Part 10 – Three Generals Left

-January 21st, 2000-

"Do you really have to go?" Ami asked Rowen as they lay in her bed, trying to sleep.  It had only been two weeks since they got together and nobody knew, with the exception of Celia, Margot, and Julie.  Ami and Rowen wanted to keep it that way for the moment.  They didn't know if they were comfortable with everyone knowing about them yet.  Well, it was more they didn't know if they were comfortable with Serena knowing.  Once Serena knew, she would tease them to no end until she got sick of doing that and moved on to something else.  At that particular moment, the young couple was cuddling in Ami's bed, Rowen wearing a pair of sweats and Ami wearing a nightgown.  And Ami was particularly upset.  Rowen and the other Ronin Warriors had been called by Lady Kayura to check up on the Netherworld and to quash any rising evil factions that threatened to attack the earth again.  The presence and power of the Ronin Warriors was required, along with the Warlords, with Kayura still wearing Anubis' armor.

"You know why I have to go, Ami," Rowen said, pulling Ami closer into his embrace.  Ami in turn snuggled closer to her lover and turned to face him.

"I know why you have to go, but I don't want you to," she said with a pout on her face, "I mean, what if something happens to you and you can't come back?"  Rowen smiled down at Ami and said, "With you here, I will always come back, even if it takes me a thousand years."  Ami's eyes began glistening with tears.  Still after two weeks, Ami wasn't used to the sweetness that Rowen displayed at times, especially when they were alone.  Ami smiled up at Rowen and leaned up to give him a quick kiss before wordlessly settling in to go to sleep.  That was how their relationship worked; the two of them had no need for words.  Rowen wrapped his arms around Ami as she tucked her head underneath his chin, pressing her body up against his as both of them drifted off to sleep.

***
-January 22nd, 2000-

The Ronin Warriors had left early that morning, leaving the house short of 5 people.  They left the house before anyone was up.  Even Ami didn't notice Rowen's absence until she woke up to find him not there.  Instead of finding him, she found a note.  It read: "Dear Ami, I wanted to say goodbye before I left, but I didn't want to wake you up.  We might have gotten distracted from saying goodbye and I needed out of your room before the guys came looking for me in mine.  I just wanted to tell you that I love you and for you not to miss me too much while I'm gone.  And don't worry.  I will come back because I have you to come back to.  I love you.  Love, Rowen."  Ami smiled as she read the note to herself.  She could understand why he didn't want to wake her up.  He had to wake up before any of the other guys so he could sneak down to his room through the secret passageway that Julie and Margot showed them a couple weeks ago to make their secret easier to keep a secret.  She folded up the note and put it in her nightstand drawer before getting up and walking out of her room, putting on her robe on the way out.  As she walked downstairs, she felt an emptiness in her heart that hadn't been there before.  And she knew what it was without even thinking about it.  She missed Rowen.  And he hasn't even been gone for 4 hours and I missed him already, Ami thought as she moved through the dining room and into the kitchen, where Lita was beginning to cook breakfast.  As it turned out, she and Lita were the only ones out of bed.  Lita turned at the sound of Ami's footsteps.  "Oh, good morning Ami.  How are you this morning?" she asked cheerfully.  Ami thought about it for a minute.

"I'm kind of tired actually.  I don't think I got enough sleep last night."  Lita frowned in sympathy.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lita said before changing the topic.  "Hey, did you know that the guys are gone?"

"They are?" Ami asked feigning innocence.

"Yeah, I went to look for Kento to have him help me with breakfast, but it turned out that he and the other guys left to help that Lady Kayura person really early this morning."  Ami sighed.

"Well, that's too bad," the blue-haired girl said.

"Yeah, it is," Lita agreed, "I'm really going to miss Kento."  Ami smirked.

"Oh, I'm so sure you will Lita," Ami said teasingly.

"Hey," Lita said, "Like you're not going to miss Rowen," Lita shot back.  Ami looked Lita straight in the eye.

"Believe me, Lita, I miss him already."  Ami let herself drown in the empty feeling she had in her heart before banishing it.  Giving Lita her most cheerful smile, Ami said, "So, since Kento's not here to help you with breakfast, how about accepting help from me?  It would be just like old times, Lita."  Lita smiled; before the Ronin Warriors came to live with them, Ami had always helped Lita out in the kitchen.  But, when Kento came, he replaced Ami as Lita's official kitchen-helper.  "Sure," Lita said, "I hope you still remember how everything in my kitchen works."

