me think.....”

     “Rowen, we don’t have time for you to think!” Ryo cried.

     “Wait, I’ve got it! We’ll need Anubis, Dais, Cye, Sehkmet, Sage, and myself. Sage, Sehkmet and I will use our energy attacks for power. Anubis, Dais, your attacks can seek out the enemy. Cye, you can focus your attack to hit the rooftops only. Tanya, can you do it?” Rowen asked.

     “You bet your blue hair I can!”

     “Then let’s go!” The seven Ronin jumped high up into the air.

     Ryo, Kento, and Cale watched as they prepared their attacks.

     “ARROW SHOCK WAVE!!!”
     “QUAKE WITH FEAR!!!”
     “WEB OF DECEPTION!!!”
     “SNAKE FANG STRIKE!!!”
     “THUNDER BOLT CUT!!!”
     “SUPERWAVE SMASHER!!!”

     To top it all off.....

     “TYPHOON BLAST!!!”

     Hundreds of chains and strands of webbing rained down to the rooftops where the monsters were gathered. Streams of light blue liquid energy and rays of blue light merged with them. Crackling bolts of green energy joined them. Violent, red-orange bolts surrounded them. Powerful winds guided them down onto the enemy.

     The monster’s eyes widened in terror as the storm of energy rays showered imminent death upon them. “RONIN ARMORGEDDON!!!”

     Shannon and Kayura shielded their eyes from the hellish glow as the rooftops were covered by energy. The buildings were unharmed but smoke and the reek of charred flesh lingered.

     The seven Ronin hovered in the air for a few seconds before falling back to the rooftop.

     “Holy guacamole!” Tanya exclaimed.

     “Holy shit,” Anubis remarked calmly.

    

     The Ten Ronin Warriors stood on a high skyscraper and watched the sunset.

     “That was the worst fight I’ve ever been in!” Dais complained.

     “I don’t think so,” Ryo contradicted.

     “What!? Are you out of your mind? We almost got killed!”

     “Yeah, but if we hadn’t done that we wouldn’t have realized what we truly are capable of in sub-armor. Especially you guys,” Ryo addressed the warlords. Cale shrugged in agreement.

     “Well, then does that mean you’ll stop it with this whole stupid armor business!” Tanya snapped.

     “Huh?” Ryo looked at his sister, who was standing with the four warlords.

     “Ever since I joined back up with you I’ve been hearing nothing but this thing stuffed up your ass attitude from you about ‘oooh, we’ve got fancy new Second Generation Armors and we’re so much better than you’. So can you sock it and quit rackin on for those of us who still have, quote-unquote, ‘First Generation Armors’, because I feel very insulted.”

     Ryo stared at her with surprise. “Gee Tanya, I didn’t know that I was insulting you like that. Was I insulting you guys?” Ryo asked the four warlords.

     “Yes!” Came the unanimous reply.

     “Well, I’m sorry if I acted that way. I promise I’ll stop it,” Ryo apologized.

     “Good, because I was about to smack you upside the head if you didn’t,” Tanya threatened. “Now, I’m going to go back to the House so I can wash this ----- out of my hair because it stinks like -----!” She stormed off grumbling to herself.

     Cye glanced back at the setting sun. “I feel like a run around the city.” Suddenly he jumped away and began jumping along rooftops from building to building.

     “Cye, wait up!” Kento cried out and jumped after him.

     Sehkmet snorted in disgust. “Hrmph, kids,” Cale muttered.

     “I think I’ll go join them,” Anubis said abruptly and jumped away after the two boys.

     Dais stared in disbelief at him. “You know Dais, I was right. It’s not the coffee,” Ryo said.

     “Maybe so, but he’s been living with you for too long. I can only hope we don’t start acting like you,” Dais muttered in reply.

     “Generation Gap Dais, Generation Gap,” Rowen hinted.

 

     From a dark alley a shadowy figure waited patiently for two goblin scouts to return. They were the only survivors. “Mistress, we have learned about a new power wielded by the Lady Ronin!” one said.

     “Good. I’ll report back to the fortress.”

     “Why haven’t any other warriors been sent? Why only you?” the second asked.

     “Because I’m the only one who can still enter the Mortal Realm you little shit! Now, let’s go. She won’t be very patient for long.” A pair of dark colored wings spread from the figure’s back and it flew up into the air, carrying the goblin scouts by their harnesses with it’s talons.......

 

***

 

                                                      Daughter of the Ages

                                                            By Mardrena

 

     The ribbons furled out like plastic strips on an A/C. All around them, the world was iridescent. The ribbons swirled with such turbulent furor they seemed alive. She stared up from where she was kneeling at the person standing infront of her. Her eyes spoke all her emotions. They spoke of a yearning, a need of this person standing infront of her. She reached out towards the person, her hand stretched out, palm flattened, fingers pointing upward. The person reached out to her in turn, his hand in the same position. All around him, wrapped around his slender body like strips of linen on an embalmed body, were the ribbons. It was always the ribbons. They kept them from being together. She looked into his eyes. She looked at his flowing auburn hair. His face was expressionless, but his eyes told her of that same yearning. They reached out towards each other, their hands but a few inches apart from touching. Then, a bright flash of white light interrupted them, just as they were about to touch.......

