She knew Stephaine was getting her goat. "Beside…if me and Dusty will be married soon. In fact, a few months there will be a great deal of getting together between my tribe and his."
"And will you be happy?" Stephaine aksed. She knew Dusty and Rio were very close. It seemed like the time that they had between each other at school and the summer, Dusty wanted nothing more than to be with Rio. It was a special bond which grew stonger as the year went on.
"Yes…there is really nothing that will stand in our way of being married," Rio smiled. She glanced at Stephaine, then to Reenie and Sasami. There was a tinge of a bad feeling. What was it from. She had to wondered if she was just plan nervous. She had found out both of her aunts were in grave danger. A scout bird from the kingdom was going to visit her aunts when it saw a hooded figure from the Troll kingdom talking to Paige. The bird had flown to where Rio was staying at. It spoke to her and Allen when Allen was visiting Hukura. The two became friends in both running and car racing. Allen was the second in the young people's army which was loyal to Rio's family,.
"I wish you well…Dusty didn't seem like the jealous type. He looks like a very easy going guy!" Reenie said as she remembered how tight the two were. she was starting to grow up a little just day. Even Seyia spoke about who had his crushes on Serena, that Rio was never the one who would be making Dusty mad for liking another guy. The idea of Rio dating someone else was truly unthinkable.
That was one thing, Galaxia had planned when she had spied on Dusty and Rio. Something was said to her about the possibility of Rio looking another guy when she was missing for six month during her thirteenth year.
"I did have a crush on a couple of movie stars," Rio smiled as she hugged her shoulders. She knew it was puppy love. "I was only twelve or fourteen."
"Who?" Sasami asked, brightening up at the fact, Rio did have a weak spot for the rich and famous.
"I like Cary Grant!" she breathed with a sigh. She did love old movies because they were fun to watch. "I have been watching his movies for years!'
"You are such old school woman!" Stephanie giggled. She knew Rio was very much old movie lover. She did admin that she like some old movies too.
Sasami and Reenie watched as Rio made herself comfortable. Then, she asked the two girl to come over to sit by side her. She wanted to show what she was going to read next.
Then, if by chance, all four girls heard "Hey dumpling head….where are you" coming from the bottom of the tree house.
Reenie's face tightened a little as she said, "What's Seiya doing here?"
"Don't know….i bet Serena;s here…looking for you…did you forget to tell her?" Stephaine asked in a concerned tone. She knew both Reenie and Sasami were too young to be on their own in the woods. She hoped that either one of the two girls were not pulling a fast one on their family and getting lost in the process.
"Yea…I even left a note on the frig door. She can't miss it!" Reenie said. She did have her purse with her before leaving the house. Did she have a communicator in her purse. She was old enough for one and Rio hounded Serena on letting Reenie and Hotura to have one.
Rio gave a sly glance as she said, "Was it in invisible ink?"
"No…I used that hot pink marker!" Reenie sighed. She felt like she was backed into a corner that she could not get out of. She had written with the soul intent to get her point across to Serena. She had used the middle of the main frig door with three large magnets to hold it in place. She has gave a note to Hotura to tell her that she could come over to the tree house when her piano lessons were over. Hotura was now involved with learning how to play the piano from Yaten. He was not the most easy going of teachers, but he was the most classical trained. Even Hakura told Hotura to study under someone who would bring out the most of a performance.
"And did Serena listen?" Rio began to shake her head slowly. "No…she's just being herself!"
"yea…nosy!" Reenie sighed as she plopped down next to Rio. Sasami took the opposite side of Rio and set her backpack next to her. Ryo-oh-ki mo wowed as she hopped out of the opened pack.
"Hey…there…little baby!" Rio said as she glanced at the little cabbit.
"Moew!" the little cabbit squeaked.
Rio opened the book to a page before reading. She heard someone climbing up on the rope ladder. She said, "Why…it's the handsome Seyia Kou…trying to find a girl with dumpling hair!"
Seyia had to stop himself before hauling himself through the opened hatch way to get to the floor of the tree house. He glanced at Reenie and asked, "Where's dumpling head?"
"You mean Serena…don't known!" Rennie said as she glanced at the book. Then she asked Rio, "Who's that?"
Rio said as she glanced at one of the cartoon personalities, a caveman with red hair, "I think he's name is B.C. he always tries to chat up the cave girl named Cute Chick!"