"Oh don't worry Lita.   I couldn't forget it if I tried."

"Good," Lita said cheerfully, "Then let's get to work."  As the two of them started making breakfast, Ami could feel the heartache of missing Rowen disappear slightly and she knew everything was going to be all right.

***
-January 28th, 2000-

It had been a week since the guys had left for the Netherworld and the girls were wondering when they were going to come back.  Surely it couldn't take a week to take care of a few minor things in the other world, could it?  The house was terribly boring without the guys and the Mystical Warriors were sick of having to make excuses for the guys' absences from school.  The most popular one was that all the guys had gotten the flu and were bed-ridden, therefore they couldn't attend school and they didn't know when the guys would be able to return to school.  It seemed to work and the girls were happy.  But, as much as they hated to admit it, they all wanted the guys back.  The house was just too quiet without them.  Margot and Julie had tried everything to get Mia, Ami, Lita, Raye, and Mina to cheer up, but nothing seemed to work.  Serena tired as well, along with Heather, but Alex, Michelle, and Celia didn't even bother; they knew there was nothing they could do, short of bringing the guys back, that would cheer them up.  Out of all of the girls, Ami was the one who was most affected by the absence of the guys and everyone had noticed.  It was most noticeable that night at dinner.  "I think I'm going to go upstairs and do my homework," Ami said as she got out of her chair and walked out of the dining room.  Mina scoffed at Ami as she walked out.

"Well, that was rude of her, wasn't it?  She didn't even say goodbye," Mina said.

"Yeah, what is wrong with her?" Alex asked, trying to figure out what could make Ami, who was normally so considerate, act really rude.

"She's had a real attitude problem tonight at dinner," Serena pointed out.  Raye nodded in understanding.

"Well, now that you mention it, she's been like this all week, pretty much since the guys left.  I wonder if that has anything to do with it?" Raye speculated.

"Does she really miss Rowen that much?" Mia said.  Lita nodded at the older girl.

"Yeah, she does," Lita said, "She told me on Saturday morning that she missed him already.  I guess the two of them are really close."

"Well, that's only to be expected," Michelle said, taking a bite of her food, "I mean, look at the similarities between those two.  Rowen is probably the only guy Ami has ever met who is as smart as Ami is.  He's one of the only people she can really relate to.  From what I understand from talking to Rowen and Ami is that they were both social outcasts when they were younger because of their intelligence.  They've both gone through similar experiences and it makes it easy for them to talk to each other.  It's no wonder she misses him so much.  And I bet you that he misses her as much as she misses him."  Everyone stared at Michelle in shock, except for Alex and Celia.  They were all amazed at how perceptive Michelle was.  Margot and Julie were more amazed at how true Michelle's words were.  It seemed that Michelle was beginning to see what was going on between Ami and Rowen and was tactfully not saying anything.  About 20 minutes later, after totally dissecting Ami and Rowen's relationship, dinner was over and the table was cleared.  The rest of the house dispersed, with Lita and Mia to do the dishes.  Margot and Julie went upstairs to Ami's room, where Ami was immersed in her studies.  Without even knocking, as was Julie's style, Julie burst through the door and looked at Ami squarely, who was sitting at her desk, doing her homework.  "Ami, we need to talk to you."

"About what?" Ami asked, putting her pen down and looking at the two girls.

"Your attitude as of late," Margot said, "I hate to break it to you, but the entire household has been noticing your behavior since Rowen left to go to the Netherworld."  Margot looked at Ami seriously before continuing.  "They're beginning to suspect that something more than friendship is going on between you two, Ami," Margot said, "And if you don't cut the attitude, they'll figure it out sooner or later before you and Rowen are ready for everybody to know."  Ami looked down at her hands, which were folded in her lap.

"Is it really that bad?" Ami asked, her voice no higher than a whisper.

"Yeah, it is," Julie said, "We don't mean to be so harsh, it's just that we know you guys don't want everybody to know yet, that's all.  We're just concerned about your secret.  We're looking out for you."  Ami sighed.

"I guess you're right.  I mean, Rowen and I don't want everyone finding out yet.  I'll try to act more normal from now on."  Margot nodded in satisfaction.