 

     Arizona, U.S.

     Michelle Lonely Coyote sat bolt upright in bed. Her body was drenched in sweat. She sat there panting audibly for sometime. Then she put her head into her hands and began to cry. “It’s always the ribbons, the ribbons that bind him,” she sobbed. She wiped the tears from her face and stood up inside her little hogan.

     It was nearly sunrise, just about time to wake up. She pulled on her shorts and searched around for her vest and undershirt. While she was searching she found that picture. The one with herself, a child of no more than three, and the man she knew as her father. She tossed the picture onto her bed and began to look for her boots: crafted of red leather and lined with fur. Her vest, with the numerous beads and fringes, whispered softly as she lid it over her shoulders. Then she scrounged around for her bracelet and watch. She also located her beaded headband and the feather she always wore pinned to it. She studied it for a moment. Her father had found it for her on one of his expeditions and brought it back for her as a gift. For fourteen years she had kept it with her. She sighed again and put on her accessories.

     Michelle stepped out into the dawn and stretched, yawning loudly. It would be some time before the other members of the tribe would awaken. Michelle decided to go to her favorite spot and wait. What she called her Trouble Spot was a lonely wind washed boulder that sat amid towers of sandstone that jutted into the air. Lonely, like her....

     “Michelle!” She whirled around to search for the one who had called her name. It was Jonathan Proud Rock. “Michelle, another one is missing!” he said in a distressed tone. The news greatly disturbed her. There had been nearly five people who had vanished, all without a trace.

     “Who is it?” she demanded and frowned.

     “Thomas Lazy Star. He was out studying. Then, all of a sudden, he was gone. I didn’t hear a single thing! I can’t believe it myself! I was just a few feet behind him. I had my back turned for but a moment and *poof*, he was gone!” Jonathan explained.

     Michelle stood up on the boulder and stared at the sky. “I must walk to Walking Cloud. I also need to find him.”

     “You had your dream again?”

     “Yes. I must find him. Somehow I feel as if he is the only one who can help us. Walking Cloud will show me how to find him,” Michelle explained.

     “Michelle, how can you even think of searching for him. He abandoned you nearly fourteen years ago. He hasn’t returned since,” Jonathan argued.

     “He did not abandon me!” Michelle screamed. “He would never abandon me!”

     “How can you be so sure he wouldn’t?” Jonathan sneered. He turned around and snorted in disgust. Then he walked off angrily. Michelle followed after him, but instead turned away from the reservation. She then walked towards William Walking Cloud’s lonely hogan, standing along by itself in the low, sloping bowl of the area.

     “Walking Cloud?” she asked meekly as she gingerly lifted away the cloth door. William Walking Cloud was one of few shamans that still practiced the old ways. He looked up from meditating.

     “Come in Lonely Coyote. Sit down. What troubles you today child?” the elderly man asked. Michelle seated herself on a small cushioned stool.

     “Lately I have been having these dreams. I think they have something to do with both my Father’s absence and the disappearances,” Michelle stated.

     Walking Cloud stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Explain to me the details of your dream,” he requested.

     “Well, I’m there kneeling on the ground, and he is standing infront of me. We reach out to touch one another, but just as we are about to touch, I wake up. And that’s not the worst part. It’s the ribbons....always the ribbons! They’re wrapped all over him, and they seem to be holding him back, as if they are binding him!” she explained.

     “Ribbons? What kind of ribbons? Describe them to me.”

     “They cover him completely, except for his head and hands. Some....some are black, and some are red. The most dominant ones, however, are brown and yellow. But it’s always the ribbons! The ribbons that bind him!” Michelle began to cry again. Walking Cloud patted her on the shoulder.

     “Do not fret. It seems to me as if your dreams are telling you to go out and find your father,” he concluded.

     “Then how am I supposed to find him?” Michelle asked.

     “I am sorry child. I do not know myself. Maybe the answer will come to you in time.....

 

     Images of a city, an overwhelming evil that pervaded every block and street.

     “No word on the missing population of Toyama, Japan...”

     “Officials suspect a grand scale terrorist attack......”

     “Scientists cannot find a logical explanation for the thick, black cloud which seems to be lingering over Toyama....”

     “Even self-confirmed skeptics of the supernatural find it hard to dismiss the castle-like phenomena which sits over the city....”

     “...the city of Toyama....”

 

     Michelle’s eye went wide. “Toyama, Japan!”

     Jonathan found her in the corral saddling one of the horses. “What are you doing? Wait, you’re leaving aren’t you? To go look for him?”

     “I must. I have to find him. Now my dreams have told me where to look. I have to know. He is my father!!” Michelle stated. She rode off without any further conversation. Fortunately she had enough money saved to pay for the trip.....

 

     Chaos leapt into the air and lunged. Vertigo stepped back and lashed out with her deadly fangs. Chaos leapt back and countered with a toxic Fart of Fury. Vertigo jumped and easily avoided the thick cloud of choking green gas and lashed out with her tail. Chaos’s Power Puke could not save him as Vertigo unleashed her powerful Voodoo Spell. Chaos tottered from side to side then collapsed. Vertigo reared back and screamed in triumph.

