Disclaimer: We own all but the Ronin Warriors.

Unexpected Consequences

Chapter 10.


Thunder had mounted the stallion by now. At first the stallion had been alarmed, but when the handler spoke softly to him, the horse calmed down. Once he was ready, Thunder took the reins from the handler and led the horse away into a more suitable pasture for riding.

The two guards and the handler watched him carefully, taking notes of his riding, his posture, and his agility. At first Thunder had a bit of a hard time riding, but after a while he got the control of it.

'Okay,' Thunder thought as he concentrated. 'Now what did Scorpio say about riding horses? Oh yeah. Keep your feet evenly balanced in the stirrups, shoulders level, knees against the sides, but not too hard.' All the lessons that Scorpio had taught him in horse back riding were slowly paying off. He began to build more courage and soon he was riding almost like a pro. The horse neighed and tossed his head, clearly wanting to run, but Thunder held him back.

"I guess that's why they named you Spirit Fury," he murmured. The horse only snorted, and Thunder led him throughout the pasture. Finally the Warrior of Storm broke the horse into a canter, then finally a gallop. And this is what the horse wanted. Running was the stallion's favorite things to do.

When he had ridden for a good fifteen minutes, he heard one of the guards call for him. "Prince Thunder! It is time for us to go back inside. The ball will be soon!"

"Yeah, yeah," Thunder muttered as he brought Spirit Fury to a slower pace and then rode him to the guards and the handler. He dismounted and handed the reins to Rufus, and the handler led the horse off, to walk the horse in order to cool him down. Thunder followed the guards back into the castle. Once in the main hallway, he was immediately seen by the king of Germany.

"There you are my son!" Thaitus exclaimed as the older man hurried over to him. Thunder frowned a little, almost dreading on what he would say. He forced himself to remain poised though.

"Hello, father," he greeted as respectably as he could.

"How was your riding?" the king asked.

"It went well," Thunder replied.

"Good! Good! You can tell me all about it later! Right now, go to your room and prepare for the ball. The appropriate apparel has been laid out for you. Hurry now!" Thaitus' order was firm and quick, and Thunder had no choice but to obey. He had been taught to obey those in higher authority. So he just nodded and slowly headed toward his room, his head down.
Once he got to his room, he closed the door behind him and looked toward his bed. There were the clothes he was to wear tonight, all neatly folded. He picked up the crisp white shirt and studied it. It was a formal point collar dress. He laid it down and picked up the tuxedo and stared at this one as well. It was a black three-buttoned tuxedo jacket. He laid it down beside the shirt, and stared at the pants next. They were black with just one front snap button in the middle. The tie was black and matched them, and the shoes were black and polished so much he could see his face in them. He let out a heavy sigh, picked up all of the clothes and went into the bathroom.

He took a shower in record time, and when he finished, he dried off, and dressed in the clothes. After he was done dressing, he brushed his hair out and applied cologne to himself, he cleaned his mess, and left the bathroom, feeling a bit strange in the outfit. He hadn't worn one for several months, and that was for a wedding his grandfather's friends had had. He grabbed his shoes and slipped them on, and then checked himself out in the mirror on his dresser. Good enough, he decided. He then left the room.

In the ballroom, guests that had been invited were scouring in by the dozens. The entire room was beautifully decorated with chandelier lights and candles. There was an orchestra that had been hired and they had already begun a symphony. At this present time no one was dancing, they were all talking and drinking of the finest wine out of the beautiful crystal wine glasses.

The king was waiting for the reason for the ball to start. The royal family of Italy had not arrived yet, but that was expected. They would arrive soon. Then his eyes saw Thunder. His son was entering through the main doors. At once all eyes turned toward the German prince. At once the young daughters of the men nearly lost their drinks, but were able to catch onto them in time. Thunder ignored them and all the formal salutes to him as he approached his parents.

"You look so grown up!" the queen gushed.

Thunder blushed noticeably. Lila smiled. She was really sorrowful she had not seen him grow up. Perhaps she could somehow contact the ones he called grandparents and ask for photos of him growing up. She'd have to get around her husband sometime though.