"Good.  I mean, can you imagine the commotion that would take place if everyone found out?  The entire household would never let you hear the end of it," Margot said.

"Yeah, lucky for us, now they won't," Julie said, "You'll start acting normal again and the suspicion will die away.  You two will be home free."  Ami smiled at the two sisters.

"Yeah, you two are right.  And as much as I love talking to you two, I have homework to do that I'd like to get finished as soon as possible."  Julie pouted.

"Ami, you don't know how to have fun," Julie said.  Ami looked at Julie and raised an eyebrow.

"You don't think I know how to have fun?  What do you call the things Rowen and I do?"  Margot and Julie both shivered and blushed to the roots of their hair.  "Ami, please," Margot said, "I didn't need that mental picture."

"Yeah, come on Ami, spare us, please," Julie pleaded.  Ami chuckled slightly.

"I'm just teasing you guys.  Now get out of my room so I can study," Ami said lightly.

"Alright, we're going, we're going," Margot said as she and Julie walked out of Ami's room.

"Bye Ami," Julie said as she closed the door behind her.  Ami sighed as the door shut; dealing with Margot and Julie always proved to be a tiring experience.  With one last glance at the door, Ami walked back to her desk and sat down to study.

***
Much later that night and well into the early morning, the Ronin Warriors returned from their mission, ready to climb into bed.  All of them, save Rowen, walked into their rooms and went to sleep.  It was 2:30 in the morning and all of them wanted to sleep.  Rowen, on the other hand, walked into his room and into his closet, opening up the entrance to the secret passageway.  He smiled as he ascended the stairs that would lead him up to Ami's room.  It had been a long and tiring day for him.  He never liked going to the Netherworld.  For one, going there was a taxing experience on his power and two, time passed more slowly in the Netherworld and one day there was like a week in his world, which always managed to throw him off because when he arrived home, there was always something major that happened while he was in the Netherworld and he hated having to play catch up.  He silently opened the door to Ami's closet, mindful of the fact that it was 2:30 in the morning and Ami would probably be asleep.  As he made his way through her closet he noticed a sliver of light coming from underneath Ami's closet door.  Was she still awake at 2:30 in the morning?  Slowly and carefully, Rowen opened the closet door and peeked into Ami's room.  He smiled as he spotted her.  She was sitting at her desk, her head pillowed on her arms, fast asleep slumped over on her desk.  Burning the midnight oil, I see, Rowen thought as he walked into her room.  He moved over to her desk and pulled her chair out so he could lift her out of the chair.  Gathering her into his arms, he moved over to her big armchair and sat down in it.  Holding Ami in his lap, he took the time to just look at her.  She really was beautiful and she looked so calm when she was asleep.  Like all of the worry and stress that she holds during the day disappeared when she's asleep.  She looks just like an angel, Rowen thought as he held her.  He loved the feeling of her body in his arms and he realized then how much he had missed her while he was away.  Smiling at her sleeping form, he lightly ran a hand over her upper arm, caressing the soft skin, while moving in to deliver a kiss to the spot right below her earlobe.  He could feel Ami smile in her sleep as he slowly delivered a trail of kisses down her neck and across her collarbone.  "Mmm, Rowen," Ami sighed in her sleep, starting to wake up.  He inwardly smirked and wrapped his arms around her waist, his hands slipping underneath her shirt to caress the skin at the small of her back.  Ami woke up with a gasp as his fingers traced circles on her back.  "Rowen?" she said, her breathing labored, "Is that you?"

"Who else would I be?" he said in between kisses.  Ami smiled slowly and said, "I missed you, you know.  You were gone for a whole week and I was stuck here without you."

"I figured you would say something like that," Rowen said as he pulled away to look at Ami, "But, did you know that to you it was a week and to me it was only a day?"  Ami looked him in the eye.

"So, time passes by slower in that world than over here.  How interesting."  She looked at him and smiled, continuing.  "Well, that didn't make me miss you any less," she said seriously.  He looked at her and gave her a soft smile.

"I missed you too."  Ami scoffed at him and looked at him with a shocked expression.

"You were only gone for a day.  How could you miss me?"  Rowen shook his head at her and said, "I was missing you the moment I left and was missing you the entire time I was gone."  Ami gave him a look.

"Well, I was here for a whole week without you.  It was like my own personal hell.  Just promise me one thing," Ami said.