     “Aw man!” Kento complained. He slapped the side of the arcade game angrily then stormed off. Dais looked at him and smiled. Then Kento stopped. He whirled around and held up two fingers. “Best two out of three!”

     “You’re on!” Dais answered. They fished out the necessary change and the battle began once more.

     “I can’t believe this,” Sehkmet mumbled.

     “When he said ‘settle this dispute in a manly way’ I was expecting for them to duke it out,” Anubis muttered.

     “That would’ve been something,” Ryo commented.

     The waitress came and deposited their food on the table. Ryo paid her and she scrawled something on a notepad. Then she looked at them all. “Don’t you guys get tired of wearing the same clothes all the time” she asked.

     “NO!” they replied in unison.

     Kento finally had to give up. Dais had ultimately gained the upper hand and Vertigo triumphed over Chaos. Next time I’ll try Sauron, he thought as he chewed ravenously on his meal. Then someone caught his eye as she walked past. “Hey, who’s the injun chick?”

     Anubis did not look up and paid him no heed. Then the girl spoke to a cashier. “Hmmm?” He looked up and studied the girl more closely. She was dressed in a tanned leather vest and denim shorts. Several fringes and strings of beads dangled from the back. A beaded headband with a long black-tipped white feather pinned to it adorned her head. Her black hair, done up in a pony tail, reached a few inches past her elbow.

     Her appearance was not what interested Anubis. The feather pinned to her headband did. There was something about it that stirred very deep memories.

     “What?!” This cannot be, he thought. Can it really be her?

     He stood up abruptly. “Pardon me, I need to go relieve myself.” He then left the cafe to search for a bathroom.

     “More ‘n half a year with us and he still has trouble talkin normal,” Tanya muttered and took a sip of her drink.

 

     No one at the restaurant had any information that could help her. Yet when she had given a description one of the waitresses told her that he had been sitting at a table with some other people. When she looked for him she found that he was gone. Oh heck, she thought, what’s the use. A dozen people could look like him. I have to see him for myself in order to know that he is truly my father.

     Anubis stood by behind a wall and patiently observed the girl as she left. Could it really be her? he asked himself silently. He watched the girl and followed her as she went off to a series of stores, asking questions. He made his decision. He had to follow her and find out for real that it was her....

 

     Michelle wove her way through the crowds on the sidewalks of Toyama. I can’t ask every single person I see if they have seen him. Ooh, I should’ve brought my picture. Not that it would’ve helped much. It’s been so long, he could’ve changed. Michelle sighed mournfully and continued walking.

     The something *thwieked*.

     Walking Cloud had been training her ever since she was seven on the mystic arts. She could make minor predictions by reading natural signs and her skill in amulet making was improving. She could also sense people’s intentions towards her, whether someone posed a threat.

     Someone behind her was searching for her. For some reason she could not sense his intentions, only that someone wanted her. She scowled then began to walk faster. Whomever it was kept their pace; directly behind her. She didn’t look back and searched for a place to hide. An alley leading to the other side of the block seemed to be the best choice so she quickly ducked into the narrow area.

     The mystery person was still following her. She began to run and headed towards the other side of the block where she hoped to lose herself in the crowd. Suddenly, the stranger that was following her appeared directly infront of her.

     Michelle jumped back and slipped into a fighting stance. She held her hands close together, and with a defensive technique taught to her by Walking Cloud, gathered up the innate psychic energy of her body at rest and discharged it in a powerful phoenix of bright, golden light.

     Instead of stunning the stranger, he merely blocked it with his arms. Whoever he was, he apparently knew of the method of deflecting it. She tensed herself then pounced and launched a powerful kick. She was very surprised when the stranger deftly deflected her blow. He grabbed her by the ankle and threw her to the ground.

     She sat up and looked up to face her attacker. “My word, what have they been teaching you? Shoot first then ask questions later?” Anubis asked.

     Michelle merely stared at him in awe. She stood up and dusted herself off, still with her eyes fixed on him. “It is you!” She darted forward and embraced him, hugging him tightly. “It’s been so long! So many years! How come you never came home?” she asked.

     “That is of no importance now. I’m just happy to see you after all these years. My,” Anubis backed away and sized up his daughter. “You’ve grown up into quite the attractive lady.” He smiled. “You look so much like your mother.”

     Michelle blushed and pushed a strand of hair from her shoulder. “Oh father, I missed you so, but, there...there is another reason I came to find you.” She turned around and clasped her hands together. Then she began to pace around. “Several people have vanished from the reservation. We don’t know how or why. There were five gone a few days ago, then six, then seven when I was about to leave. During the past few weeks I have been receiving dreams telling me to look for you. I also feel that maybe you could help.” She looked at him again. “Can you? Can you come with me back to Arizona?”

     Anubis looked at her. “I cannot alone, but, I have some friends that can.”.....

 

     “Hey you guys, have you noticed if Anubis has come back yet?” Ryo asked.

     “Nor hide or hair of him. He left the cafe, but he never came back,” Dais answered.

     As if on cue the door opened and Anubis walked into the living room. “Well there you are! What do you think you’re pulling running off like that without telling us?” Dais demanded.

     “Where did you go?” Tanya asked.

