Chapter 14

Practice Is Over, The Real Fight Begins

Everyone had gathered at Mia's at the designated time. Everyone seemed to be eager to get started. The others had noticed that Munchkin was antsy again. They also noticed that Midget and Munchkin were keeping their distance from the Warlords and Kayura. Munchkin who seemed to be completely ignoring Dais, who also seemed to be uneasy and particularly distant from her. Kayura teleported everyone to their training site with the staff. As far as the eye could see was flat land. It consisted of only dirt and rocks.

"What the..." Munchkin said quietly, staring around.

"This is the place," Midget whispered. The two girls looked at each other then back at the scene.

"Dais, lets get this started," Kento said not noticing the startled looks on Midget and Munchkin's faces. No one else seemed to notice the girls either.

All of a sudden they were all surrounded by Dynasty soldiers. They looked just like the ones that had attacked them a couple of days ago. None of the others thought anything about it because they were expecting Dais to create an illusion that consisted of Dynasty soldiers. They weren't expecting what happened next.

Two of the soldiers advanced, grabbing Midget and Munchkin, while the other soldiers surrounded the rest if them. Midget and Munchkin got free and began to fight them. Munchkin was knocked to the ground by a punch to the face at the same time Midget had her legs swept out from beneath her.

The others saw this and yelled at Dais, "Stop!"

"What the heck are you doing, Dais?" Ryo and Rowen asked pissed.

"I-I-I'm not doing that. These t-t-things are real," Dais stammered out.

With that everyone transformed into their sub armors and began to fight. When Midget and Munchkin got up they asked each other, "Do you think they are here?"

With that thought going through their heads the two girls began to look around. They didn't see anyone, but the Dynasty soldiers and everyone that came with the girls. They relaxed just a little and began to fight the soldiers. After about half an hour all of the soldiers were killed. Everyone then began to make sure everyone else was all right.

"Is everyone ok?" Ryo asked.

"Fine," they all responded.

"What the heck was that all about?" asked Kento.

"Yeah. Those soldiers seemed to be tougher," commented Sage.

"You mean they aren't like the ones you fought before," Sara asked in disbelief.

"That's right," Cye commented. "These guys even look a little different."

"So we got the new and improved version, huh," asked Penny. "Well, that's just great!"

"It would appear that they are also slightly more intelligent," Rowen informed them. "Either that, or they are under better control now."

"If they look different, then why didn't you know they weren't Dais' illusion," Jaya asked a little upset.

"Yeah. You all waited till me and Midget get hit to figure it out. Great observations don't come afterwards, they come before the attack," Munchkin said sarcastically.

"Guys, I think we've got more important things to worry about," Midget said a little nervously.

"What do you mean? What's the matter," Ryo asked.

Everyone looked at Munchkin when she said in a furious voice, "You guys finally got the guts to face us in the real world, huh?"

"Well, if it isn't the little girls from earlier," Mase said sarcastically. "Did you think about what I told you two? I see that they are here. Go and ask them if it is the truth."

"We don't have time to play your games. What do you want?" Midget quickly said. She knew not to let Munchkin say anything from what happened last night.

"Fine. Maybe later. Right now we have business to attend to. We are here to recruit some new members for the dynasty," Mase replied smiling viciously.

"Kiss my butt," Penny snapped.

"Watch it, Penny," Sara warned.

"You aren't getting anything but a butt kicking today," Kento laughed.

"That is what you think," Blade cursed.

"And just who the heck are all of these guys?" Sage asked.

"Excuse me. Do I look like a guy," Sheeva snapped.

"And what about me," hissed Katrina.

"Oh. Excuse me," Sage retorted sarcastically.

"Anyway. These are the five new warrior geeks," Munchkin replied with a grin.

"We are the Dynasty's new Warrior Generals. I am their leader Mase, the warrior of Pain," said the one in dark purple.

"I am Sheeva, the warrior of Mountains," the one in tan said.