"And what is that?" Rowen asked.

"Don't ever leave me ever again."  Rowen smiled.

"I'll see what I can do," he said.  She smiled broadly at him before leaning over to kiss him.  He smiled inwardly and brought his hands up to cradle her face as he pulled her closer to him.  A flash of mischief brewing in his mind, he scooped Ami up into her arms, stood up, and carried her over to the bed, both of them laughing the entire time.  As he set her down, she was giggling uncontrollably and he had a huge grin on her face.  He lay down next to her and looked down at her.  "I missed you," he said.  Ami looked up at him and mock-glared at him.

"Oh, shut up and kiss me," she said, her voice filled with love and passion.  He smiled at her and complied.  From that moment on, there were no more words as the two lovers were united.

***
Raye hummed merrily as she walked down the hallway to Ami's room.  She had to tell her that the guys had returned from the Netherworld.  That should cheer her up, knowing that Rowen is back, Raye thought as she remembered the conversation everyone had at the dinner table the night before.  It seemed to be what was bothering Ami, having Rowen gone.  Raye smiled as she envisioned the look on Ami's face when she told her the news about the guys' return.  She approached Ami's door and put her hand on the doorknob.  Turning it, she found that it was locked.  Her brow furrowed as she found that Ami's door was locked.  Hm, that's weird.  Ami never locks her door.  Guess I just have to go in through my bathroom, Raye thought shrugging.  She walked over to her own room and entered it, moving through it until she approached at her bathroom.  She walked through the bathroom that she and Ami shared.  She smiled; she knew that this door had to be unlocked because it locked from the inside of the bathroom.  Pushing the door open, Raye entered Ami's room with a large grin on her face.  "Hey Ami, guess…" Raye trailed off as she looked at the sight in front of her.  Her grin promptly fell and her jaw dropped open in surprise.  She couldn't believe what she was seeing.  In front of her were Ami and Rowen asleep in Ami's bed, the covers strewn everywhere, both of them only wearing a strategically-placed sheet and wrapped up in each others arms.  She looked around the room to see blankets and clothes everywhere and Raye nearly had a heart attack.  Sweet, innocent, little Ami in bed with Rowen?  Naked?  I can't believe it.  This is the last thing I ever expected to see in my life, Raye thought as her shock wore off, bringing a large smile with it.  With one hand placed on her hip, Raye chuckled slightly at the sight in front of her before loudly exclaiming, "OH MY GOD!  Wait until the others hear about this!"  Raye's loud words woke the sleeping couple up and before Ami and Rowen could say anything, Raye bolted out of the room the same way she came in.  "Oh shit," Rowen muttered as he and Ami rushed to get dressed.  At the same moment that Raye was running down the hallway to find everyone else, Julie and Margot were going the other direction down to Serena's room just to talk to her.  Looks of confusion spread over the two girls' face as they caught sight of Raye running down the hall like there was no tomorrow.  Margot turned around as Raye ran past them.

"Hey Raye, where's the fire?" Margot shouted after the violet-black-haired girl.  Raye turned around, still moving the other direction, and said, "Go look in Ami's room.  That's where the fire is."  Raye wore a mischievous grin on her face as she turned to face forward and continued running down the hallway.  Margot and Julie looked at each other with dismayed looks.  "Uh-oh," they whispered to each other; they knew what Raye was talking about.  Julie was the first one to move.  She stormed off down the hallway towards the door to Ami's room.  She turned the doorknob, found that it was locked, and moved on to Raye's room.  "Hey, Julie, wait.  Don't you think they deserve some privacy?" Margot said, following Julie down the hallway.

"No," Julie said, "They got caught in Ami's room.  They said they were going to keep it down in the library and they broke that promise.  They don't deserve any privacy after that."  God, she shows no mercy, does she? Margot thought as she walked off after Julie as she stormed into Raye's room and through the bathroom to Ami's room.  When the two girls walked into Ami's room, they found Ami sitting up in bed with the sheet clutched to her chest and Rowen wearing boxers, searching the floor for their clothes.  Margot averted her eyes and tried to suppress the blush spreading up over her face while Julie marched farther into the room, settling herself on the edge of the bed, a look of fury on her face.  Looking Ami straight in the eye, who was trying her hardest to keep the blush from totally covering her face, Julie began talking.  "What were you thinking?" Julie asked simply.