"You look well, my son," Thaitus said with a proud smile. "You can dance can you not?"

Thunder nodded. He could never lie, not even to the one man he disliked. Besides if he did lie, his father would put the ball on hold and make him attend quick dancing lessons.

"Excellent!" Thaitus smiled, and then he looked up as a guard approached him. The guard saluted. "Sir, announcing the royal family of Italy!"

"Good!" the king bellowed with a pleasing smile. He looked toward the doors as a group of guards escorted King Damien, Queen Annelise, and Princess Bianca into the ballroom.

The room went silent again and everyone paid their respects to the royal family of Italy. Thaitus tapped Thunder on the shoulder and directed him to look at the princess. Thunder sweatdropped as he did so. The princess was dressed in a strapless black sparkling gown that was held halfway around the middle of her breasts and the sleeves went down half way to her wrists where they hung off just a few inches below them. She wore large gold hoop earrings and a pearl necklace. Her hair was done in such a tight bun; Thunder got a headache just looking at it. She wore makeup that looked applied a little too much. He could already hear Flash's voice in calling the princess a slut. But Flash wasn't there. His thoughts immediately turned to Hana. He didn't want to admit it, but he had been thinking of her more and more, but why exactly? His feelings were so mixed up he didn't know what to call them. It made him feel almost dizzy and all he wanted to do was just go back to his room and think more about her while he sorted his feelings out.

Thaitus cleared his throat, and Thunder looked toward him and held back a sigh.. The royal family of Italy approached and the two royal families formally greeted one another. Princess Bianca gave her best dashing smile to Thunder, but Thunder did not smile back. In fact he hardly saw her now.. He was too busy seeing Hana's face instead.



Back at the suites, the boys crossed over to the girls' room to pick them up. Rowen tried to flatter Rekino as he thought she looked beautiful, but Rekino had just shrugged him off and walked to her brother's side. Rowen was confused and a little hurt. He didn't understand why she was being this way. Ryo only glanced at him and didn't even say anything to him. He let out a sigh and tried to keep focused on what they were going to the ball for.

Sage was practically drooling at Hana and Flash. He couldn't help himself. His feelings between the two were so confusing; he didn't know which one he desired the most. It was a hard choice to make.

"Well, are we all ready?" Scorpio asked.

"Yes," Flash said.

"Let's just get this done so I can wear my jeans," Shades muttered.

"I second that," Rekino said.

And all of them headed out of the motel and at once saw a black limousine waiting for them.

"Whoa!" Sage exclaimed.

"How'd that get there?" Rowen wondered.

The voice of Blaze appeared in their heads.  'I had summoned it for you. Do not worry.. Everything is taken care of.  Be careful. The forces of evil have struck.'

"Oh great!" Rekino muttered under breath. Why was she not surprised? They all climbed into the backseat and the doors were shut. The car was started up, and the eight of them rode in style back to the castle. The ride to the castle was one of silence, each one thinking his or her own thoughts.

Rekino had her thoughts on Mia and Hiroshi. She could hardly wait to see them. Scorpio and Flash had their thoughts on Thunder, and Flash was thinking they would have to fight again soon. Shades was actually looking forward to the upcoming battle. Sage still couldn't take his eyes off Flash or Hana. Ryo was thinking so silently his thoughts were barely heard, even by himself, and Rowen was trying to figure out what was wrong with Rekino. The limo continued to drive toward the castle, passing buildings and people. Finally it entered through a gate and drove up a long cobbled driveway and parked at the front of the stairs. The doors were opened and the eight of them got out.

Hana smoothed out her dress and looked upward. This was it. And they went up the steps and inside the castle. The palace was extremely quiet. They stayed together as they were led to the main room where the ball was held. All of them acted as naturally as they could, though Ryo and Scorpio felt a bit nervous. People glanced toward them, and greetings were exchanged. The Ronins, Lady Ronins, and the Warriors did not give their real names, and no one asked for them either.

