The New Edition
Chapter Eight: Fight, Fight, Fight! Battle for Power starts now!
By: Winter Peacecraft-Yuy
With additional help from: Meilin Rae, Trowa'sgal2004, and MiMeQ
Disclaimer: Everyone: See previous chapters. We refuse to type, copy, and paste the whole thing again.

-

Pain…lots and lots of pain. There was thirst, there was hunger, but mostly pain…

It had taken a whole five minutes before Sage had been thrown around like a rag doll. He had barely gotten into armor when a griffin attacked him. He had jumped and slashed several times before finally taking one down. Sage had helped Ryo and Rowen get to their feet before heading outside to check on the struggling Cye and Kento.

Sage offered Kento an arm, "C'mon big guy."

"Damn. How many of those things were there? Ten hundred thousand?" Cye whispered harshly. Pain was shooting through his body.

Rowen winced as he and Ryo knelt down to help the Suiko bearer, "I think there were only three of them. Ryo and I took down one, you and Kento took down one, and Sage took down one."

"Seemed like a helluva lot more than that!" Kongo said defensively, "Three of them took down five Ronin Warriors. Just imagine what it would be like it there were a whole damn army of them."

Ryo shook his head, "Knock on wood!" He had a tendency to be superstitious.

"Too late…" A sinister voice hissed.

Ryo and the others looked up to come face to face with a horde of demons. They recognized the Despiadado, the griffins, from earlier, but there was another batch that they didn't seem to know. They carried big, heavy seven feet tall battle-axes. Their eyes were pure black and slime dripped from their body.

Kento grimaced, "The snot brigade…"

"Silence ignorant fool!" The apparent leader of the army stepped forward. He stared down at the five boys with his black eyes, "We are the Malvagità. We have come looking for the balance. If you comply and tell us where he is hiding, we will make your death swift and painless. Failure to obey will result in each of you being eaten by the Despiadado behind us."

Ryo growled as he used his swords for a crutch, "We don't know who you're talking about. Now leave before we start kicking your sorry asses!"

"Tsk. Tsk. For a human, you have admirable spirit," The leader sneered. "I'm sorrowed to say, young men, that your time is up. Prepare to die!"

The clouds had covered the moon, giving the scenery an eerie glow as they heard the demon starting to raise his sword; however, before he could swing, a golden arrow flew out of nowhere, striking him in between the eyes. The only sound that was heard was the body hitting the ground with a thud. The demon army looked around for the person that had shot their leader.

"What the hell?" Sage whispered harshly. He took notice that the arrow looked very similar to Rowen's, but who had shot it?

Kento whipped around as his jaw dropped, "Guys! Behind us! Look!"

The Ronin Warrior's turned around and looked up. On top of the building were five silhouetted figures. They squinched their eyes to try and make out who they were, that is, until the clouds shifted. The night sky was set ablaze with moon glow as the five figures were each revealed. Ryo, Sage, Rowen, Cye, and Kento could not believe their eyes. Standing on top of the almost demolished warehouse were five female warriors.

Cye didn't take his eyes off the others as he spoke, "Are we dead?"

"I don't think so, buddy," Kento responded. "They look like us only…feminine…"

"Female Ronin Warriors?" Rowen asked to no one in particular. He took note that his "counterpart" had been the one to shoot the demon leader.

In the blink of an eye, the girls had bent down and jumped from the top of the building. They landed in front of the Ronin Warriors and drew their weapons defensively. The bearer who's armor resembled Rekka's design, turned her head slightly and spoke to the others.

"We'll handle this. You five need to get out of here and fast."

"No way!" Ryo screamed, "We're going to stay and help you…uh…what's your name?"

The girl only whispered, "Sorry, I can't tell you that, but if you must call me something, call me Lady Rekka."

"Silence!" One of the demons had raised its axe high in the air, "I don't know who you are or where you came from, but you're all about to die. Despiadado, Malvagità…ATTACK!"