"An excellent question," Margot said, turning her face to look at the others, now that Rowen was mostly dressed and Ami was working on it underneath the sheet.

"I don't know," Ami said after pulling on her shirt, "He came in into my room last night and I didn't even think about getting caught.  I was just too happy to see him after not seeing him for a week."  Margot and Julie both turned their gazes to Rowen, who was now sitting with his arms wrapped around Ami's waist.  Rowen suddenly panicked; it seemed that it was now his fault.

"And what were you thinking?" Margot asked Rowen, who looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

"Yeah, what were you thinking, Rowen?" Julie asked, "I mean, for you it was only a day.  You should have been able to have a little more self-control."

"Hey you don't…" Rowen started before realizing something.  "Wait," he said, "How did you know it was only a day to me?"

"What, you think we haven't talked to the other guys?  For your information, you two, it's 10:30 in the morning.  Everyone else is up except for you two.  We've already talked to the other guys about what it was like," Julie said.

"And, speaking of everyone else," Margot said, "Raye is on her way to tell the entire household about your new relationship and what you've been doing."  With that, both of the girls walked over to Ami's door and unlocked it, opening it.  Before they left, Julie turned and said, "Well, I hope you two are happy with what you did.  Because you'll never hear the end of it."  With that, the two girls left Ami's room, slamming the door shut behind them.  Ami and Rowen both groaned in dismay.  Rowen leaned back against the pillows and Ami leaned forward, her head in her hands.  "This is bad," Rowen muttered.

"This is really, really bad," Ami said in response.  Ami and Rowen looked at each other and said, "We're screwed."

***
Ami and Rowen hesitated before entering the dining room that evening for dinner.  They had made it a point to avoid everyone in the household during the day to avoid any unnecessary teasing.  But they had to face the others; Ami and Rowen couldn't hide from their friends forever.  Looking at Ami, Rowen gave her hand a quick squeeze in support and reassurance.  Ami smiled at him before letting go of his hand.  They walked into the dining room and the room went silent as the two approached the dining room table.  "Well, well, look who decided to come downstairs today?  What were you two doing upstairs?  Nothing naughty I hope," Ryo insinuated.  Ami turned bright pink and Rowen glared at one of his best friends before sitting down at the table.  Rowen took a place in between Ryo and Kento while Ami took a seat across from Rowen in between Serena and Raye.  Lita also glared at Ryo and said, "Enough of that.  I will not tolerate any teasing at the dinner table."

"Sorry Lita," Ryo said, looking down sheepishly at his plate full of food.  As soon as Rowen and Ami sat down, dinner began in relative silence.  The air surrounding the dinner table was full with unspoken words.  Kento, who looked like he was going to burst if he didn't say the words that were on the tip of his tongue, said, "So, Rowen, when's the wedding?"  Rowen looked over at Kento, who wore a huge grin on his face, and glared at him.

"Kento, shut up.  I'm tired and I'm not ready to deal with you or your teasing," Rowen said quietly and menacingly.  Kento snorted.

"Well, I'm not surprised that you're tired.  I mean, with all the physical activity you and Ami have been doing."  Ami and Rowen both looked like they were going to kill Kento and Lita, who was sitting next to Kento, grabbed his ear and stood up, pulling him up out of his seat.  "Kento, come with me.  I need to talk to you for a moment."  Lita began walking out of the room, one hand holding an ear like a vice, with Kento being dragged along behind her, whining all the way.  All of the attention was focused on the doorway to the dining room, where everyone could hear harsh words being exchanged, followed by the sound of a very loud slap.  Lita walked back in to the room with Kento behind her, nursing a hurt cheek.  "Lita, that hurt," Kento whined as they sat back down at the table.  Lita looked over at him and looked him in the eye menacingly.

"Well, don't tease them and I won't hit you," Lita said as she turned back to her dinner.  Rowen and Ami caught each other's eye from across the table and Serena smiled widely.

"Aww, you two are so cute!" Serena squealed.  Ami flinched at the decibel level Serena had gotten up to and looked over at Serena pleadingly.

"Please, Serena, can we not talk about that?

"Why not?" Raye said, a huge smile on her face, "You two make such a cute couple."  Ami looked over at Raye with the same look on her face.

"Raye, all I want to do is eat my dinner and come out of it unscathed.  So, please, can we drop it?"

