sorry..forgot a chapter...here we goes!!!
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"Hmm. That's strange. No one there. Probably a prankster or something." she giggled. She opened the door and a cloth-covered mass fell through the door. She screamed and all the guys came running. None would touch it. Finally Kento dragged it into the bathroom. Mia started a warm bath and checked the breathing. Staggered....short...gasping. She ushered the guys out and proceeded to undress the body. She gasped at what she saw. A beautiful young woman with fiery red hair that was clotted with dirt and frizzed from days of not being washed. Wonderful, curving body, but her back...she had been horribly whipped with a cat-o-nine tails, or something similar.
She hoisted the body up and lay her in the tub. A ripple effect of convulsions went through the woman and her eyes shot open. She mumbled a strain of un-recognizable speech. 'She must be American." thought Mia. She covered the woman in the bath and called for Sage. He was wide-eyed and red the whole time, but he translated it to Mia. "She was taken from her school and brought over here. She was severely beaten by several men. She escaped once and met a boy named Ryo. He took care of her, but she ended up back at the castle. More beatings. Escaped again and met...us! Was taken again and now here she is. She believe a red-headed man, claiming to be her twin, saved her." he translated. "She also said that I had transferred the power to learn Japanese into her before, but Talpa took it away. Well, here it goes again. Second times the charm!" he said as he again transferred it to her.
She shook her head to clear it as he left the room. Mia helped her clean up. She then wrapped her in a towel and hurried her up to her room where she found some clothes for her. She told Mia that her name was Amber. They went back down the stairs carefully. Mia had also fixed up her back. Hair brushed, neatly dressed, she came down the stairs. The guys stood to greet her. She flushed and sat down on the couch nearest her. Cye sat down next to her and sage next to him. The others settled back in, casting glances at the woman. Ryo, for some reason unknown to anyone else, glared at her. She looked worriedly at him. He rose to his feet and started towards her. She frantically scrambled up and attempted to dash past him but he caught her and slammed her against the wall, holding her by the throat. He glared into her eyes with a hatred worse than any other. He growled everything in a low, fierce voice. "Spawn of Talpa, return to your master." Amber widened her eyes and tried to scream, her back crying out in pain. She clawed at his hands and kicked. "Dais." he spat. "Why must you come and cowardly approach us in the form of a woman?! You and your damned illusions!" She kicked at his stomach and made contact. He dropped her and she scrambled away. "Who the hell is Dais?" she cried, gasping for breath. She ran and hid behind Mia, who was waving Ryo away. "She is not Dais! Look!" she cried as she spun around, grabbed Amber, spun her around and showed him her back. She had to laboriously peel the clothes off because Ryo had mashed it into her back. She yelped in pain and began whimpering. She sank to her knees and began crying. Ryo didn't believe it and just went to sulk in the corner. Amber crawled to the wall and leaned her side and head against it. Mia gently hugged her to quiet her sobs. She helped the woman up and brought her to an empty room where she slept.
The next morning, he was in her room, glaring at her again. "Mia is making me apologize to you, although I don't think I should. I still think you are allied to Talpa." She glanced around the room, ignoring him. "You know what? You are so wrong. Why would I ally with someone who beats the hell out of me every day. I would never ally with that scum" she finally replied, weakly. She stood and walked to the closet. "Well, are you going to watch me dress?" I asked with an attitude and a sly, mocking smile, a small attempt at getting his mood to lighten. He couldn't help smiling. I grabbed a pair of shorts, a shirt, and some under garments and headed to the bathroom. "I will have my eyes you you," he retorted, and left. "Hopefully not while I am dressing, you perv!" I shouted after him, erupting into a fit of laughter.
