Chapter Two

Mysterious Signs

"Keep watch, huh?" Kento said at the breakfast table, "Sounds like a warning."

"It was!" Sage said more to himself than to the others.

It was a sunny Saturday morning. It was mornings like this when the Ronin Warriors prefer to mellow out together.

"What are we not ready for and what should we keep watch for?" Kento again voicing the thoughts that runs through his mind. "All this thinking got me hungry!"

"Maybe it was just that, a dream." Cye commented ignoring Kento's last statement. He had stopped Kento earlier from eating the entire kitchen!

"It was anything but a dream." Sage said slamming his fist on the table. "It was real!"

"White blaze brought me to you last night." Ryo finally said. "I must have been really sleepy, because when I awoke I could swear I was deaf."

"Deaf?" Rowan asked, "It's the middle of the night, of course everything is going to be totally quiet."

"No, Rowan." Ryo said more determinedly, "It was not just quiet." Ryo paused, as soon as he got everyone's undivided attention. "The silence was deafening. It was anything but normal."

"That's how quiet the street was in my dream! The wind didn't even make a sound." Sage said, "But his words were like a gentle breeze with needles."

"You're poetic." Kento said with a grin, but no one smiled. "Hey, come on guys, what ever happens we're ready for it."

"Of course we are!" Cye says as he gives Kento a high five.

Sage on the other hand gets up and walks to the kitchen window. "I hope so." He says, "But where did the skylights come from?"

Everyone looks out the window to find that the sky was illuminated with various colors playing across the sky like tropical waves on the Caribbean Sea.

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

Nia had just got up out of bed. Her beautiful brown hair cascaded down her back in a disarray of strands. She wore her favorite pink pajamas and fluffy slippers to match. With a big yawn and a nice stretch, she headed down stairs for her usually cup of coffee.

She came out the kitchen a few moments later with her hot coffee in hand and as she began to sip her drink, Nia smelled a peculiar scent.

"Is that Night Jasmine? But there are only Cherry Blossoms that bloom in this area and season."

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, Nia walked into the library. It was a big room that kept all of her grandfather's work, books and artifacts. She was extremely proud of it, since the library contained knowledge that can't be found anywhere else.

She sat in her favorite chair that was located in front of her computer. "Achoo." Nia sneezed and behold, dust in multicolor flowed throughout the room.

"Oh my god!" Nia proclaimed. She jumped out her chair and walked throughout the room mesmerized. In front of her everywhere was now visible dust. It was all over her furniture, floor, books, and tables. Even the roof!

Just then Nia turned around and looked out the window. 'Crack' was the sound of Nia's coffee cup as it hit the ground and shattered in pieces around her.

"What in the world."

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

"That was Nia on the phone." Cye said as he ran outside where everyone was watching the skylights.

"Is something wrong?" Ryo asked as he turned and faced Cye.

"She's gone crazy!" Cye said as he headed for the car. "Seems that her house is covered with colorful dust, and then she said something about 'smelling jasmine and a stolen book!"

Everyone headed for the car. "I guess we have clue number one." Rowan said to himself. "I just know this is all connected."

"Yeah, everyone's going crazy, especially criminals!" Kento said as the car pulled out of the driveway.

"What are you talking about Kento?" Sage asked as he turned the car on the main road.

"I'm saying it's the perfect time for crime, you know, since everyone's in a panic! It was all over the news that there was a highly organize heist. All the museums were broken into!"

"What was stolen?"

"That's just it! Nothing was taken or even touched! Can say the same for the buildings though."

"Oh really?" Rowan said with sudden interest.

"Yeah!" Kento continued, "The thieves broke in last night to all the museums in Japan and took absolutely nothing! And to make it even more suspicious, the alarms never went off nor tampered with.  They don't even have a witness or video tape!"

"That sounds like magic." Cye said.

"Exactly!" Kento exploded. "Something is up."

"I've been saying that all damn morning!" Sage said grumpily, "I've even got that feeling."

"Yup, he's on to something alright." Ryo said. "But something still bothers me."

"What?" Sage said.

"Kento, how did you know this?" Ryo asked.

"Bloody news!" Kento said angrily. "They cut right in on my early Saturday morning cartoons!"

Ryo gave a hearty laugh. "Question answered!"

Rowan smiled. "After Nia we should hit the town and check out those museums, everyone agree?"

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered.

It was a little while later before they pulled up in front of Nia's house. Nia was inside backed into a corner. When she heard the car pulling up the driveway, she dashed for the door. After discovering the dust, she never went pass the phone after she hung up from Cye. Instead she silently waited for the Ronins, hoping a dynasty soldier would not surprise her as the dust settled.

Nia never waited for the knock on the door. She pulled it wide open and glared at the five unsuspected and surprise Ronins. "What took you all so long?" She said angrily.

"We got here as fast as we could, Nia!" Ryo said apologizing, "So, are you going to let us in?"

With a roll of her eyes and a shrug of her shoulders, Nia stepped aside and let the Ronins in. Each one of course gave her a dashing smile and a warm greeting.

"So what seems to be the problem?" Rowan asked.

"What's the problem?" Nia asked hysterically, "I'll show you the problem!" She grabbed her Japanese fan off the table stand, swiftly opened it and began to fan around the area. In an instant, the colorful dust began to swirl in the air. Nia continued fanning until she reached the library. Slowly, the Ronins began to follow her, each one fascinated by the dust.