"Yeah, can we?" Mina said.  Normally, she would have been teasing Ami mercilessly, but she could sense that what was between Ami and Rowen was true love and that was something she didn't tease.

"I mean this is probably a really uncomfortable subject," Sage said, "So let's talk about something else."

"Good idea," Cye said.  The rest of the table, including Ryo, Kento, Serena, and Raye, agreed, leaving Ami and Rowen some peace.

***
Although the gang had given up on Ami and Rowen that night, they hadn't given up on them permanently.  Well, Ryo, Kento, Raye and Serena hadn't given up.  Alex, Michelle, Mia, and Darien were too mature to tease Ami and Rowen about it.  They knew of the connection between the two and wouldn't tease Ami and Rowen about it.  Margot, Julie, and Celia had known since the beginning.  Lita, Mina, Sage, and Cye thought it better not to tease Ami and Rowen; they were getting a hard enough time from Ryo, Kento, Raye and Serena.  And little Heather found the fact that Ami and Rowen were together absolutely romantic.  Only two years younger, she still didn't quite understand what was going on.  But, what teasing Ami and Rowen didn't receive from most of the household, they received, in massive amounts, from Kento, Ryo, Raye and Serena.  It had gotten so bad that Rowen and Ami were ready to kill those four and being around them was unbearable.  One night a few days later, Ami approached Lita, who was in the middle of making dinner.  "Lita," Ami said, "I know you love having everyone at the dinner table and all, but Rowen and I can't stand the teasing we get.  So, the two of us are going out tonight to get something to eat."  Lita nodded in understanding and sympathy.

"I understand Ami and don't worry, I'm not offended.  The teasing is pretty bad, isn't it?  I've tried to talk to Kento about it, but he just continues to do it anyway.  And I'm sorry for it.  So, you and Rowen go out to dinner and enjoy yourselves.  I'm sure it will be a welcome break."  Ami smiled.

"You always were really understanding, Lita.  You're a great friend," Ami said as she started walking out of the kitchen.

"Bye Ami," Lita called out, "And have fun!"  Ami tossed a smile back before moving out to the front hall, where Rowen was waiting for her, his jacket on and hers in his hands.  She gave her lover a soft smile as he helped her into her jacket.  Holding his arm for her to take, Rowen said, "Are we ready to go?"

"Yes," Ami said with a sigh of relief, "And I'm so happy that we get a night off from the teasing."

"Yeah, it's definitely well-deserved," Rowen said as the two of them walked out of the door, arm in arm.

***
Ami smiled contently as she rested in Rowen's arms.  The two of them were sitting on a park bench with Ami sitting on Rowen's lap, his arms wrapped around her.  She was leaning against his chest and was tracing invisible patterns on his forearm with the tip of her index finger.  He laughed slightly as her finger ran over the ticklish spot at the crook of his elbow and when she moved her head to look at him, he stole a kiss.  Ami sighed as he pulled away and snuggled up against him.  She felt so safe and loved inside his arms; she never wanted to leave them.  "This is nice," Ami said, "We had a nice dinner with no teasing."

"And now we're here, just enjoying each other's company," Rowen finished for her.  Ami smiled up at him and said, "I love you, Rowen."

"I love you too, Ami."  They shared one more kiss before settling in further on the park bench.  Both of them closed their eyes, just enjoying the feeling of being with each other, neither of them wanting the feeling to end.  Ami felt herself drifting off to sleep and Rowen was close as well when they hear a large crash.  Both of them immediately sprang to attention; they had a feeling that a fight was about to ensue.  Ami gasped in mild horror at the sight of the monster as the two of them rushed to their feet.  The monster was at least 10 feet tall and looked like a rather deformed werewolf.  Ami and Rowen quickly scanned the area around them for any civilians and, finding none, proceeded to transform.  "Power of the Artic!  I call upon the armor of the Artic.  Armor of the Artic, TO ARMS!"