     “I apologize for taking so long, but there is someone I would like for you to meet. Come on, it’s okay,” he said reassuringly to a person standing in the other room. A girl of about seventeen entered.

     “Hey! It’s the Indian girl!” Kento exclaimed.

     “Yes, this is Michelle. She is my daughter,” Anubis said.

     The others gasped in shock. “Your...daughter?” Ryo stammered.

     “Yes, Michelle,” Anubis addressed her. “I need to discuss this matter with them alone. Mia? Would you mind finding a room for her tonight, just until morning?”

     “She can stay in the guest room. Follow me.” Mia led Michelle upstairs. Michelle cast a glance back at Anubis before passing out of view.

     “When did you find time for a family?” Sehkmet asked. Anubis folded his arms over his chest and stared at the floor.

     “Anubis? Is there something wrong?” Ryo asked. Anubis looked up at him. “If she is your daughter, where did she come from?”

     Anubis remained silent for a while. “I....don’t.....know,” he said. “I don’t know how it is that she is my daughter. She is only seventeen. I...I am centuries old, yet I have that memory of seeing her as a child. She recognizes me even though she lives half way around the world and hasn’t seen me for more than a decade.” Anubis returned his gaze to the floor. “She is a Navajo from a reservation several miles form Phoenix, Arizona. She came here to find me because she had been receiving dreams about me, but also because people have been mysteriously disappearing. Something’s telling me that this may be a matter we need to look into, possibly Dynasty related.”

     Ryo tapped his fingers against his arm. “Well....I guess in the morning we can get armed and have Kayura send us there.....”

     “NO,” Anubis interrupted.

     “Huh?”

     “She doesn’t know who I am.”

     “But you said....”

     “She doesn’t know who I am.” An uneasy silence reigned for a few moments. “She doesn’t know about my past or my true nature, and I don’t want to tell her just yet until I’m sure she’s good and ready. Can we please take a normal flight to Arizona or at least make it appear as if we are traveling on a plane?”

     Dais hummed for a while. “It’ll take a lot of work, but I can do it,” he offered.

     “Thank you Dais, I appreciate that most gratefully.”

     “Okay, but you’re gonna owe me big,” Dais hinted.

     “Hey Anubis, if you have a daughter....then that means you’re not a virgin!” Kento pointed out.

     “A what?”

     “He means you hit of off probably long before any of us were even born, which is pretty darn darn good for someone your age,” Tanya said.

     “What?!” Dais walked over to him and whispered something in his ear. Anubis raised an eyebrow. “Well I don’t see why you should be making such a big deal out of that!” he argued. “Besides, somehow I don’t think this happened during my service with the Dynasty.”

     “How could it not?” Rowen asked.

     “I’m not sure. Ever since I was resurrected I have been experiencing fragmented memory lapses, too vague to make out any solid, specific details about my past life, but enough to where I remembered her. Perhaps when we arrive in Phoenix I can learn more.”

    

     When they arrived in Phoenix, Michelle avoided all the parking lots and led them straight for the open desert.

     “What, you don’t have a car?” Ryo asked.

     “No, only a few of the families have vehicles to take goods to market, but we do have horses. Wait a moment.” She cupped her hands around her mouth and cried out. “Itchyatukomi!!! Itchyatukomi!!! Mikita! EEYOOWW!!” she called out these words and uttered a few loud cries similar to Danae’s was cry.

     A cloud of dust appeared from over the horizon. Ryo squinted and was able to pinpoint an eagle and a dog herding a pack of saddled hoses towards them. Michelle caught the reins of some and calmed them down.

     “Who are your friends?”

     “This is Itchyatukomi,” Michelle said and held up her arm to allow the eagle to alight. Ryo noticed that the bird had several beads woven into it’s head and tail feathers. “His mother was killed by a rattle snake when he was very young. I nursed him and raised him from a chick. This is Mikita. Her parents were killed by a rancher’s dogs,” she said and pointed to the coyote. Mikita wore a plain leather collar around her neck and a checkered bandana draped over her shoulder.

     Anubis stooped down to pet the animal, but suddenly she began to growl angrily. “Well, apparently she doesn’t like me,” he mumbled, taken aback.

     “She rarely lets anyone other than me handle her,” Michelle explained. She mounted one of the horses and turned it around. “Follow me, I’ll show you the way.”

     Ryo grabbed one of the horses' reins and jumped on it’s back. “Okay, let’s mount up!” he ordered.

     They rode on through the desert out of the city non stop en route to the reservation. They stopped by the corral to drop off the horses then entered the village. Several hogans and a few small houses dotted the area.

     “Hmm, not a bad place. How many people live here?” Ryo asked. Michelle only stared at him. “Huh? What’s wrong? Unless you find me stunningly attractive, but I’m already married. Besides, your father probably wouldn’t.....what?” Ryo saw that Michelle was pointing at him and shaking her finger.

     “Micheala, it isn’t polite to point and just stand there,” Anubis said sternly.

     “You’re the one! You are the one on the walls,” Michelle stated.

     “Huh?”

     “‘He who carries the guilt of the world on his shoulders’,” she whispered.

     “Who?”

     “Michelle, what is this nonsense you speak of?” Anubis demanded.