Hana's eyes darted around the room, searching for Thunder. She saw many young men, some escorting a woman, others were standing with other men, talking to each other. And then finally she found him. He was standing with his parents, talking to them, and listening. Actually, he looked pretty quiet and was just nodding his head to whatever they were saying. Her eyes widened a little. He looked so handsome in that tuxedo. Her eyes watered. She wanted so much to run to him and hug him, but she could not. Her eyes drifted toward the family near him. And a scowl came to her face.

Flash came to stand beside her, also looking at Princess Bianca. "Can we say slut?" Flash muttered quietly so that only Hana heard her. "Yes, I think we can."

Hana smirked and nodded in agreement.

Thunder had noticed his friends and was trying to think of an excuse to join them, but so far his father kept on talking, not giving him a chance to speak, and Thunder hated to interrupt. So he was forced to wait while stealing glances toward his friends.

"I think it's time we've gotten this ball started now," Thaitus said to him. "Ask the Princess Bianca to dance with you."

Thunder's eyes widened and he was about to argue, when his father took him roughly by the collar and guided him off toward to the side, away from everyone else.

Rekino looked toward them, her eyes narrowing. She held her temper back, and continued to watch. It seemed that Thunder's father was reprimanding him for something but for what? She had visions of using the Lady Inferno on him, but she held back.

Finally the king and Thunder returned to their places and Thunder looked more miserable than ever, his father's words ringing in his ears. 'Don't embarrass me in front of the royal family of Italy. We've had plans to wed you and Bianca and unite our kingdoms into an alliance. Don't ruin it.' He let out a sigh and forced himself to approach the princess.

Hana's eyes were still on him. She already knew he did not want to dance with her, but he had no choice. She imagined it was she he danced with. She could feel his arms around her, guiding her across a beautiful floor roof under a full moon while sweet music played. She felt dizzy almost, but with elatedness. She brought a hand to her head so she wouldn't fall down.

The music started up, and the people watched as Thunder led Princess Bianca to the middle of the ballroom. He was so embarrassed at how everyone was staring at him, it made him want to run from the room and hide in his room. But he stuck with it and forced himself to dance with her.

"The poor guy," Scorpio said softly as he watched his best friend. "He doesn't want to dance with her."

"Yeah, no kidding," Ryo said.

"It's a shame he has no choice," Rowen said with a shake of his head.

"He does," Shades muttered. "They just force him not to."

Flash nodded sadly as she watched them. Soon enough other couples joined together and the ball formerly started.



"I grow tired of sitting here, my lord," Alina said to her husband, who was sitting on the throne relaxing, "Have me do something. I thirst for battle and blood shed just like the others! My Lord, please…"

"Alina, my dear wife, you're time will come," Borya stated. Not long after that, he sensed something. He closed his eyes and concentrated. It was coming from Germany. He could see images in his head. Armors…powerful armors were in the palace. He saw a boy and a girl, both with shaggy black hair, with red armors on that could transform into white armors or become one that was gold. He saw two blondes, both had blue eyes, the girls were darker though, with green armors on. An image of a dark blue armor and its bearer, a boy with blue hair, appeared in his mind next. Then, an image of a girl with brown hair wearing a white and blue armor standing next to three other people, a girl with black hair wearing a green armor, a boy with orange-brown hair in an yellow armor, and the last one was another blonde male and his red armor with black designs. He laughed and Alina looked at him strangely.

"Borya, what has gotten into you?" Alina asked. Her thin black leather heels made a loud clicked noise on the floor, "Are you all right?"

"The blood shed you were thirsting for just came true, my love," Borya said slyly. He could also sense something within one of the armor bearers. The blonde male with the green armor was…angry. His anger was built up inside him. The king could tell it would do great damage if he were one of his slaves, "Alina, go to Germany. A ball is being held in the palace right now. Nine young men and women are your enemies, plus the king and queen of course. But, there is one I would like you to pay special attention to."

"And that would be?" Alina asked.

"A boy, around the age of eighteen, with blonde hair and dark green armor on, has anger built up inside of him," Borya concentrated and materialized a gem, "Place this gemstone on the orb of your staff. When the time presents itself, strike him with it. It contains lighting, which he'll absorb, and put him under a strong spell."

Alina kissed her husband on the lips, "You're generosity won't be in vain. I'll carry some soldiers along with me to keep the others distracted."