"Armor of Strata!  ARMOR OF STRATA!  DAO INOCHI!"  Moments later, Rowen and Ami stood there in their armor, ready to fight the monster.  The monster growled and grinned, bearing a huge set of razor-sharp teeth, its eyes glowing a fierce shade of red.  Rowen and Ami looked at each other, nodding at each other, before assuming fighting positions.  The monster charged and, in order to slow it down, Rowen shot one of his golden arrows at it.  The arrow tip implanted itself into the monster's upper leg and slowed it down a little, but not much.  Ami then unleashed her attack.  She spread her arms out wide as ice, snow, and water surrounded her, forming a clear column of ice.  "RAGING ICE STORM FREEZE!"  She crossed her arms in front of her chest and shoved her arms down to her sides, the violence of the act breaking the ice column, sending it towards the enemy.  As whirls of ice and water, combined with Ami's power, hurled their way towards the monster, it saw the incoming attack and moved out of the way, the attack hitting its arm, freezing it immediately.  It howled in rage as the intense cold froze the arm all the way through and caused it to fall off, landing on the ground and shattering completely.  The monster looked like it was going to fall, but it kept coming for the two of them.  "Rowen, finish it off!" Ami said to Rowen.

"Right!" he said before drawing another arrow out of his quiver.  Placing it in his bow, he allowed his power to gather at the tip of the arrow.  "ARROW SHOCKWAVE!"  Rowen let go of the arrow as it flew towards the monster.  It yelled in pain as the arrow hit it in the shoulder, causing the immense column of power to come crashing down on it.  Within seconds, the monster was gone, leaving Ami and Rowen unharmed, if a little exhausted.  "I think it's time to go home," Ami said.

"No, maybe we should wait here.  Serena might have felt the monster and is probably on her way down here with the others," Rowen said.

"Good point.  We'll stay down here," Ami said.  They had been standing there wordlessly for a few seconds when they heard a loud whine.  Turning, they both saw Almandine, the general they had met a couple of weeks ago, throwing a small temper tantrum with an irate look on her face; she looked ready to kill.  "This is it!" Almandine yelled, "I have had enough of you little wanna-be warriors.  You destroy all of my beautiful plans to get rid of you.  You were supposed to die, but none of my lackeys seemed to be able to do the job.  Guess I'm just going to have to do it myself."  Her lips sneering into a vicious smile, she sent out an unexpected energy bolt that went straight for Rowen.  Caught off guard, Rowen went flying into the air and crashing into the bench that he and Ami had been sitting on earlier, smashing it to pieces.  Ami's breath caught in her throat as she watched the attack hit Rowen.  Letting out a yell of anger, Ami charged Almandine, only to get shocked by the shield that Almandine had crafted around herself as protection.  Rowen, who had gotten up, caught Ami before she could hit the ground.  After setting her on the ground, he said, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ami said, "And you?"

"I'll live," Rowen said, feeling a slight pain in his ribs.  Glaring at Almandine with a murderous glare, Rowen said, "How about we kill the bitch?"

"Sounds fine with me," Ami responded, her mind clouded with anger, just like Rowen's was.  Not knowing exactly what they were doing, they started up an attack, as if their minds were as one.  As Rowen took out one of his arrows and placed in the bow, Ami allowed her power to gather in a ball that was held between her hands, both of their eyes closed.  Almandine looked on with muted interest at the two; they hadn't done much in the last few seconds and she wondered if they had something up their sleeves.  Her eyes still closed, Ami let the power that was encased in her hands merge with the power that was gathering at the tip of Rowen's arrow.  The two of them continued to feed the arrow more and more power until they felt it was ready to let it go.  Their eyes snapped open and they looked at Almandine.  "Say goodbye, Almandine," Rowen said.

"You are going down!" Ami shouted.  The two of them took in a breath and, at the same time, shouted, "ICE ARROW!"  Rowen released the arrow, allowing it to land on the ground by Almandine's feet.  Almandine screamed as a combination of Rowen's Strata attack and Ami's ice attack scourged through her body, ripping her apart molecule by molecule.  "You'll never win!" were Almandine's final words before she died from the force of the power that had been sent at her.  As the power residue faded, Ami and Rowen could see all of the other warriors standing there with amazed looks on their faces.  "Wow," Serena breathed and everybody barely heard her, she was so quiet.  Celia was standing there with her usual impassive look and Margot and Julie had big smiles on their faces; they were proud of Ami and Rowen.

"How long have you guys all been standing there?" Rowen asked.

"Long enough to see that amazing attack," Sage said.

"That is one of the most powerful things I've ever seen," Darien said, a look of awe on his face.

"Well," Ami said, "I highly doubt Rowen and I could have done it without the knowledge of our feelings for each other."  Serena, Raye, Ryo, and Kento's faces all fell at that remark.