In the library, Nia blew on the bookshelf and even more dust appeared.

"Okay," Kento said after turning around several times, "We see the problem."

"Where did all this dust come from?" Cye asked, "And is that Night Jasmine I smell?"

"There isn't any Night Jasmine in this area." Ryo said. He turned to Nia, "You've only got Cherry Blossoms, right?"

"Yes." Nia said. "As you can tell this thing is freaking me out!"

"It should." Sage interrupted, "This is normal dust. See" He holds out his hand, "It sparkles on my skin, yet it's not glitter."

"And the smell is coming from it too." Rowan said. "This isn't some kiddy prank."

"It's magical alright." Kento said. "Watch how it swirls around the room with no wind and most of all if Rowan doesn't know what it is, it is magical."

"And creepy." Cye said as he walked over to the bookshelf. "You also said a book was missing Nia?"

"Yes, a really rare book." Nia said, "There are no copies of this book because my grandfather found it on an expedition in the Middle East."

"Was it real important?" Ryo asked.

"I guess it is now." Nia said.

"Why's that Nia? Stop talking in riddles!" Sage said.

"I'm not!" Nia said as she ran her fingers through her hair. "The book is written in some kind of ancient script. None I've ever seen nor heard of. It has no author and neither my grandfather nor I could decode it."

"Not even a name?" Rowan asked.

"It didn't have one. It was just a long book with about 100 pages. It was a dirt covered smelly book to put it simply. I was working on a program to decode it when I notice it was missing this morning. I swear to you it was here last night!"

"Another mystery." Sage said.

"I heard about the museum break-ins." Nia said, "You think this incident is related to that?"

"I've got the feeling that it is." Ryo said, "Too much is happening for all of this to be coincidence."

"We've got colorful dust," Cye said, "a stolen book, skylights."

"Museums - Artifacts!" Rowan said snapping his fingers, "Of course! Someone's looking for an artifact. It makes sense."

"But how do we know if he hasn't gotten it yet?" Sage said, "He just could've been after the book."

"Hmm." Ryo began to walk around the room. "Let's put first things first. We have to get more information - find out if this guy is on our side or not and most importantly get the book back. Let's head into town and check out the museums"

"I'm coming too!" Nia said. "Just give me a second to change and we can take my jeep also." She turned and start heading up the stairs. "Wait!" Nia faces them again. "I'm going to need my equipment, the computer and everything if we are going up against some kind of magical force."

"We get it Nia!" Ryo said, "We'll pack them while you get ready." With a nod, Nia was gone and everyone else turns and stares at Ryo.

"You meant to say that you got it!" Cye said, "She's carrying a lab!"

"Besides that it could be dangerous! We don't even know what we'll find out there." Rowan said.

"Come on guys." Ryo said, "You never know what she can find out there. We need all the help we can get."

"This scent isn't Night Jasmine - but it's exactly the same scent that was in my dream." Sage said.

"Whoa! Are you serious man?" Kento asked.

"I'm positive. It's that sweet calming scent." Sage's memory flash to the shadowed warrior. "Could this be what we were to keep watch for?"

"We're going to find out." Ryo said determinedly.

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

Deep in the city of Tokyo, the dark lords look on - observing the ongoing confusion of the citizens.

"So, what do you think of the new guy?" Dais asked the reincarnated Anubis.

Anubis shrugged. He was baffled when he first felt Damien's awful dark power. It was so mysterious and different from Tulpa's. The Dark Energy that radiated from his body was nothing short of magnificent. It held no evil, unlike Tulpa's energy, yet it held no trace of goodness. How can such a power be harness and controlled without being overwhelming?

"He shouldn't be trusted!" Kale blurted out. "How dare he come here ordering us about?"

"I rather like him." Sekhmet said plainly. "He's powerful and he knows what he wants and how to get it. I think we'll enjoy working for him."

"Speak for yourself!" Kale said. "He might kill us all after he's done ordering us about!"

"On the contrary." said Damien as he walked up behind them. Kale started but said nothing. "I have no intentions of killing you." He smiled wickedly. "When you're as powerful as a God, killing isn't interesting." His golden eyes sparked at Anubis. "What do you think of me, Anubis?"

Anubis stared at him. Damien admired his strength and courage. "You puzzle me my lord. I haven't come to a conclusion yet. But I have decided that you are a man of your word and fairness. That's unusual."

Damien walked amongst them to look over the edge of the building. Kale, Sekhmet and Dais moved away, but Anubis stayed put. "You're right Anubis. I am unusual even to myself. The surprises haven't even start, remember that." With that he turned and faced the others. The dark cloak that covered his body began to sway in the breeze. "Six of the twelve warriors are here on Earth. I suggest you seek them out and kill them, if you can, before their partners arrive which won't be long."

Dais thought to himself, why don't he just kill them himself if he's so powerful? He's no better than Tulpa!

Damien heard his thoughts loud and clear. "Dais, I must remember that some of you creatures are very simple. You must prove your own worth!" Dais was stunned. "Tulpa has made you all weak, you can become stronger. When your ready to embrace true power let me know." With that Damien was gone, leaving the Dark lords in astonishment.