Reenie gave Seyia another quick glance as she said, "Why…does he like her?"
Then, the quiet attitude was broken with Serena's voice screaming out, "RENNIE…WHERE ARE YOU?"
"We have an opera signer!" Rio sighed.
"Can't argue with you on that!" Reenie sighed as she bent her head in utter defeat.
"she can't get any louder than Ayeka with Ryoko over Tenchi!" Sasami sighed as well, also bending her head in sympathy.
"Where are you Serena?" Seyia asked as he climbed up onto the floor of the tree house. He knew Serena could be in danger as well. Seyia quickly pulled himself up into the tree house. He knew there was evil in the joker. He had cautious he went with Rio to her aunt's house. Even with Dusty, Seyia knew there was danger in the criminal mastermind of the joker.
Serena heard Seyia and looked up at the opening of the tree house. Rio told Reenie and Sasami to take close to her. Then Seize saw Serena as she looked up at opening. She asked Seyia, "Where's Reenie?"
"Here…" he said as he reached down to wave at her.
"Get in here….we will have more company that we bargained for!" Stephanie said as she went over to the opening to help out Serena. She bent down to reach out for Serena's hand.
"Why?" Serena asked. Then, she heard the joker's laughter. She jumped up to get take a hold of Stephanie's hand. She could see the Joker and Harley Quinn racing up the path way on a crazy looking motor bike.
"What's he up to?" rio said, closingt he book. She gave the book to Reenie. She fllipped over to her hands and kneews. She quickly crawled over to the opening. She helped Stephine with pulling up Serena up into the hole.
"What is he doing?" Sernera asked as she flet hands grabbing her. She was quickly pulled up as the Joker noticed Sernea's body being lifted up into the treeehouse.
"What do we have here?" he thought as he gunned the motor bike. The motor bike lurched istantly towards the tree house.
Rio grabbed what apperened to be a large wooden stopper. She had to make sure uit was snug agisnt the hole before taking a large pin and sticking imto a large near the opening. She toldf the others it was like a lock in the flooring of the tree house.
"They can't get in…." Rio said as she tapped the flooring with her left foot.
"Could they get in by another way?" Sernea akesd. She knew the joker was not but trouble, but he did not pick oin the girl's if they did not come over to see other Pagie or Marion.
"why is he here anyways?" Stestpihe asked. She was on the same terms as Rio when it came to delaong with the joker.
"don't you rmrmeber, aunt Pagie and Marion had to invite those two when they invited the Pengion. I have a feeling there is more to this visisit. I klnow what if grandfather is going to throw down the g or not. He is not a nice guy when an outsider is trying ot pull a fast one the family or not!" Rio sighed. She had some idea the motor bike was digging dounuts aorudn the tree.
"What do you mean?" Seoya asked as he heard the bike motor grwoing louder.
"He is very protective of his family. Anut Morion and my mother was always getting in and out of scrapers. My mother back off and got married to my fahter. It was three years of struggling with getting ghe family computer firm off the ground. Grandfather is willing to help out but…." Rio said. The motor was getting on her nerves.
"He's tough on money maters!" Stepahine added, she was about to start shouting when the bike had stopped.
"What?" Serena asked. She knew the Joker was looking for them. He was bored with the small town and needed to cut loose. She placed a finger up to her lips. "Remain quiet and he might go away!"
"What happened?" Rio whsipered loud enough for Serena to hear.
"I'm not sure…we were going to see Poal and Katelena. He was on this 'I am bored with Salem' kick. He just wanted to see who he could scare off!"
Rio flet like Sernea's story was hard to sallow. The Joker wanted to pick on Bruce Wayne as the multimillionar was on holidya. She wodneref if the Joker was getting back at rio for just being a normal teenager with normal problems. He did have plans on just making Bruce's life miserable as he and the penguin tried to get a hold of bank job or something with cumputers. It was not workign. Pengiun was still mooning over Paige, yet he did like Marion as well.
Seiya heard a new noise. He had to take a look of what was going on with the outside.
"What's going on?" Sernea asked. She heard the noise of someone else popped off a large amoount of firecrackers.
"They are trying to spook us by using fire works!" Stehpihne siad.
Then, a sharp pericing sound snapped the air. It was a troop of Leprechauns on birds and another troop pf fiares trying to protect the tree. They had a link to the trees with no expection. It was like they had troops of birds scouting the area to protect the tree house.