Down stairs, the house was coming to life. Cye was cooking breakfast with Kento pacing behind him. Mia was telling the others what Amber had told her. Ryo stormed around the house. Amber came downstairs and looked around. Of course, her bad luck shined through and she ran right into Ryo. She scrambled out the door and as she was going down the steps, she stopped and Ryo ran into her. He grabbed her and shook her violently, but the whole time she kept her head facing the clearing. He stopped in curiosity and looked at the clearing. There stood a crucified woman. Ryo dropped Amber and she walked slowly to the crucifixion. She touched the woman's face and whispered a name over and over. "Kayla." She started crying again. Ryo walked over and asked who it was. She told him that it was her best friend from her captivity in Talpa's castle. Ryo looked sullenly to the body and to Amber. She shuddered and sank to the ground. "Do you like my present? It took her a while to die, she was so devoted to staying alive for you." a voice boomed through the clearing. A green figure emerged from the brush. It was Sekhmet, warlord of Venom. Ryo called forth his armor and stepped up to face him. Sekhmet didn't care about facing him. He dodged Ryo and threw him aside. He moved to Amber. He drew a blade and, using the side of it, lifted her head up by the chin to stair into her glaring eyes. He was surprised to find that her eyes were glowing yellow. A character, her soul, appeared on her forehead. Love. She began to glow all over, and an armor appeared around her. A voice, hers, but not hers, came out from her and said "Supreme Lightning Attack" and electrified the entire clearing. Sekhmet was gone. She stopped glowing and the armor disappeared and she fainted. Ryo, looking ashamed at his mistrust, hoisted her up and carried her limp body inside. The guys were surprised at his gentle handling of her instead of just throwing her around. He explained what happened, but when he moved to show the crucifixion, it was gone, no doubt charred by the extreme emission of electricity. Cye kept his eyes on her the whole time, a growing admiration showing in his eyes. He volunteered to carry her upstairs. He tucked her in and sat for a while, staring in disbelief at the fragile looking figure sleeping in the bed. Then he left and all was silent.
*~*~*~*~*~*yet another view change*~*~*~*~*~*
"Arugh" I moaned as I pushed myself up onto my elbows. Searching the room, I concluded that I was in the guys' room. I heard the shower running, and then it stopped. The door opened and in came Ryo in a towel. I grinned and whistled, saying "take it off...take it ALL off!" and couldn't help but bursting into laughter. Ryo, startled, jumped and off came the towel. He turned red and dashed back to the bathroom. I burst into a more violent fit of laughter and, looking down, I noticed there was no bed under me any more. I glance at you and my eyes tear up. "Catch me please." BUT YOU DONT AND I FALL AND IT REALLY HURTS AND I CRY!!! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!!!....ok back to the story. "If you are up can you hand me some clothes....PLEASE!!!" he shouted.
Laughing (and crying...ouch), I brought him his clothes and dashed to 'my' room to change. I put on my usual attire consisting of a shirt, tied above my waist and a pair of shorts and headed outside to try and exercise. I did a few regular things like push-ups and sit-ups, and then moved into some aerobic exercises. I was so caught up in the exercises that I didn't notice the guys who wandered outside to view the spectacle. When I ended the aerobics, I glanced to the house where I noticed the audience. They were sitting there staring at me in surprise. I clapped my hands together and did a bow. They glanced at each other and started laughing. I grinned and pranced off into the woods to begin a short jogging session. I breathed in the sweet smell of the flowers blossoming around me. I leaped up and caught hold of a cherry tree branch and did an ally-oop into the tree. I climbed higher into the tree and surveyed the area. It was quiet and calm. I closed my eyes and relaxed as the cool wind whipped at my hair. It was peaceful, quiet...A thought jolted me from my serenity.
Quiet? It is not supposed to be quiet in a forest unless...My mind raced as I tried to mentally see why the woods were so quiet. Then I saw a parting of the brush as something, a very BIG something, was heading straight for me at an alarming pace. I scrambled down the tree and with lightning speed I ran to the house, into the house, and into the living room. Gasping for breath, I tried to relay the warning as quickly as possible. I collapsed on the floor, still gasping and trembling from the shock of my speed. I had never done that before that I know of. When my convulsions ended, the guys were gone. I stood shakily and looked around sadly. "Where is everyone?" I whimpered. I padded to the window and looked out apon a war scene. Soldiers were battling the Ronins with the aid of the Warlords. An arrow struck nearby and exploded. Rowen, I thought. *How did I know that?* I wondered if all that about my armor was a dream. Only one way to find out.