Each of the demons flew at the female warriors, who were trying their best to keep the Ronin Warriors under protection.

-

The battle seemed to rage on for what seemed like hours, but in reality, it was only several minutes.

Hana had to use her nodatchi as a pole vault and ended up landing in the middle of a circle of demons. Once she stood, she performed a complete 360°, slicing each of the demons in their stomachs.

Mia wasn't having an easy time. Since her attacks were long ranged, she was having a hard time killing the enemies, but a fairly easy time keeping them away from Rowen. Her bow, which was slightly different from Rowen's, had a small blade on the end. She used the blade to stab the demons back, and then loaded an arrow, finishing them off.

Josephine was having a ball fighting. Aside from her male like strength, she was using the nunchuku parts of her naginata to wrap around the demon's ankles, sending them crashing to the ground. The blade on the top of her weapon was also coming to be very useful, as she would stab through a line of the demons, making them look like shish kabob.

Amaya's spirit really wasn't in the battle. She hated fighting, but knew she had to do it to protect the ones she loved, which, in this case, was Kento and her friends. She had wanted to leave Cye's side to help Josephine, but she made quick note that Lady Kongo was holding her own. She quickly dodged one of the Despiadado swiping at her with its claws. She quickly opened the mancatcher part of her weapon and sliced the demon in half.

Rekino, on the other hand, was having a hard time fending the demons off and trying to protect Ryo. Her stubborn brother kept trying to get up and help her fight, but he always ending up making his wounds worse. She weaved through the surrounding soldiers with one of her katana. She stepped aside hastily and grabbed the blade of a sword swung at her by one of the demons. The creature only smirked as it drew the weapon back quickly, slicing Rekino's right hand open.

"Damn!" She hissed in pain. She dropped the sword in her other hand, rendering her defenseless. The demon quickly took action as he picked her up by the helmet.

"Time to meet your doom!"

Oh shit! Rekino thought as the demon forcefully grabbed her in between the legs, "HEY! Bubba, that's a private spot! You're not supposed to touch me th–OH CRAP!"

The demon lunged back and threw Rekino towards the warehouse. She ended up turning around in the air as her back collided with the rust steel. She grimaced. This wasn't going how she had planned. Before she could stand up, someone had picked her up and started dusting her off.

"You okay?"

Rekino turned around and saw that it was the man from the other day. Her mouth hung open in shock, "It's…it's you! You're back! I have a million questions to ask you!"

The man stared down at her with his immensely glowing white, blue-ish eyes, "Look, you need to get your boys and get the hell out of here."

"But…" Rekino didn't get another word out as the man grabbed her upper arm and pulled her towards him. She swallowed hard as she heard him growl and his fangs extended.

"Now!"

Rekino seemed to have lost her ability to speak. She let out a small squeak, "Okay." She didn't waste anytime as she jumped back into the fray of flying bodies and weapons, "Guardians, it's time to leave. Get your counterpart and get the hell out of here!"

Hana stopped in midswing, but ducked before she was about to be hit, "Why? There's still a ton of these creeps left."

"You don't understand," Rekino said as she knelt down to pick up Ryo, "The Balance is here. It's time to pull up our skirts and run!"

Josephine turned to Rekino, "But we don't wear skirts!"

"It was just a figure of speech," Mia said. She knelt down and swung Rowen's arm over her shoulders. With the strength she had left in her body, she jumped straight up and onto the warehouse rooftop and onto another. Trying to get as far away from the danger zone as possible.

Hana had done the same with Sage. Josephine's way of carrying Kento was much like one would give a child a piggyback ride. Amaya had wrapped her arms around Cye's midsection and jumped in the air.

Rekino knelt down and propped Ryo's arm on her left shoulder as she wrapped an arm around his waist. She jumped up in the air, following her friends to a safe place.

-

Lady Rekka landed softly on top of a company building and gently laid Ryo down on the ground, "Don't worry, Ryo. You'll be okay soon."