Borya smiled, "Fine with me."

Alina smiled wickedly and vanished. She appeared in front of a thousand soldiers that were preparing to go into battle, "My army. We have been given the gracious honour by our king to invade and trash the Germans ball. Killing is allowed! Now, let's move out!" The soldiers gave yells that were in the favour of their queen. With a snap of her fingers, Alina teleported herself and the troops to Germany.



Commander VanHoudnos sat with five guards on duty of protecting the castle. He was inspecting their progress. They were young men, around the ages of fifteen, and already being brought into a senseless war. He sighed as his inspection continued. He looked towards the north and noticed something. Dozens of houses were on fire and people were running in the streets. His eyes widened when he saw the Roman army being lead by the queen, Alina.

"Men, stay on your posts! Shoot all that try to infiltrate the castle!" Harry ordered and turned around.

"Commander VanHoudnos, where are you going?" One of the soldiers asked.

"I'm going to inform his majesty! Don't take your eyes away from the invaders. Shoot men! Shoot!" Harry commanded. He turned on his heel and ran straight for the castle when a Roman soldier jumped in front of him. He drew out his sword, "Die you hell demon!" He jabbed the sword straight into the soldier's throat and pulled up. He didn't have time for this. He kicked the dead Roman off of his sword and ran into the castle.



Back at the ball, Rekino and Ryo had found time to dance with one another. The two siblings had never been to a formal party before, and they loved it. Ryo looked at his sister, "You know, with those heels on, you're as tall as me!"

"Shut up," Rekino said. She placed her head on Ryo's shoulder, "I miss mom and dad."

Ryo put his head on Rekino's mop of hair, "Yeah. Not a minute goes by when I don't think about them," He noticed something, "You make a good pillow with your mop top look going on."

Rekino closed one of her eyes and just looked at her brother, "Two words. Two syllables. Fuck you!"

Somewhere amoung the crowd, Sage and Flash were looking pretty cozy while dancing with one another. Sage had been a little nervous when he asked her to dance, but he was glad that she said yes. It diverted his mind from Hana. He thought she looked so beautiful in her gown, but the girl in his arms had his undivided attention. Elsewhere, Shades, Scorpio, Rowen, and Hana were talking about the evil that was arising.

"What do you think it is?" Hana asked.

Scorpio put his hand to his chin, "Not what, but who."

"Do you think it could be another minion from the Dynasty?" Rowen asked, "Or from Tutock?"

"Possibly," Shades said, "I just don't want them to come to us. I want to go to them."

At that time, Commander VanHoudnos ran into the ballroom and everything stopped. Thaitus looked at the commander with anger in his eyes, "What's the meaning of this, Harry? Can't you see I'm hosting a very important event?"

"Who gives a damn about your ball! Our country is in danger!" Commander VanHoudnos shouted loud enough that the whole world could hear.

About that time, a woman's scream diverted the crowds' attention. All eyes moved from Commander VanHoudnos to a courtesan being lifted up by a Roman solider. His smiled was wicked as he twisted her neck all the way off and licked the blood off his fingers. The crowd started to panic.

"Oh great!" Rekino sighed, "Lady Guardians, let's kick it up!"

Immediately Rekino and Hana both called their subarmors and then their armors.

"Symbol of Virtue, shine forth and envelope me in the Lady Ronin Armor Wildfire, Jin!"

"Symbol of Wisdom, shine forth and envelope me in the Lady Ronin Armor of Halo, Chi!"

The two Lady Ronin Guardians were immediately in armor. The people around them gasped. King Thaitus shouted out demands for more soldiers to protect the castle. He ordered five guards to stay with Thunder and ten soldiers to stay with him and his wife, more soldiers stayed with the royal family of Italy. Princess Bianca was clutching to her dad's shirt, scared stiff.

"Ronin Warriors," Ryo said in a firm voice. "To arms! Armor of Wildfire! Tao Jin!"

"Armor of Halo! Tao Chi!"

"Armor of Strata! Tao Inochi!"