I grasped my heart-shaped pendant by instinct and concentrated real hard. With a glowing light filling the room, I was transformed into a yellow sub-armor. I walked to the door and opened it slowly. I walked onto the battlefield, sub-armor glowing, and moved towards the Ronins. Soldiers, in shock, moved out of the way. Warlords braced themselves. One, apparently the leader, stood in shock. I looked into a puddle and discovered that y eyes were glowing yellow. "Cool" I whispered aloud with a grin, showing a set of wicked-looking fangs. I continued my steady, slow pace toward the Ronins. One Warlord leapt at me. In a flash of light I was somewhere else. I looked around and I was on the other side of the Ronins. "Wow" I muttered. Once again I concentrated and words came to my lips. "Armor of Lightning...Tao Ai!" In a cluster of light and cherry blossoms I was transformed into my armor. With one quick, graceful motion I was airborne, heading straight for the warlord who had made a move toward me. A series of weapons flashed through my head and I settled with a spear-tipped staff. It materialized before me and I grasped it. More words came. "White Lightning Attack!" I brought the weapon down on him. He screamed and retreated back to his realm. I warily eyed the other three and moved toward the Ronins. The Warlords, along with the soldiers, retreated to their realm. In a flash, my armor and sub-armor were gone and I sank to my knees in exhaustion. The guys did the same and huddled around me. Ryo helped me gently up and to the living room. On the couch I fell asleep with my head in his lap. Mia eyed me jealously while I slept. I could feel her eyes on me.
I woke up, once again, in the guys' room. I was in Ryo's bed and he was in a sleeping bag on the floor. Kento was snoring loudly and Rowen had his head under his many pillows to try and muffle the sound. Cye, Ryo, and Sage cringed in their sleep in rhythm with every snore. I grabbed a pillow and threw it as hard as I could at Kento's face. He sputtered and woke up. I could tell he was very pissed off. He threw it back at me as hard as he could and, of course, being the armor of Hardrock or strength, and the fact that they are ALL stronger than me, I went flying a few feet when it hit me. As luck would have it, I hit the moody Rowen, who was very angry. He started yelling something about finals and pushed me off of him violently. I hit the floor with a thud and sat, eyes wide and teary, staring back and forth from Kento to Rowen. The others were now awake, looking on in curiosity. Ryo crawled over to me. I now had my head in one hand and the other hand was clutching my stomach where the pillow hit me. He put one arm around me, and with the other he pulled my arm away from my stomach so he could inspect the damage. After he concluded that I was ok, he sat back against the side of the bed and stared at me for a while. I returned his stare with one of growing curiosity. He finally got up and helped me up.
Kento was snoring again, so...I got the pillow and, yelled "charge" and jumped on top of him, covering his face with the pillow. Ryo burst into laughter and sat down on his bed, watching while Kento flailed and kicked wildly. He finally got out from under me. "Spawn of Talpa!" he screamed, picking me up by the throat and smashing me into the wall, sending a few things flying off of shelves. "This is becoming an every day thing now, eh?" I croaked with a smile, despite my suffocation. "Arugh!" he shouted and released his grip. He grabbed a pillow and a blanked out of the closed and disappeared out the door. He returned a moment later, picked me up, threw me over one shoulder, Ryo protesting, and carried me out of the room and down the stairs to the living room. He threw me onto the couch and returned up stairs, muttering a strain of insults. I laughed and turned on the television.