     “Come with me, I’ll show you.” Michelle led them to a small cavern whose entrance went down into the side of a rocky hill. The opening was sheltered in a hogan. The door flap hung to one side. Michelle pointed to Ryo, Rowen, Kento, Sage, and Cye. “You five, come with me.”

     She guided them down a few feet until they entered a narrow hall. “We meant to use this for a storage area, but when we found these we decided to leave them alone.” Michelle took out a flashlight and shone the light onto one of the walls in the hallway.

     What the boys saw sent chills down their spines. Ryo peered closer and studied the five drawings done in old style native art. Each of the drawings depicted a human figure and an animal above it. The human drawings had wide, colored bands over their arms and chests. The colors were red, blue, orange, green, and light blue. The animals above them were of a lion, an eagle, a mountain ram, a lizard, and a shark.

     “NO WAY! These are us!” he gasped. Very clearly he could see that two of the humans were wearing headbands. One of the other drawings had bushy, blonde hair.

     “Look, that’s me, Kento, Rowen, Sage, and Cye!”

     “That’s impossible!”

     “No, that isn’t a fake, This thing’s for real!”

     Cye brushed off some dust from the drawing representing him when he uncovered another drawing. This one was of a girl with black hair and pink bands on her chest and arms. A drawing of a rampant jaguar was right above it. “Hey Ryo, I think this is your sister,” he said and pointed to the drawing depicting Tanya.

     “How did these get here?” Ryo demanded.

     “What do you mean, ‘how did they get there’? They have been there for hundreds of years,” Michelle stated.

 

     Ryo came back out to the surface and met the others. “Well, what did you find out down there?” Sehkmet inquired.

     “It is weird! There are these strange drawings down there which depict us in our AnimArmors.”

     “That’s impossible!”

     “No, they’re there, and Michelle says they’ve been there for years.”
     “Hmmm, well, while you were down there lollygagging, myself and the others spoke with the local shaman, a fellow named Walking Cloud. As far as we can tell not many people remember any useful detail pertaining to Anubis’ past. Anubis has come up with a theory though, that maybe the four of us might’ve been ordinary people living throughout the world.”

     “But, how can that be? I thought you all were supposed to be really old.”

     “I do not know myself. I suppose that is something that will only come in the passage of time.” Sehkmet shrugged indifferently.

     “So Anubis didn’t remember anything solid about his past life until Michelle came looking for him. Hrmph, isn’t that just prime,” Ryo muttered. “Where is he now?”

     “Anubis left to go talk with Michelle. He said he would be back before sundown.....”

 

     Michelle sat down on her boulder while Anubis stood off to the side. “Let us forget about the disappearances for a while, shall we? Tell me, what all have you done in the many years I have been gone?” Anubis asked.

     “Not much except work, and yearn for you to come home.”

     “What is your Navajo name? You never told me.” Michelle looked away and did not answer. “Don’t be shy, tell me.” She still did not answer.

     “She is called Lonely Coyote!” a young man sneered. He sat astride a horse and glared at Anubis. “Because she wailed like a lost spirit when she was young. She cried for her father, howling like a coyote, but her cries were not answered for most of her life.”

     “Jonathan, stop it!” Michelle snapped.

     “Michelle, is this true?” Anubis demanded. Michelle hung her head and looked away. Anubis glared at Jonathan. “I do not approve of your attitude very much young man. Now leave us! Or else I shall have to knock you from that fine horse of yours,” Anubis threatened.

     Jonathan glared at him one last time before riding off. “Micheala?” Anubis began. “What did that man mean? Tell me, why did he refer to you in that way?” Michelle turned away and folded her arms over her chest. She narrowed her eyes angrily and frowned.

     “It is true. I am Michelle Lonely Coyote. Just that, nothing else,” she said stiffly. Anubis placed his hand on her shoulder but she brushed it away roughly.

     “Michelle, why?” Anubis asked. Michelle slid off of the boulder and whirled around with such fury he recoiled in surprise.

     “Fourteen years. For fourteen years I waited, I waited for you to come home. You never came. I cried, every day I would cry, ‘where’s my daddy!’ I was only a child back then but I still remembered that you were my father! How come you never came back? For fourteen years mother and I lived alone. She grew so bitter I rarely stayed with her. So....so full of hate for you. She cursed your name until the day she died,” Michelle spat.

     “She.....died?”

     “It was three years ago. Till the day she drew her last breath she cursed your name with such malice. I never understood why. I always kept hope that you were lost somewhere, or that maybe you had been killed and we were never notified. But mother? All such powerful hatred!” Michelle shook her head from side to side. “Why didn’t you come back if you were alive for all that time?”

     Anubis looked away. “I can’t tell you.”

     “Why not?”

     “You would be mad at me, you would not understand.”

     “What is there that I wouldn’t understand?” she screamed.

     “If I told me than you would hate me just like your mother.”

     “Why.....didn’t....you....come...back?!” she growled.

     “You cannot know the truth just yet. You would be hurt,” Anubis replied.

     Michelle stood there with her rage boiling over. “What makes you think that I’m not hurt now that you deny me the truth? Is it because you forgot me, you left and didn’t care for me? Is that why I didn’t see you in the mall? I asked where you were and they told me that they had seen you. Did you leave on purpose just to avoid me?”