Instantly the three Ronin Warriors were in armor as well. Ryo drew his blades. The five of them attacked the Roman soldiers that had suddenly poured in. Rekino was already slashing her way through, Hana was flipping through the air, cutting down soldiers that came at her, Rowen shot off several arrows killing soldiers left and right, Ryo spun and hacked, flipped and dodged, striking at whatever Roman soldier got in his way, and Sage was slashing left and right. A Roman soldier jumped in front of him and knocked him back, but a quick slash to the neck, ended the assault before it even started.

Flash looked toward Shades and Scorpio. "Armor up!"

Scorpio nodded and raised his arm up. "Armor of the Warrior! Now come!" A bright yellow light engulfed him. When it cleared, he was dressed in a yellow armor.

Shades called hers next. "Armor of the Warrior! Now come!" The green armor was formed around her, her two weapons appeared in her hands. She was ready. Immediately she jumped into the fray, letting her boomerang fly out where it knocked down several soldiers before returning back to her. She threw the second and this one too knocked down more before coming back.

Scorpio took his weapon, a bo-staff and swung it around crazily, knocking soldiers off their feet, and then sending them flying as if it was a hockey stick hitting putty. Many flew out the castle windows.

Flash suddenly threw one Roman soldier over her shoulder where he crashed into a wall. She looked toward Thunder. "Thunder! Armor up!"

Thaitus and Lila had heard her and looked toward her. Their son, armor up? What was going on here? Who were these teenagers helping their army, and how did they know Thunder, and why did they seem so familiar?

Thunder nodded at Flash and stepped back a bit from the soldiers guarding him. He raised an arm to the air. "Armor of the Warrior! Now Come!" Instantly the red glow surrounded him and he was soon in armor. He did a somersault into the air and kicked a soldier out the window, then took his no datchi and slashed at another soldier.

The royal families were more than shocked. They had never known their son to have a mystical armor. What was going on here?

Flash was thinking of armoring up, but something kept telling her not to. She had learned long ago to listen to that little voice, and so she fought without one. She summoned her sword, (not the Firestarter sword. She actually has three swords. Her regular sword, her Firestarter sword, and her spirit dagger) and began to fight off the Roman soldiers.

Commander VanHoudnos sighed in relief. So far the Roman soldiers were going down, and it was all thanks to these young warriors, whoever they were. He only knew they were Prince Thunder's friends. Then again, it struck him surprised that Thunder was wearing an armor like the rest were. He suddenly felt a fist coming for him, and he ducked down to the right, and brought up his elbow against the man's face, the area between the forehead and the nose, knocking him out.

Ryo kept on fighting. He was tempted to call his surekill, but there were too many people in the room. Someone could get hurt. So he continued to fight the way he was, hacking, spinning, and leaping. Someone suddenly tripped him. He felt a sharp cut to the back of his neck and cried out in pain, struggling to get the attacker off him. And then someone body slammed into the attacker, knocking them off. He climbed shakily to his feet.

Flash back flipped and landed next to him. The attacker she had tackled off Ryo was knocked out.

"Thanks," Ryo said.

"No problem," Flash replied, sending another soldier into Rekino's path where the Lady Ronin slashed him. He fell stiffly to the ground.

"Well, this is all very interesting indeed," a mysterious voice said.

The fighting immediately stopped and everyone turned and stared as a woman materialized in the middle of the room. She was tall, even without the heels she wore, her hair was loosely flowing over shoulders and back, her dress was black and long and tight so that it formed over body perfectly, showing every curve, her lips were red and full, she held a staff with a gem on the top of it.

Rekino's eyes widened. "Who the fuck are you?!"

The woman smiled. "I am the shadow that lurks in the night. I am the silence that creeps in your ears. I am…"

"A slut," Flash interrupted her.

Queen Alina cast Flash a glare. She didn't like it when people called her such names, especially commoners. And then she saw him, the one her husband wanted. The one with the blond hair and in the green armor was standing next to a girl who had on the same kind of armor. She raised her hands and got the attention of her soldiers, "My servants, it's feeding time!"

Hana snorted, "This is just freaking lovely!" She raised her sword above her head and swung it around, taking out five soldiers that had surrounded her, "Hey Sage, the woman's get her eye on you."