One of Ryo's tiger blue eyes opened slightly as he looked at the girl who was towering about him, "How…do you know my name?"

"That's not important right now. I need to know if you can stand."

Ryo lightly laughed, "I really don't think I have the strength to sit up." He closed his eyes slightly, but reopened them when the girl pulled his head up. "Hey! What are you doing? You're not gonna kiss me or something, are ya?"

She smirked, "Why would I need to kiss you when you have a girlfriend? Just close your eyes and relax. This will only take a minute."

"Uhhh…okay."

Lady Rekka placed her armored forehead on Ryo's as their kanji of virtue started to shine brilliantly. Rekka had thought the girl had completely lost her mind until he felt a boost of energy shoot through his body. It felt like steaming hot magma was running through his veins as his body was rejuvenated.

Ryo opened his eyes when the girl had pulled back and looked around to see her comrades had performed the same technique on the others. He smiled up at the girl, "Thanks. I owe you my life."

She smiled back. Her facemask covering her features, "Don't mention it. It's my job."

Kento shot up from his place on the ground and looked around at the five girls, "What in God's name is going on?"

"Calm down, Kento," Cye said, "I'm sure they're going to explain everything. Right?"

Lady Suiko twiddled her thumbs, "Actually, we were about just about to leave."

I've heard that voice before. Kento thought as the armor-clad girl in light blue looked at him nervously. He looked to his right to see his counterpart with her arms crossed and a frown on her face, but before he could ask her what was wrong, a voice stopped him.

"That was a close call, boys and girls. Next time, please remember to come prepared."

Everyone looked up to see the man who had saved their lives floating just above them. His arms were crossed loosely over his chest as he smirked down at the ten warriors.

Sage leaned towards Rowen, "I think I'm seeing things, man."

Lady Rekka jumped up and pointed, "SEE! SEE! I TOLD YOU! Godlike powers! He's not actually God, but he has the power of a God! BAM! What now?"

Lady Korin snorted, "Calm down, Rekka-chan. It's not like he's going anywhere." She looked up to see the man had disappeared, "Okay…so maybe he will."

The Balance, as Rekino called him, appeared in front of the ten warriors still wearing that same smirk, "It seems that I had to intervene after all."

Kento clenched his fists tightly, "I don't know what the hell is going on here, but I want some answers." He turned towards the five girls and pointed, "Who the hell are these chicks? They just show up out of no where and start fighting our battle…"

"Which you were losing…" Lady Kongo said quickly.

Kento nodded, "Yeah, which we were-HEY! I didn't say you could talk!"

The Balance shook his head, "Now that wasn't very nice. I think you should get on your kneepads and start apologizing."

None of the guys moved except Sage. He looked from the Balance, to the Ronin's, and then to the girls. With a shrug, he turned towards his counterpart and started to kneel down. Lady Korin was absolutely glowing at this sight. Before he got halfway down, Kento had resumed his job, which caused Sage to stand upright again.

"I don't give a damn whether I was harsh or not!" He turned towards the girls, "Who the hell are you five and where did you come from?"

Lady Rekka shifted her eyes from left to right, "Well…"

The Balance raised his hand, "I got this ladies. Take five." He looked towards Lady Rekka, "And no stalling. Leave."

-

Rekino turned around to leave with the others, that is, after she saw Josephine still standing with her arms crossed and tapping her foot lightly, "What the hell do you think you're doing? The man said to leave. So we leave."

Josephine snorted, "I'm not moving an inch until I know who he is. It's not like he can blast us off the building."

The Balance had turned around with his eyes narrowed at Josephine. Rekino lunged forward and grabbed Josephine by the shoulder, dragging the bigger girl across the rooftop. Rekino turned around and waved at everyone, "See ya!"

"What do you think you're doing? Put me down this instant!" Josephine was kicking and screaming as her leader drug her across the rooftop, "Oh God…you're not actually gonna jump are you? Crap…crap…I'M GONNA DIE!" The woman's voice echoed throughout the area after Rekino had jumped off the building.