"I am Katrina, the warrior of Tornados," sneered the one in dark gray.

"I am Blade, the warrior of Plagues," snapped the one in dark brown.

"I am Bear, the warrior of Death," the one in black stated proudly.

"Nice to meet you again," Midget said angrily. "I think you were saying something earlier about being the best. Ha! Let's see what you're really made of."

Just then the new Warlords began to attack.

Ryo yelled, "Ronin's, to arms."

At the same time Munchkin yelled, "Armor up, girls."

"Armor of Wildfire,"

"Armor of Strata,"

"Armor of Hardrock,"

"Armor of Halo,"

"Armor of Torrent,"

"Armor of Cruelty,"

"Armor of Illusion,"

"Armor of Venom,"

"Armor of Darkness,"

"Armor of Blaze,"

"Armor of Heavens,"

"Armor of Forest,"

"Armor of Sun,"

"Armor of Typhoon,"

With everyone armored up they all got into defensive positions. Before the new Warlords reached them a few dozen soldiers popped up from all sides. The guys were fighting the newly arrived soldiers, while the new Warlords attacked the girls. Munchkin ran to fight Mase, she had a bone to pick with him. Midget went to intercept Katrina, she doesn't like visitors intruding in her dreams. Penny headed for Mr. Big man himself, Bear. Jaya ran to fight Blade, while Sara fought Sheeva.

Sheeva kicked at Sara, but she blocked then punched back. Sara hit Sheeva right in the jaw, knocking her back. Enraged, Sheeva grabbed her chain mace and twirled it at Sara. Blocking with one of her sais and lunging the other into her gut, Sara got the upper hand.

"Maybe you are fighting for the wrong side," Sara suggested.

"You got that backwards, girlie," Sheeva replied. "You will never beat us." With that remark Sheeva jumped up into the air and disappeared. At her disappearance five soldiers appeared to take her place.

Jaya threw a star at Blade at the same time he threw a dagger at her. They both jumped to the side to avoid being hurt. Getting up quickly Jaya ran and kicked Blade in the stomach. She then flipped over his head and kicked him in the back, knocking him to the ground.

"Maybe you should just stay down," Jaya suggested.

"If you knew what was best for you would be on our side," Blade replied getting up. He turned to face her and then disappeared, leaving behind about five soldiers in his place.

Bear swung his scythe at Penny. She dodged by doing the splits. As soon as she reached the ground she swung her staff at his legs, but he jumped up just in time. Rolling under him as he was in the air she ended up behind him. When he landed she flipped back over him and then kicked him right in the stomach, then brought her staff across his face sending him to the ground on his back.

"Oh look. Mr. Big Man himself can't beat a little girl. Have you ever thought of a different profession, like starring in horror films. You already have the costume for it," Penny retorted.

"Shut up. You will find out what horrors I can create. You should consider working for us. At least then you wouldn't be killed," Bear responded. With a laugh he turned around and walked away. In his spot five or so soldiers appeared. Behind them Bear disappeared.

Midget sent a round house kick to Katrina's face. Katrina backed up just in time to miss getting hit. As soon as Midget landed she clawed Katrina in the chest. Katrina flung her num chucks at Midget, but she dove under them. Jumping back up Midget ran full force into Katrina, sending her flying to the ground several feet away.

"I don't appreciate people disturbing my sleep or upsetting my friends," Midget told her seriously. "However, I told a mutual friend by the name of Anubis that I would free you. So be prepared, because I won't give up easily."

"That is strange, because I promised my masters that I would bring you to them. I guess we will just have to see who turns who later," Katrina replies. She then waves her hand in the air and disappears. In her place five soldiers materializes.

Mase jumps at Munchkin, who spins out of the way. He abruptly stops then turns around and sends his flail at her. Munchkin does several back flips to dodge it. She then stops and runs head on into Mase. He steadies himself, but before she runs into him stops and jumps over him. Now behind him she swings her sword at his feet trying to knock him down. He flips over her and tries to kick her, she dodges and then punches him in the jaw. Stunned for a second, Mase backs up a little. Munchkin then kicks him in the side and sends him to his knees.