"What?" Sage asked. He looked towards the queen of Rome and noticed that she was staring at him…evilly, "Well, I have another fan!"

Hana sweatdropped, "Now's not that time for that, Sage!"

Rekino noticed that conversation and sent a message to Ryo, 'Hey bro, the slut has her eye on Sage. Something's brewing and I don't like the smell of it!'

'Okay, I'll handle this,' Ryo looked towards Rowen and Flash, "The evil lady has her eye on Sage. We need to get around him!"

"Right," Rowen said. He shot a couple of arrows at the soldiers around them and cleared a path for them to get to Sage.

"Shades, Scorpio, follow me!" Flash said. She used her tight sword and cut five soldiers in half from the waist down. Scorpio used his bo-staff to poll vault over most of the soldiers and followed Flash. Shades threw off her boomerangs and jumped up, catching them in mid-air. She landed on the head of one soldier and jumped off, landing on another one. She used the soldier's heads as her stepping-stones to get to the others.

In no time, Rekino, Rowen, Ryo, Flash, Shades, and Scorpio were around Sage while Hana went to help Thunder with the civilians. The battle so far hadn't turned out to be good. There were already too many casualties involving the innocent people. Queen Alina looked at them strangely.

"My, you teenagers seem to be oblivious to the fact that more of my soldiers are outside," Alina snickered.

"What?!" Ryo screamed.

"This isn't good," Scorpio said as he hit another soldier with his staff.

Shades sighed, "I knew they would come to us first. Damn…"

Thaitus was starting to panic. His kingdom was being destroyed and he couldn't do anything. Outside, he could hear the screaming of his citizens, "Guards, go outside the palace and protect the citizens."

Flash looked back towards the king, "You don't have to do that," She shook her head. She put away her sword and used her martial arts to get away from the soldiers and walk outside to face the others alone. Scorpio and Shades looked at one another and nodded. They followed Flash outside.

"Damn! She can't do it alone!" Ryo said, "Sis, I'm going outside to help Flash. I'm leaving you to take care of Sage. Don't screw this up!"

"I won't!" Rekino yelled back. She saw her older brother slash and hack his way through the line of soldiers, making it possible for him to get outside.

Rowen looked at Rekino, "I'm going with Ryo. Will you be okay?"

"Whatever," Rekino replied and got back to work killing soldiers with her katanas. Rowen looked at her sadly and jumped above the soldiers, flying over them. He landed at the entrance and went outside with Ryo, Scorpio, Shades, and Flash, who had already destroyed over a fourth of the soldiers with her pyrokinesis.

Sage and Rekino fought back to back while Thunder and Hana did the same. Out of nowhere, a soldier pinned Thunder down on the floor and held a sword to his throat.

"Thunder!" Hana and Lila screamed at the same time. The next thing they heard was a barking noise. They saw a blur run past them and tackle the soldier to the ground.

The Storm Warrior looked up and saw his dog, Disani, hovering over him, "Thanks Disani, you just saved my life!" At that, the dog barked.

Rekino continued to stay close to Sage. She fought fiercely against the Romans. Her thoughts were somewhere else though, how did the Romans get so strong? She looked towards Queen Alina again and noticed a strong aura emanating from her body. She could only figure it was her, but where was the king? Did she kill him or did he survive. She was brought out of her thoughts by a loud shriek. She looked towards her left and saw Princess Bianca being held by the throat. 'Oh, this is great. Just fucking great!'

"Daddy! Help!" Bianca screamed.

Rekino was fighting with herself. She could save Bianca and leave Sage alone, or stay with Sage and let Bianca die, but she couldn't live with the death of a girl on her conscious. With a quick movement, she jumped over the soldiers, with her katanas raised above her head, and cut off the soldier's arms. She took out the rest of him with a slick sword technique. Bianca panic when the hands were still attached to her neck. Rekino sighed and grabbed Bianca's shoulder and removed the hands.

"You shouldn't be here!" Rekino hissed in her ear, "Now, return to your father or you'll be killed."

Queen Alina saw the girl leave her prey's side. She wickedly smiled. She raised her staff and summoned the spell. She shot the magic at Sage, which he absorbed. She noticed that he fell to the ground and she ordered a soldier to attack him making it look like she did nothing.