-

Ryo and the others had watched the five girls depart after Lady Rekka had drug Kento's counterpart off of the roof. After all was said and done, Kento turned back towards the Balance.

"One, who are those girls? Two, who are you? Three, what happened to the demons you were fighting? Four…"

The Balance just rolled his eyes, "If you would shut up, I'll be able to answer your questions, Kongo."  He shifted his weight slightly before continuing, "To answer your questions, I am known as 'The Balance'. I am here to keep the balance of the powers in an equal standing."

Kento rubbed his head, "Do what?"

"If there is too much evil in the world, I help in bringing down the power to equal out with the force of good. Do you understand?"

"Since you put it that way," Kento said.

Ryo jumped in next, "What about those demons we were fighting? Where did they come from and what do they want?"

The Balance sighed in annoyance, "Those demons, the Despiadado and the Malvagità, are only just the beginning."

Rowen rubbed his chin and looked at the Balance curiously, "You mean there are more of those things?"

"Bingo, but I cannot tell you much as of yet. You five are still not ready to know the whole truth," He snickered at the expressions of the Ronin Warriors, "And before any of you ask, those demons are looking for me. Well, not necessarily me, just my power. The time of my reign is coming to an end, young warriors."

"Exactly what do you mean by that?" Cye asked.

"Look! We don't have time to be messing around here with this loony bin. We should be out there looking for those girls and fighting those demons!" Kento exaggerated while waving his hands around frantically.

The skies went dark as lighting illuminated the surrounding areas. The Balance's pupils turned pure white as small bolts of electricity shot over the bridge of his nose. The Ronin Warriors stood ready to fight whatever this man was summoning. In the blink of an eye, the Balance had vanished in a cloud of smoke and reappeared in front of Kento. He lifted the Kongo warrior up by his neck.

"You will have more respect, Kongo no Shu! I am your master."

All eyes widened as he threw Kento down onto the ground, leaving a fairly deep hole for the stubborn warrior to climb out of.

Ryo ran over to help his comrade out of the hole as he glared daggers at the Balance, "What do you mean by that? Our master died a long time ago!"

"Oh, you mean The Ancient One, right?" The Balance laughed morbidly, "That is true, he was your master, but who do you think gave him orders?"

Cye gasped, "You mean…you're…"

The white-haired man laughed again, only this time out of humor, "Why do you sound so shocked? You five were bound to find out about me sooner or later, ne?" The Balance gave an annoyed look as the five men shook their heads, "Alright, children, back to answering your twenty questions," He leaned back slightly as he crossed his legs and started floating in the air, sitting Indian style. "I have been reigning for almost ten thousand years. Now, when the clock strikes midnight on the ten thousandth night, I will lose my power and be forced to give up my crown, which is this little jewel on my forehead. I have exactly two months and five days before I have to relinquish it."

Sage snorted, "And where do we exactly fit into this picture?"

"Don't sass me, Mary Tyler Moore," The Balance said quickly and continued with his story, "In these two months and five days, I must find an heir to give my power to. If an heir is not found, well…then the Earth is doomed and all mankind will perish. You know, standard doom, destruction, and everybody goes to hell. That is where you five gentlemen come into play. You must protect me and keep holding the demons off until I can find an heir. But by the performance I saw today, you guys may be up the river without a paddle by the time the next horde of demons roll around."

Rowen took a quick glance at the guys and back at the floating man before he spoke again, "Have you found the heir yet?"

The Balance sweatdropped, "To be the smartest one of the bunch, Tenku, you sure are brain dead. If I had found an heir already, do you think I would be here talking to you five?"

Ryo let his jaw fall freely, "Wait. You mean to tell us that you're omnipotent and you haven't found an heir yet? What kind of shit is that?"