"You never should have told me that lie about Anubis and Dais. I would have gone a lot easier on you if you hadn't of done that. I don't appreciate people entering my dreams and lying to me," Munchkin hissed.

"I never lied to you. What does it matter, though? You will soon join us and do the same to other people's families," Mase retorted with a smile. "Later, girlie." With that he was surrounded by soldiers then disappeared. The five soldiers surrounding him then attacked Munchkin.

Just as everyone had finished dispatching their last soldier around a hundred more popped up. Everyone was beginning to get tired.

Ten soldiers attacked Jaya at once. Before they got to her she found herself saying, "Wind Water Strike," and throwing three of her stars at them. When the stars reached the soldiers they spun around several times creating swirling winds that mixed with the rain from the huge black cloud that had formed above the soldiers creating a Typhoon. When it had dissipated the soldiers were gone.

A moment later Midget had begun her own attack. It felt like someone was telling her exactly what to do. She yelled, "Heavens Meteor Shower," and points her cross bow to the sky right above the soldiers and fires the arrow. Where she shot the sky seems to open up and huge rocks fell from it, crushing the soldiers below.

At the same time Midget does her attack Munchkin does her own. She holds her saber pointing up, but her grip is inverted, and then she yells, "Blaze of Fury," bringing her sword down until the tip hits the ground. Where the tip hits the ground, a line of fire shoots across the ground, engulfing the soldiers all in fire.

Rowen yells out, "Arrow Shock Wave," to take care of his own problems.

Sage and Cye join their attacks to take out about thirty soldiers saying, "Lightning Bolt Cut," and, "Super Wave Smasher."

"Iron Rock Crusher," is heard from Kento taking out a good fifteen soldiers.

Ryo takes out the rest with his attack. He is heard yelling, "Flare Up Now."

"Everyone, gather around quickly," Kayura said urgently. "Let's get out of here before more soldiers arrive."

The weary group gathers around Kayura. Then Kayura teleported everyone back to Mia's. Wearily, the warriors drag themselves into the house. Cye and Jaya rested for a few minutes, then went to prepare something to eat. Kento sat down at the table beside Penny, too tired to try sneaking a snack. Sage, Sara, and the Warlords all found places to sit in the living room. Munchkin walked from one room to the next with Ryo, checking to see that no one had gotten hurt. They only go into the living room to check on Sara and Sage before heading to the kitchen. Silently, Midget and Rowen check on the Warlords.

"I think it would be best if we left now," Seckhmet said in a subdued tone.

"You're probably right," Cale agreed quietly.

"I would like to talk to Dais and Anubis first, if you don't mind," Midget requested softly.

Dais and Anubis look at each other. They knew the moment they had been dreading had arrived. Slowly, they both followed her to the door.

Rowen walked with them, then pulled Midget aside just as she was about to walk out the door. "Would you like me to be there?"

Midget gave him a strained smiled. "No, thank you. This is personal, and it's something that I have to do alone. Please do me a favor and keep Munchkin away."

"All right," he said quietly, giving her a worried look. "I'll try to keep her busy or something if she comes looking for you."

Midget nodded her thanks. Then she walked outside and closed the door. She silently led the two former Warlords to the nearby lake. Taking her courage in hand, Midget turned to face them. "In our dream last night we saw a warrior in samurai armor kill my parents. Then another warrior dropped down from the trees, where he had been watching. They made a few comments, then went after me and my sister. The Ancient then came to us and told us that we weren't ready to know who they were. I had to agree with him. Unfortunately, when Mase, the leader of the new Warlords, offered to tell us who they were, Munchkin jumped at the opportunity. She immediately believed them. I wanted to wait and give myself a chance to get my emotions under control. Now I have to know if what they said was the truth. Anubis, did you kill my parents? And Dais, did you just stand by and watch?"