     “I wasn’t sure, I.....”

     “You weren’t sure? Before I came to Japan you obviously didn’t remember me. Perhaps the reason you never came home is because you don’t love me,” she sneered.

     “What! Michelle, that is not true! I.....” he paused. He could not tell her about his service to Talpa and the horror of the Dynasty Wars just yet.

     Michelle narrowed her eyes and bolted for the desert in a bitterness laden rage. “Michelle! Wait! Michelle, please, come back! Michelle!!” he called out after her. She ignored his desperate cries and disappeared into the twilight as the sun slipped from the horizon.

 

     Michelle paused at a stand of boulders to rest for she was out of breath. She leaned against a tall rock pillar and began to cry. She gulped and wiped tears from her cheeks in an effort to stem the saline flow. Then a strange sound made her suddenly aware of the odd presence she felt about the rocks. She looked up at the rocks then stood up.

     “This is an evil place,” she said aloud. She began to move away when a powerful force slammed her against a rock pillar. She whirled around to face her attacker, then stared wide-eyed in terror at the awful beast that stood infront of her.

     The creature was in the form a coyote yet it stood on two legs like a man. Around it’s waist was a colored breechcloth tied to a beaded girdle. Several jeweled bracelets adorned it’s thin arms and it’s fingers were tipped with sharp claws. Tattoos surrounded it’s shoulder and one eye. Two golden earrings dangled from one of it’s pointed ears. It’s lips curled back to reveal vicious canines that glistened with a fine film of saliva. Then it laughed, and evil human-like laugh of triumph. It reached out and grabbed Michelle by her arm and pulled her away.

    

     Anubis remained at Michelle’s trouble spot in the hope that she would return. Mikita sat down beside him and began to whine, sensing his despair.

     “I made a serious mistake. I should have told her then instead of stalling. That only prolonged the hurt. But.....ahhhh.....it is not easy to put something like the Dynasty Wars into soft words,” Anubis muttered. Mikita whined again and set her chin on Anubis’ lap. Before he realized what he was doing he had settles into a sort of routine of stroking the coyote’s head. He pulled away, somewhat embarrassed, and set back to thinking.

     Then Mikita stood up and  barked. She began to pace around and whined some more. She scrabbled frantically at the ground and growled. Anubis frowned. Something’s wrong. He looked up when he heard a loud avian screech.

     Instinctively, Anubis transformed into his sub-armor and held up his arm to allow Itchyatukomi to alight. The eagle clutched the arm plate with his talons and settled his wings. Mikita barked and Itchyatukomi screeched in reply.

     “Hey Anubis?” He turned around to see the others running towards him. “What’s wrong? Why are you in your armor?” Ryo asked.

     “I’m not sure. Obviously Itchyatukomi and Mikita sense that there is something dreadfully amiss,” Anubis replied.

     “Where’s Michelle?” Dais asked.

     “She....ran off....it was my fault though.”

     “So you finally admit to your guilt?” a voice spoke. It was Jonathan. Dais quickly created the illusion of Anubis wearing clothes but it was dark enough to where Jonathan did not see the Ronin Warrior in sub-armor. “I can understand why she would run from you. You gave her nothing but grief for almost all her life. Why should you care about her now?” Jonathan accused. Anubis balled his fist up and began to growl. “It would have been better if you never came! You don’t belong with her!” 

     Jonathan didn’t see it coming when Anubis lunged and landed his fist against his jaw. The startled Navajo fell back, dazed from the blow. He sat up shakily and wiped blood form where his lip had split open. Anubis merely turned around and walked away. Mikita kicked dirt onto Jonathan and followed Anubis. The others hardly spared him a glance and walked off.

    Anubis’ fist had felt like a solid rock........

 

     Mikita led the way. Itchyatukomi sat perched upon Anubis’ shoulder as they walked. Suddenly Mikita stopped and began to whimper. Itchyatukomi launched himself off with a fright and flew away rapidly. Before them lay the entrance to a very narrow canyon that ended in a large cavern with a high ceiling pockmarked with crevasses.

     “I’ve heard about this place. The Navajo named it Phantom Canyon after the disappearances began. They said that strange shapes had been seen around the area,” Sage informed.

     Mikita sat down and whined loudly. Itchyatukomi had flown out of sight. “They refuse to go any further. I suppose it’s up to us now,” Anubis muttered. They walked in and carefully made their way by the bright moonlight seeping in from above.

     “GAAACK!! Wheehhooo! Damn it reeks!” Tanya complained and shook her head.

     “Yeah, like Kento after his stomach has a bad reaction,” Rowen joked.

     “Shut up.”

     “You think you’ve had it bad? Try Cale, his is worse,” Sehkmet said and jerked his thumb at the above mentioned.

     “Shut up Sehkmet!”

     “All hear this, Cale is forever barred from eating Mexican food. Keep that in mind Cye,” Dais said.

     Anubis chuckled to himself. Then he stopped suddenly and recoiled.

     “What’s wrong?”

     “It gets really stifling up ahead,” Anubis answered and covered his nose with his hand.