"What is that?" Harequinn asked as she noticed a fine net of small bees and other fyling bugs beginning to swam the button of the house. instantly the lower part of the tree was now coverred by flying bees.
The Joker and his sidekick was started to swat around their bodies. They were covered in flies and small oniching beetles. He yelled , "GET THEM OFF!"
"HOW?" she screamed.
Rio and the otheers in the teree hoiuse waited as Serenea and Seiya took seatss on the the floor of the treee ghouse. Holding their breaths, the group was surprpesid to hear something else. It sounded like a roat of lthunder in the back ground. Reenie said in a loud enough whiper to Sasmaiu, "What's that?"
"I'm not sure…" Sasami said. Ryo-oh-ki was now sitting on Sasmai's lap. The little cabbit was scdared at well. Ryo-oh-ki was opneed mouth as it stared into space.
"there is a storm coming!" Seiya siad. He flet he back of his neck begin to prickle with the elelticy in the air.
"And it's headed our way!" Rio added. She placed an arm aruund Reenie's shoulder. She alos placed the second hand on Sasmai's shoulder. Sjhe said, "We are safe…this tree is a holy tree, it's protected from all that is bad! This was planted by my aceint releicvite."
"Keep still and calm it will past soon!" Stepione siad.
The sky was stiull as the roaring began to gorw louder. It was a dragon doing a fly over patrol. It knew Rio and Stphine was in the eara. She knew the dragons were getting close.
"When it will be calm in a few minutes!" rio said in a luod tone as the dragons flew so close the tree tops swayed hard under the weight of the ari being pushed aorund by the fyoung dragons.
The joiker and Harely had to stand their grounds with three of the dragon flyers. A large green dragin wth brown eyes had circled the tree first and foremost. The second dragons was a sleek silver and yellow long necked which it gleamed in the sunlight. The third and last one was white with glare green eyes.
They began to dip towards the tree house. Rio knew if she did not act fast enough to stop the dragons from attacking the bike, the Joker could have been nothing than a pile of ash in a few seconds. She moved the two girls onto the floor with a quick shove of her hands on their backs. Reenie huffed as Sasami asked, "What's going on?"
Without even a glance back, Rio dodged both Seyia and Serena as she aimed for the opened window, "Stay here!"
Reenie looked at Sasami as the room became a little darker as the second dragon flew around the tree house. It was going to protect the people inside by flying circles around the tree house.
"They are going to be our defense!" Stephanie said as she glanced around the semi-darkened room.
"How is that?" Seyia asked. He knew a few things about dragons. Both Rio and her friends had been talking about dragons for a couple of months. It was nothing out of the ordinary about having to go to Sweet Heaven to help out Poal and Jakten with dragoons.
"They are in-tune with Rio and the royal family. These dragons here are from the same bloodlines as the Royal dragons of the Golden castle of the fire dunes!" Stephanie said in a tone of reverence. Stephanie became still and noble as she spoke of the bloodline of the dragons. Then, at her own cousin. Rio was a person who could take risks with amazing results.
Rio was now riding in the palm of the dragon who caught her. She sat with her head leaning agonist the over sized thumb of the dragon's claw. She did not appeared to be frightened, instead she was talking her dragon to fly over one more time near the Joker before landing ahead of the motor bike.
The dragon obeyed the commands from his human princess. He flew like lighting as he came into view of the joker's bike. The joker was speeding leaving a huge trail of dust being him and his sidekick. Harley was holding on to dear life as she noticed how dark it was becoming. She glanced up at the larger than life creature's shadow blocking out the sun. she looked up and nearly screamed. The joker was use to Harley's screaming, but when she was squeezed his rib cage a little too hard, he nearly fell off his seat. Whiteout looking, he gasped, "What are you doing?"
Harley managed to squeak out, "Look!" then, she nodded sharply at the dragon as it flew past them to fly an ark over towards them.
Then, the Joker was stunned into a quiet stare as he somehow slowed the bike to a crawl. He felt terrified at the beast. Rio telepathically instructed the beast to fly over towards the edge of the park. She knew it was a short distance, but she also could tell where the best place to land was just by scanning the area. Slowly dropping the legs with the its feet like landing in gear of a large jet, the dragon bumped to a halt. Rio braced herself as best as she could by wrapping herself around the two fingers of the dragon's hand.