Both gave her such a look of sadness and regret that she held up her hand when they went to speak. A multitude of emotions passed across her face. She turned away from them. After a moment she managed to regain control of herself. Then she turned back around, no expression on her face, to finish questioning them.

"Then you were the ones to chase us into the forest?" At their nods she took a deep breath. "What have you been doing these past years, pretending to be our friends?"

"No, it was never like that," Dais protested sincerely. "It was..."

"Was it a case of guilt, then?"

"Maybe it started out that way, but it soon changed," Anubis told her. "It became much more than that."

For a minute she thought things over. Then she seemed to come to a decision. She looked at them soberly. "There was one thing I didn't mention earlier. The Ancient told Munchkin and I that we are sisters. If it started out as guilt, does that mean that she really is my younger sister?"

"Yes, she is," Anubis said quietly.

"Are you sure," Midget asked.

Dais nodded. "I kept tabs on her after that day. She is your younger sister."

They stood there in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. A voice from the front door broke the stillness. "Food's almost ready," Penny called out.

"Okay, I'll be right there," Midget answered her.

Then she turned back to Anubis and Dais. "I'm not going to pretend I'm all right with this. It's going to take time for me to come to terms with this, all of this. I can't tell you how this will all turn out, but I can tell you that even though this is hard I won't just automatically forget all the good things. And I will try to get Munchkin to remember, as well. I will have us both working on forgiving you. Maybe we can at least start over. That's all I can do."

"Thank you," Anubis said gratefully. "At least I know you are willing to give me another chance."

Dais nodded in agreement. He looked too shocked to be able to say anything. Just then Kayura, Seckhmet, and Cale walked over. She gave them a faint smile and bid them good bye. Then Midget turned and walked back to the house.

"What happened," Seckhmet asked curiously.

"She gave us a reason to hope," Dais answered quietly, in a relieved tone.

"Let's go home," Cale said quietly.

With that, Kayura took them home.

Inside the house, Midget was greeted by Rowen, who warned her that Ryo had to physically restrain Munchkin from going outside. She was still dying to know what they had been talking about, though. Midget gave him a wry smile and said softly, "Thanks for letting me know." For a moment she rested her head against his shoulder, then looked at him. "Will you help me brave the dangers of the dining room?"

"I'd be happy to," Rowen said with a gentle smile. He held her hand and they walked to join the others.

Midget saw Munchkin tied to a chair when she walked in, but before she could comment on it Munchkin looked at Midget suspiciously and quickly asked, "What were you doing out there with those two?"

"I was talking to them for a few minutes," Midget responded calmly.

"What about," she queried testily. Ryo was untying her at this point.

"When I'm ready to tell you, I will," Midget said in a stern, no nonsense tone.

This is so unfair, she thought, but let it go without another question or comment.

Everyone then sat at the table and waited for the food. Cye and Jaya came out with all kinds of food. They all ate heartily and talked about the fight from earlier.

"Those sure kills of yours' are cool," Penny said excitedly. "I can't wait to find out mine."

"What was it exactly that you all did?" asked Sara. "And how did you know how to do it?"

"Well, I don't know the answer to the first question, and the second one is kind of confusing. It almost was like someone was telling me what to do and say. I never heard anything though. It was more like they were helping me to do it," Jaya answered.

"Me too," Munchkin agreed.

"Same with me," Midget said. "It drained a lot out of me though."

"It will do that every time you use it," Cye commented.

"What was it you three said exactly?" Sage asked. "I didn't here what you said because I was doing my own attack with Cye."

"Well. Mine was Blaze of Fury," Munchkin replied.

"And mine was Heavens Meteor Shower," Midget answered.

"Wind Water Strike was mine," Jaya told them.

"Those are interesting," Rowen said.

"Yeah, they have a cool sound to them," Kento added.

"I wish everyone else could have figured theirs out, though. At least that way we would know they could use them, but if the others are any indication they will know how to use them when the time is right," Ryo commented.