     “It’s natural gas. They’re probable a vent somewhere, something smells like sulfur.....” Sage muttered. “Try not to breathe too much of it or you’ll pass out,” he warned. Everyone tried to slow their breathing or covered their mouths. Tanya held one of her pony tails over her nose to screen out the stifling malodor.

 

     Michelle found herself tied to a thick wooden post. “Go ahead, call your friends. They’re here wandering about in the canyon. Call out and let them know where you are,” the coyote-man taunted from where he sat cross-legged on a rock shelf.

     Michelle knew it was a trap but she had to try. “Please, help me! I’m in here! Can anybody hear me?” she hollered. For several moments there was not even a faint whisper of an answer. She slumped against the post in despair. Then she heard a loud metallic screaming sound. She ducked as a swarm of whirling golden blurs buzzed around the chamber angrily. They streaked towards the coyote-man. He jumped back and held up a medallion. The discs recoiled and swooshed back to their source.

     “Watch you aim Tanya! You almost hit her!” a young male voice scolded.

     “Sorry,” came the apology.

     Michelle saw the shadowy outlines of several armored figures. There were ten in all. Their armors were in different colors; shades of blue, brown, gold and red, orange, green and jade, maroon and gray. Each one bore a weapon of war in their metal shod hands. The one in brown and gold stepped forward and drew out a sickle-like weapon. He cut through the ropes easily so that they fell away like a shed garment.

     “Are you allright?” the warrior asked as he cut the roped binding her wrists. “Did he hurt you?”

     “No, well, not really....” She looked at her rescuer but saw that his face was concealed by his helmet and mask. “Who are you?”

     “What? You don’t even recognize my voice? Hmmm, perhaps it is because we have not know each other as much as we should have.” The warrior reached up and tapped the side of his helmet. The mask vanished, then the helmet.

     “FATHER!!” Michelle cried aloud.

     “Yes, it is I,” The other warriors face masks vanished. Michelle recognized the other people that were her father’s friends. “Who.....what are you?” she asked.

     “I am a Ronin Warrior. You will come to know the rest in time,” Anubis promised.

     “Well, perhaps she didn’t know that at first. I, however, knew all along right from the start,” the coyote-man proclaimed.

     “Coyote, so you survived then,” Ryo said.

     “Yes! I was the only one left! That anal sniffing Don Marquin was too much of a slithering coward to do anything on his own. Therefore I had to have retribution for the deaths of my family members. I anticipated all of this. I learned that the girl’s only living parent was a Ronin Warrior, ex-Dark Warlord too. You fools, I sent her those dreams! I only kidnapped the other people to give her a reason to call her daddy for help. Thus I arranged this whole cute, little reunion that brought you here to the reservation.

     “Oh young Michelle, how well do you know your daddy? Not that well huh? Well, you see, you’re bound to find out the truth about his past sooner or later, might as well be now. You see, dear ol’ daddy has been a really naughty man in the past, oh, couple of centuries up until now,” Coyote sneered.

     Michelle gasped in shock when Anubis threw his chain at Coyote. Coyote nimbly dodged and the chain passed overhead. He cackled wildly with amused glee and looked back at Anubis and Michelle.

     “Well now, seems like daddy has a teensy weensy secret he doesn’t want you to know.” Michelle glanced up at Anubis, who only wore a stiff, stony expression.

     “How dare you,” Anubis snarled. He stood up and stepped forward. “Can’t you see I have ended my service with your masters? Must you continue to torture me even though I have started life anew? Michelle is my only link to my past life before the Dynasty assimilated me. I will not tolerate your usage of her as a pawn anymore!” Anubis roared and pointed his weapon at Coyote. Coyote grinned and began to chuckle.

     “You want her so much? Catch her.” He took off a disk shaped medallion from around his neck and held it in his fist. Then he threw it hard onto the ground. Huge cracks opened up and formed a rough circle around Michelle. The ground shuddered beneath her and began to fall away. “FATHER!!” she screamed.

     “MICHELLE!!” Anubis stuck his kusari-gama into the ground and used the chain to hold onto as he jumped for her. Grab my hand!” he ordered. Michelle clutched onto the rock and reached for him.

     “I can’t reach, it’s too far!”

     “Please try Micheala! I will not lose you again!” Anubis declared and jumped down further. Michelle clutched onto his wrist. Anubis hastily wrapped the end of his chain around her chest under her arms.

     Coyote laughed and took out another medallion. He threw it at Anubis’ weapon and jostled it free. It dropped into the deepening sinkhole but Anubis caught it. He swung at the rock face and tried to catch it with his blade for a secure hold but the fragile sandstone betrayed him. He grabbed Michelle’s wrist and tried to pull her along as he scrabbled at the tilting rock surface.

     Then he lost his grip. The two fell. “Michelle, please forgive me. I did not return because I couldn’t. I did not remember you in thought, but I always kept your memory deep in my heart,” Anubis said as they fell into the blackness.

     Suddenly a thin golden cord and a thick black cable shot down into the hole. Sage helped Tanya as she reeled Michelle up and Kento pulled up Anubis. Anubis caught a hold of the edge of the hole. He pulled himself up. “Protect her,” he told the other warlords. Then he turned to face Coyote, who had jumped down from the rock shelf.

     “This will continue no more,” Anubis declared.

     “I beg to differ, slayers of my kin!” Coyote snarled.