"The kind of shit that happens. I never said life was perfect. Finding an heir takes time, Rekka. I can't just snap my fingers and have one appear. That would be too easy. Besides, I enjoy having an adventure from time to time. Keeps my senses on guard. Know what I mean? Keep those kill zones open. Hehe."

Kento shook his head violently and slammed his fist down, "That doesn't explain those five girls running around here dressed in mystical armor."

The man, once again, sighed, "Gentlemen, have you ever heard that behind a good man is a better woman that saves his ass?" The group shook their heads. "Well, you just did," He touched ground again and stood, staring down at the Ronin Warriors, "Those five women are your Lady Guardians. They will be aiding you in battle from this point on, which I highly see fit."

"But that doesn't explain who they are and where the armor came from," Sage said, backing his friends up. "The Ancient never told us about them."

The Balance nodded his head, "I never told him about the female armors." He shifted his weight before he continued, "Centuries ago, before Talpa had been corrupted by evil, he was to be married. For their wedding gift, I made her an armor. The armor I created was ten times stronger than Talpa's. By the time they had married, Talpa's mind had been taken over by the darkness. Before she died, Talpa's wife had sealed her armor away. Talpa became enraged with anger and tore the Dynasty apart looking for it, but he never found it."

Silence dragged on amoung the five men before Cye spoke, "Well…go on. Where was it?"

The man smirked, "I had it." Before any of them started to ask a question, The Balance continued, "She has asked me to keep it safe for her. While I sent the Ancient to battle Talpa, I split her armor into five different ones. I paired each of the female armor's according to the attributes of your armors. The women you saw today are wearing Talpa's bride's armor."

Ryo rubbed his chin in thought. He wanted to find out who his guardian was, and he was almost sure the others felt the same way. "Do you know who they are?"

"Of course I do. I was the person who choose them."

"Well, can you tell us who they are?" Rekka was almost sure he had won this fight when the man lifted his eyebrows and smiled happily. Yes! Score one for the Ronin Warriors!

The Balance smirked evilly, "I'm sorry boys, but it's past your bedtime. I suggest you all go home before it gets too late and your women worry about you."

Sage was the only one to respond to that comment, "Holy shit! I've got to get back to Hana. Man, she's probably so pissed at me. I hope she's okay."

"She's fine Korin. Don't worry about her," The Balance said. He looked at each one of the boys before the area was surrounded by mist. In seconds, the man was gone. Leaving the five Ronin Warriors standing in amazement.

-

The Lady Guardians had been sitting on the same rooftop for what seemed like forever. In reality, it was only twenty minutes or so. Josephine was scowling at the ground, becoming more and more impatient. She clinched her fists and stood up abruptly.

"That's it! I'm going back!" She said defensively.

Rekino looked up at her friend and shook her head, "We stay here."

Hana looked from the others to Rekino, "I'm kind of leaning towards Jo here, Rekka-chan. We don't know if that guy's on our side or not." She stood up before Lady Kongo. "I'm going."

Rekino frowned, "I'm being serious, you guys. You all need to stay here."

Mia stood up as well, "Hana has a point. He tried to blast Josephine off the building. We don't know if he could be doing that to the others right now! Besides, I really don't want Ryo to get hurt."

Amaya said nothing. She just sat Indian Style on the ground as she watched three of her friends defy their leader. She wasn't much for fighting, and she didn't want to see any of them get hurt. But she wasn't about to voice her opinion.

Rekino's eyes turned to a dark amethyst color as she stood up and shoved her arm to the side, trying to emphasize her point. "I just don't think you guys get it, do you? The man had told us to leave. The only reason he tried to blast Josephine off the roof was because she doubted his power. I'm almost sure he's going to show up. Just wait a little while longer."

"I'm through waiting, Rekino! I'm going to find him and that's final!" Josephine started to walk away, but Rekino grabbed her upper arm, "Let me go."

"No," Lady Rekka said defensively, "I'm the leader here, Josephine. Not you. Me. Now you can either sit down and shut up or I'll just have to beat it into you."