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Everyone caught Munchkin looking over to Midget quite a few times. They couldn't tell if she was mad or worried or what. Midget just seemed to be ignoring her. She did seem to be extra quiet though. Almost as if she was trying to make herself disappear or something. After they all finished eating they decided to go home.

Everyone went to their own homes except for Munchkin. She went over to Midget's to have a talk with her.

"I know you will tell me when you want to, but I just have to know if you are going to be ok. It was your family after all," Munchkin said.

With that last comment Midget seemed to sink even lower into the couch. After about ten minutes Munchkin was beginning to think she was never going to answer her, when she all of a sudden blurted out, "Just go home please. I will be fine."

I don't want to leave her, but I also don't want to make her any more mad at me. Munchkin thought.

"Are you mad at me," Munchkin asked.

Startled, Midget looked up at her. "I'm sorry if I seem mad. I'm not mad at you, or anyone really. This has all been a little more than I can take in easily," Midget said apologetically. She looked at Munchkin for a long moment, then suddenly asked, "What do you think about our being sisters?"

Munchkin looked surprised. "You know, I haven't given it much thought since that geek in purple told us about Anubis and Dais."

"Well, think about it now," encouraged Midget.

Munchkin thought about it for awhile. "To tell you the truth, I don't know what to think. I mean, you've been my best friend for years. We grew up together. When we were kids we used to pretend we were sisters sometimes. It made it seem as if we weren't alone. And now all of a sudden we find out it's true. It's like something out of a fiction novel, or something," she explained in a confused voice.

"And ever since we were little people have told us that we're like sisters," Midget added slowly. "There's always been a bond between us that they said was like that of sisters. Tell me, is it really so unbelievable?"

"Now that I think about it, no it isn't," Munchkin responded thoughtfully. "Deep down inside, I think I've known all along."

"Me, too," Midget said softly. Both were silent for a moment. "I think that I would prefer not to say anything to anyone else right now, if you don't mind. I just need a little time and space to set everything in order inside my head and come to accept everything."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Munchkin replied. "Everything seems so confused right now. I mean, I've just acknowledged the fact that we are sisters, but it's going to take some getting use to. I've believed I had no blood relatives from the time I could remember anything. All this time the closest thing I've had to a real family was the Capt. Now I am supposed to get used to my parents being dead, not to mention the fact that they were probably killed by a good friend of ours. On top of that, I now have a sister so I'm not alone anymore. I always thought our pretending to be family was just a game, no matter how real it felt. I definitely need some time and space to get things sorted out and to come to terms with them."

"So we agree not to tell the others just yet, right," Midget asked mildly. Then a faintly mischievous grin came across her face. "It'll be just like old times, when we had a secret that was just between the two of us."

Munchkin grin faintly, as well. "Should we do our old ritual for a secret," she asked with a glint in her eye.

Midget nodded. The two girls then shook hands, hit their knuckles together, hit one hand over the other, then did it the opposite way, then wrapped their hands around each others thumbs. While they were doing this they said, "This secret is between me and you, for only us to keep, until the time is right, without a single peep." At the end of this they crossed their other hands over their hearts as they said, "Cross my heart and hope to die."

Both girls fell over, giggling. It had been years since they had performed that old ritual. It brought back memories of their youth and the happiness they had shared. That had been a time when they wished with all their hearts that they were sisters. Somehow, it seemed appropriate right now.

Shortly afterward Munchkin went home. They both had homework to finish for school the next day. Just my luck. The whole world is in danger but nobody else knows it so I'm still stuck in class. It's just not fair.

That night they called their boyfriends. Both talked for a long time. Neither mentioned their secret. Later on that night they both dreamed of their younger years. They remembered the good times, the bad times, and the bond that had always kept them together. There were smiles on their faces as they dreamed the night away. In their hearts they knew that everything would be okay, because they had each other.

To be continued....