Hana saw a soldier heading towards her counterpart, "Sage!" She couldn't take it anymore. She jumped in the air and put her hands to her face, "Halo's Light!" Every enemy, including the queen, was rendered blind for a couple of minutes while Hana's allies were healed. Hana landed and ran for Sage, killing every soldier in her way, while Rekino and Thunder destroyed the rest. She saw her counterpart staggering to get up, "Sage, are you okay?" She helped him stand up.

Sage raised his head and looked at Hana, "Yeah…never better," his words were spoke softly, but they had a hint of evil in them, "Thanks."

Hana smiled. Her midnight blue eyes shining, "You're very welcome," She saw Rekino running towards them, "Hey Rekka, what's up?"

"Oh God! Sage, are you hurt? Did anything happen?" Rekino looked him over at least three times, "Ryo would kill me if anything happened to you."

Sage smiled evilly at her, "I'm fine, Rekino. In fact, why don't you leave me alone, you whore!" He pushed Rekino away and grabbed Hana, putting his no datchi to her throat.



Outside, Ryo and Rowen stood back-to-back, killing soldiers by the dozen. Scorpio and Shades were beside Flash, helping get rid of the ones that she set on fire. Already, more that three-fourths of the soldiers had been destroyed, and it was looking like the battle was one. All of the sudden, the soldiers that were left came together and formed one giant monster.

"Oh, now this is just dandy!" Flash muttered. She looked at Ryo and Rowen, "Can you two control your attacks to just the enemy and not let the power go astray?"

Ryo and Rowen looked at one another before Rowen answered, "I'm pretty sure we can."

"All right," Flash said, "We'll attack together on the count of three," She started to gather her strength while Ryo and Rowen stood at her right said and Shades and Scorpio stood to her left, "One…two…three…now!" Her hair flew wildly behind her as her symbol, a flame, shined with brilliance. The flames from her attack engulfed the monster.

"Flare Up Now!" Ryo aimed his attack and mixed it with Flash's, giving it extraordinary power.

"Arrow Shock Wave!" The arrow whizzed in the air and hit the monster square in the chest.

"Water Torrent Power!" Scorpio summoned water from the surrounding lakes to help full his power. He water crashed into the soldier with the force of a powerful tsunami.

"Boomerang Power Attack!" Shades sent her attack towards the enemy. The attack sent the enemy down to his feet.

All of the armor bearers held the attack long enough for the monster to start melting. Flash immediately sent her powers into overdrive to help finish the monster off. They called off the attacked and watched the monster melt into a puddle.

"Ehewwwwwwwwww…" Ryo said and moved his lips back and forth. He popped a bubble with his sword, "That's nasty."

They all heard a scream from inside that sounded like Hana. Then, they heard cussing, which sounded like Rekino. They all looked at one another and ran back into the castle to see all of the Romans dead, but that wasn't the problem. Sage had his sword up to Hana's neck and was walking back with her. Rekino and Thunder were standing beside each other, looking like they could kill.

"Okay Sage, you're really pissing me the hell off!" Rekino screamed.

Thunder kept his eyes on Sage, "Leave her alone. She did nothing to you!"

Ryo ran over to Rekino, "I thought I told you to protect him! Rekino, you always find some way to screw something up!"

Rekino turned her eyes to her brother, momentarily forgetting about Sage and Hana, "Ahst, listen, don't make me shove my sword up your ass! For your information, I had to save the stuck up princess from getting killed! It was either her die or let me have a guilty conscious for the rest of my life! So don't come over here and get an attitude with me!"

"Hello!" Hana screamed, "I need a little help over here!" Her mind didn't want to acknowledge the fact that Sage had turned evil, "Oh Sage, I'm sorry," She bent her knee up and kicked Sage in his armored groin. It didn't hurt him much, but his grip on her loosened and she moved out from under the sword. She turned around to run, but she wasn't fast enough.

Sage smiled and stood up, "I don't think so. If I can't have you, then no one will!" He gripped his sword and leapt forward, shoving it through Hana's stomach.