     “Hey fleaball! Take that up with us!” Ryo stepped forward. He and the others had summoned the AnimArmors. Ryo wore the White Dragon armor and he smacked the end of the Dragonlance into his palm.

     “No Ryo, this is my fight,” Anubis shouted.

     “Huh?”

     “Please Ryo, this must be done,” Anubis said. He brandished his weapon and began to swing his chain around.

     “I will have my vengeance if I have to fight until my last drop of blood!” Coyote snarled. He drew out his dagger. Coyote lunged but missed Anubis’ face by a hairbreadth. He lunged again but Anubis fended off the blow with his chain. They fought but as they struggled they moved closer and closer to the tunnel entrance. Anubis had a plan now.

     Just as they moved infront of the tunnel opening Coyote slashed. His blade clashed against Anubis’ blade and sent a shower of sparks. Anubis threw himself to the side at the very moment as the tunnel lit up in a brilliant ball of fire. He called back his helmet and used his back to shield himself from the fiery vehemence. Ryo stretched his wings and used them to protect the others. The fireball caught Coyote in the chest and sent him flailing into the pit. Rowen flew up and held out his hands at the fire. The air rippled as the blaze was forced into the confinements of the pit.

    With a final *Kierssweish!* the fire was sucked into the pit.

    “He should be dead,” Rowen said.

     “Better make sure.” Ryo took flight and positioned himself over the pit. He pointed his Dragonlance at it. “INFERNO DRAGON RAGE!!!” A massive jet of flame shot into the hole and spread down into the farthest depths.

     “That is enough Ryo. Dogs don’t have nine lives,” Anubis said. Ryo and Rowen landed. Anubis looked at Michelle. “Are you allright, now?”

    “Yes.....I understand. But, this can wait. I...I know where the other people are,” Michelle answered.

     “Go with her,” Ryo told the other warlords. Michelle looked over her shoulder at Anubis then walked away.

     “So, what are you going to do now?” Ryo asked.

     “I must tell her everything. She needs to know,” Anubis replied.

     “You sure she’s ready?” Ryo asked in a concerned tone.

     “She must be told now. I cannot delay anymore than I already have. This wound cannot be allowed to fester any longer.”

 

     Anubis and Michelle were alone together at the boulder. She sat on top and stared ahead. She glanced at Anubis then returned her gaze to it’s present position. Anubis fingered the zipper of his jacket. Then he sighed.

     “You are probably wondering what all that was about back there with Coyote, aren’t you?” Michelle nodded. “When I refused to tell you the truth about my past because I was afraid it would hurt you, I wasn’t lying. More than a year ago I was involved in a terrible battle known as the Dynasty War. I....I was once known as Anubis, Dark Warlord of Cruelty, most hated of the enemies of the Ronin Warriors. I was evil, I killed....and, I enjoyed it then.

     “Then I was defeated. The Ancient One, mentor of the Ronin Warriors, talked to me. He convinced me that I did not have to follow Talpa. I was once their enemy, now I fight by their side.”

     Michelle stared at Anubis with surprise. “All this happened after you left?”

     “Michelle, .....this conflict has been rooted centuries before your own birth. I am over four hundred thirty years old! I do not know how it is that you can be so young and be my daughter, but if you are truly of my own blood, I am willing to accept that responsibility. I did not tell you all of this at first because I felt that it was not quite the right time.” Anubis walked up to the boulder and rested his hand against the gritty surface. “I suppose no one can really tell when is the right time for something. That is a decision that can only be made by the person whom it affects. I am sorry for all that I have done. I did not realize that withholding the truth from you would deepen the scar.” Anubis walked off a short distance and stopped.

     “Myself and the others will be returning to Japan soon.”

     “Then please, let me come with you!” Michelle suddenly spoke up.

     “Hmmm?”

     “I haven’t seen you for most of my life. We should at least catch up on all that time we  missed,” Michelle reasoned.

     Anubis smiled. Michelle slid off the boulder and walked up to  him. “I will take you with me.” They hugged each other tightly. “You are my daughter.”

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

Character Profile: Michelle Lonely Coyote/ Micheala(Mickey-ay-la)

 

     Michelle was born on October 5, 1976. She really has no resemblance to Anubis except for the characteristic bangs. Her eyes are a dark green, nearly black. Her hair reaches halfway down her back and is usually worn in a loose ponytail bound with a blue band. She is slightly shorter than Anubis. She either wears her vest or a tanned leather jacket with her usual ensemble.

     She has trained in the mystic arts since childhood and her skill grows stronger as the series progresses. Michelle becomes a master shamaness and receives a charm encrusted spear that increases her power. She fulfills the part of the prophecy about Anubis when she is chosen to be Heir to the Armor of Strata for her gentle nature(and for Rowen’s lack of having a kid) She earns the name Micheala Soul Catcher for her aid during God Wars, Ronin WarriorSpectra, and HARMAGEDDON.

     Michelle provides aid to the Ronin by helping to protect Mia during her pregnancy and protecting Anubis from the Dynasty’s intentions. Michelle’s existence is only one of the anomalies associated with the four warlords. Later on in the series all of them, not just Anubis, begin to come in contact with some person or something linked to their past lives.