"Look," Kento said, "We're really sorry for teasing you two."

"Yeah, we feel really bad," Ryo said.  Ami smiled and Rowen said, "It's ok, you guys.  You're forgiven."

"Just don't do it any more," Ami said, shaking a finger at the guilty party of four.

"We promise," all four of them said at once.  The whole group detransformed.

"Well," Cye said, "Seeing how there's not much of a fight here anymore, how about we all head on home?"
"That sounds like a good idea," Mina said, joining Cye as he started walking away.  Ami and Rowen shared a knowing look; Mina and Cye were too perfect for each other, just too cute for words.  "They really need to get together," Ami whispered to Rowen as they too started walking away, Rowen putting his arm around Ami's shoulder.

"I know, but give them some time.  I'm not sure about Mina, but Cye is really bashful and gets embarrassed really easily.  He's also a romantic at heart and is waiting for the perfect moment to tell her that he loves her," Rowen responded in an equally soft tone of voice.

"He loves her?" Ami said, looking up at her soulmate with surprise and joy, "That's perfect because Mina is in love with Cye."  Rowen smiled down at Ami.

"Well, then we're just going to have to wait until they get together then, aren't we?  Because there's nothing we can do that will get them together besides wait."

"Good idea.  Besides, it's nice to see the relationship progress," Ami said.  Rowen was about to say something in response, but was interrupted by Alex.

"So, I guess Almandine won't be bothering us anymore," Alex said, a smile on her face that conveyed how proud she was of Rowen and Ami.

"Yeah, you two really took care of her with that power of yours; Almandine didn't stand a chance," Michelle said, coming up to walk by Alex's side.

"I guess she didn't," Rowen said and Ami nodded in agreement.

"Well, what triggered that attack?" Mia asked, joining in on the conversation.

"I honestly don't know," Ami said, "All that I know was that I was mad at Almandine for hurting Rowen."

"And I was mad at her for hurting Ami."

"Well then, duh!" Julie exclaimed.

"Yeah, I mean, it's obvious.  The attacks were triggered by anger," Margot said.  The 5 looked at the two girls speculatively and Celia came to their rescue.

"They have a point.  That's how most of your armors and your attacks came to you; anger is a powerful emotional tool and it takes powerful triggers to unlock most of our powers," Celia said wisely.  The 5 let the knowledge soak in as the group continued to walk home.  Margot and Julie high-fived each other.  Saved by Celia, the two of them said to each other at the same, smiles on their faces.

***

"That twit!" Queen Metallia yelled across her throne room, contemplating the death of Almandine.  "How dare those miserable warriors get one of my generals killed?  And how dare one of my generals lose to those pathetic soldiers?"  A growl growing deep in her throat, Metallia yelled, "HELIODORE!"  The three remaining generals were standing by Queen Metallia's side and Heliodore, with blonde hair floating behind her, moved over to Metallia and bowed.  "Yes, my Queen, you called for me?  Heliodore's green eyes were sparkling with hopefulness; she hoped that Metallia would pick her to destroy the Universal Warriors.

"I want you to pick up where Almandine left off."

"Yes, your majesty, it would be my honor."

"And I expect results from you, Heliodore.  Not like that good-for-nothing Almandine."

"I will not let you down, my Queen."

"Good. Dismissed," Metallia barked out, sending Heliodore away with a wave of her hand.  Heliodore straightened her body and walked past Labradorite with a smug look on her face.  She was throwing it in Labradorite's face that Queen Metallia had picked her instead of Labradorite.  Labradorite looked ready to kill Heliodore as she walked by.  You'll never pull it off, you bitch.  And then it will be my turn to shine, Labradorite thought before she and Cairngorm were dismissed by Metallia.

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

Hi guys!  I have to apologize – I know it's been somewhere around two weeks since my last update.  I can only say that I've been rather busy with homework and all that lovely stuff!  Anyway, I hope you all aren't too upset and all over the long break.  I promise to try to update a bit more regularly, but I can't vouch for how frequent updates will be over the holidays.  Hopefully, there will be another chapter out during Thanksgiving, ok?  But don't count too hard on it – I've got several papers and tests to do on break and I'm making Thanksgiving dinner again by myself this year, which is a rather large task in and of itself.  Alright, happy holidays!  ~DestinyBabe