Before Josephine could make a sound, a voice rang in their ears.

"Hello ladies. Sorry to keep you waiting."

Rekino let go of Josephine's arm and spun around, scowling at the man, "Holy Mary mother of God!"

The Balance smirked, "I knew her once. Great fashion sense. She could talk her way out of anything."

Amaya scowled at the man. "That is no way to speak of Christ's mother, I will have you know."

The Balance turned to Amaya. "Ah, yes. You, the Frenchie. The religious one. Shh. Time will pass, and you will loosen up to jokes. I understand your religious qualities. After all, that is one reason that I selected you."

Josephine looked at him. "What?"

The Balance sighed. "I can't believe that I have to explain it to you, as well. Okay, I would appreciate silence from you five. I have already had to deal with the men that are supposed to be a level of intelligence below you." The girls nodded. "Good. I will start from the beginning of my reign. I was chosen as The Balance ten thousand years ago. I reigned and reigned. It was quite boring for some time. Then, I discovered that a lord named Talpa was to be married."

Before he could continue, Mia interrupted him. "Talpa! That evil warlord?! Married?!" She turned to the girls. "Talpa..."

The Balance cleared his throat. "As I was saying," he said in an annoyed voice, "Talpa was to be married. For a wedding gift, I made his bride an armor ten times stronger than his. By the time that they were married, his mind had been corrupted with darkness. Before she died, she sealed her armor away into my protection. Talpa tore apart the Dynasty looking for it. However, I kept it safe." He looked at the girls, whom were all listening intently. "I split it into five armors, matching the attributes of the Ronin Warriors' armors. Then, I chose the five of you." He looked at the girls. "You girls are the guardians of the Ronin Warriors."

Josephine looked at him. "That doesn't explain why you're here."

The Balance smiled. "Ah, yes. My purpose. Well, at midnight on the anniversary of my ten thousandth year of reign, I will lose my powers. I am here to find an heir, but you have to help me in that. You have to keep the demons away from me so that I can find an heir. You also have to fulfill your duty as Lady Ronin Guardians and protect the Ronin Warriors."

The girls stood there in amazement. They were having trouble taking it all in ... for a change. The Balance was now levitated in the air in a sitting position. "Well, are there any questions, ladies?" he asked nonchalantly.

Hana held her hand up shakily. "We have to keep the demons away from you? Why would we do that? You can handle them, can't you? I mean, you seem to have come to our rescue plenty of times before, so why should we go and get all bloodied up so that you can save us again?" She had regained some of her courage, and she was now standing with her arms crossed over her chest.

The Balance threw a sideways glance at Hana before turning toward her completely. "What purpose you have is of my concern, not yours. If you want to see those demons in control of my powers in two months and five days, then leave them to me. I can't possibly kill them all. I am The Balance, which means I have to balance good and evil. You are the good guys ... ahem ... girls, so therefore you should be the ones defeating evil. Come on blondie. You can figure it out. You aren't as dumb as you look."

Hana was steaming now. She was red in the face. "How dare you! I'm not dumb at all, you prick!"

Before she could think of anything nastier to say to him, he held up his hand. "I have to be going now and so do you. Go back to doing whatever it was you were doing. It's not like I don't know, but we're short on time here, ladies. Until next time. " He bowed slightly and in a split second, the man was gone in a trail of mist.

Rekino sighed and placed a hand on Hana's shoulder, "He's right. Hana, you probably need to get back to Sage, or he'll be worried. The building that you two were in collapsed, so you'll have to make something up." Rekino looked at the others. "I'll be at home resting if you girls need me."

Each of the girls nodded and shed their armors. Rekino and Josephine headed south towards the apartment complex, Mia headed northwest towards her home with Ryo, Hana tried to find the destroyed restaurant building that she and Sage had been at prior to the attack, and Amaya headed towards the movie theater intent on changing her clothes.