A newsbreak showed that someone had broken into several stores in the last few nights. They showed an overhead view and the stores that had been hit. It was a pattern. A Japanese character. MY kanji! I stared at it in shock. I decided to wait at the last point of it for them to complete the pattern and find out who it is. I jotted a message for the guys and headed out side. I hopped on a nifty yellow motorcycle that they had gotten me as a present and headed to town. I got to the place and waited. I watched a stray dog wander by and a few pieces of paper whip around in front of me. I almost gave up when I heard a noise from inside. My senses became heightened and I felt the rush of my adrenaline kicking in. I silently transformed into my sub-armor and crept into the store. I searched around until I found movement. With the whisper of "Jin" I was invisible. I carefully crept up to the robber, making sure I made absolutely no noise at all. I got behind him and grabbed the gun in his right hand away from him. With a quick but clumsy movement he whipped around, eyes searching but not seeing. I smiled and snatched off his hat and tossed it around. He watched it in horror and screamed and ran away. I heard the peel of tires speeding off. I laughed a hearty laugh and relaxed.
Just then, a bright light filled the store and I felt cans and bottles hitting me in the back. I yelped and jumped out the door. Anubis, red hair flying wildly about him, emerged from the store. "Hello sister, dear. You are returning with me to your true master, the great Talpa!!!" he boomed, smirking at me. "The hell I am!" I shot back and cringed, pulling away. My back cried out in pain for the first time in a few days. He saw this and smirked. "I would think you would want to come back and be with your brother and sister, but I guess I will have to force you." he said sarcastically and advanced on me. I kept backing up until I hit a wall and couldn't anymore. I glared at him and shouted my transformation. "Armor of Lightning.... Tao Ai!!!" In an instant, I was armed. I leapt above him onto the balcony of an apartment nearby. From there onto a building's roof. I gracefully leapt from one roof to another and then down onto the street. He was right behind me. I used my lightning speed to dash back to the store and hopped onto my motorcycle, speeding to the Ronin's house.
I burst through the door and ran into Rowen, struggling to finish dressing as he was running out the door. He muttered a few curse words and pushed me off of him. "Anubis is heading this way!" I shouted and received a series of groans and 'not again's. Rowen whipped around with wide eyes at what I just said, and morphed into his sub-armor. We dashed upstairs to where the others were still getting ready and they all called forth their sub-armors. Just as we were making our way downstairs, we heard Mia scream. We dashed to the porch where Anubis had Mia bound with his chains and the blade of the sickle to her neck. "I want her, not you guys!" he shouted and drew the blade closer to Mia. She yelped in fear and her eyes widened. I moved forward and set her loose, Anubis smiling the whole time. I proceeded to walk into the clearing, calling forth my weapon of choice, a single katana. He moved toward me and I spun around and glared into his eyes. "Sorry brother, but you won't have me without a fight!" I shot at him. He smirked and shot back, "Surely you jest, Amber. I am your brother. I know your weaknesses and how to keep you from your strengths." I leapt into the air, did two flips in the air, and came down on his shoulder with a powerful kick. Visibly stunned, his shoulder and his pride hurt, he stared in confusion. "Bet you have never seen that one from me before." I shot at him with a wide smile. Ryo stared in disbelief. "That was my kick!" he said to himself. I moved away and called forth a few ninja death stars and threw them at Anubis. He was able to avoid all but one, which caught his left leg. He screamed in pain and glared at me. In a puff of smoke, he retreated back to his realm. I called away my armors and tiredly walked back to the house. The guys stared at me in disbelief. I walked to the couch and lay down and fell asleep.
I woke up when the guys came home from school. Rowen, tired and frustrated, had no where to sit, so I moved my legs for him to sit down and I put them in his lap. He warily smirked at me and then lay his head back against the back of the couch. My eyes wandered around the room. Most of the guys were studying and doing homework. Kento was playing on the Nintendo. My eyes rested on Cye, who was looking at me over his book. His eyes quickly darted back to his book and he shifter uncomfortably. I smiled and leaned back and fell into a deep sleep, dreaming sweet dreams.