She felt the hand lowering itself on the ground. She jumped off to see if the joker was going to stop. The bike slowly ground to a halt near where the dragon was. After watching the Joker stopping near the dragon, she told the dragon to remained still. The dragon remained calm as it sat in a cat-like pose.
The joker slowly got off the bike with Harley in toe. The dragon watched as Joke walked up to where Rio was. He asked after he took off his helmet, "What with the big lizard?"
"He's my protector…also my ride bike if I need to!" Rio said. She raised her one hand up towards the dragon. It responded by lowering it long nose down to let Rio pat it lower lip. The noise of a mix of growling and purring was the sign of it's loyalty to her.
"We have to be careful Harley. This big boy will take us out with a flip of a tail…he's not a one for joking!" the Joker said with a weary glance.
"And he will too!" Rio said before looking straight at the Joker. Unknowable to everyone else, Rio had a letter from Jakten talking about a possible disloyal member of her family. There was a rumor of spy that was in town, just waiting to spill the beans about who was really sailor Acadia and the royal connection to the Sunsand family. Rio had to put a stop to it before another life was taken.
"there is nothing to be said…but you have that look. I have seen before!" the joker snapped, a little coldly.
"And why are you here. My aunts are not one to be that strict on having celebs at the b and b!" Rio sighed, shrugged her shoulders.
"What do you mean?" Joker asked with a puzzled glance. He was known in Gotham, but outside of that he was basically a nobody.
"You, Mister Penguin, Miss Quinn and Mister Bruce Wayne. Why did you pick Salem of all the places you could go to…why pick here!" she asked.
The Joker was fast on the draw when he shot right back and said, "You are not from here…"
"No…I'm not…I'm from London. I was given a year of schooling here…Salem was very much a quiet town. My uncle Anthony liked the idea of being on my own, but there is a catch."
Then, a flick of a smile, the Joker was going to attack in the most underhanded way he knew how, but he was stopped by the look of utter warning from Rio. She knew there was going to a battle of untold future. She had a sense of dread and could tell if there were less people involved in the fighting, the better. "Leave now…you are in grave danger…My one aunt is a turn coat!" she said.
"What?" the Joker questioned her with a strange glance. He knew he was a criminal and was in the business for years, but being in the insist of a turn coat. That was something felt like a huge bolt of the blue.
"Are you saying that your aunt is a trader?" Harley asked with a smirk.
"Yes. She will put you and your friends in grave and horrible danger!" Rio said. She looked like the days to a battle were growing short. Not giving out too much. Rio said, "you can stay here for one more day. My Grandfather and Uncle Anthony will be here to explain. Just be careful, take Mister Penguin and Mister Wayne this and then, clear out…Go back to Gotham."
The Joker not tricked in to any sort of situation that would be a way out of harm, he glanced at Rio. Rio's eyes grow hard as she gave him a look of warning. She knew he needed to hear the idea of leaving from another source.
The dragon had another ideas.. he cold sense Rio was getting into a line of danger which could be costly. He lowered his head to stare straight into the Joker's face. The Joker taking note of the beast, started to inch backwards towards his bike. "I will give the Penguin the news to leave at once tomorrow afternoon!"
"Good," Rio looked as she felt a hot breath over head. She turned her eyes above without looking up. She gave a wave to the dragon to raise its head. It grunted as it raised it head just a little to let Rio view the Joker and Harley as they walked back to the bike. She said, "A forewarning, you will tell no one out of the people you have intended. The very life you are taking into your own body is not yours to throw into the winds of change. Your time for that is on the road in other town, in other time. Go…now!" then, she pointed to the rut that was carve by the motorbike. She was not going to leave until the two were on their way back to the B and B.
The Joker glanced at Rio as he asked Harley, "Does she mean all that fluff?"
Harley had her eyes fixed on the dragon as she said, 'I think she means it. I had never seen a face like hers in a long while!"
Rio stood at the steps of front porch at her aunt's house. A dark, blue four door car pulled into the driveway. She knew it was her uncle Anthony and her grand father William. She did not turn to see Harley Quinn standing in the opened front doorway. She said as the car slowly halted in the middle of the driveway. Rio questioned Harley Quinn, "Have you ever seen the day break of a very Grey kingdom?"
A little confused, Harley muttered loudly, "No, I haven't!"