dis-claim'er, noun: a denial or disavowal of legal claim: relinquishment of or formal refusal to accept an interest or estate; b: a writing that embodies a legal disclaimer; c: a statement made to save one's own ass.

Chapter 8: First Contact

Rowen quickly pulled into the driveway of the Koji-Sanada home. All the missed calls and text messages from his friend's instructed him to come there immediately. He didn't even wait for his car to stop before he put it in park and got out. He followed the path to the back of the house to come upon a shocking scene.

Birds. There were dead birds on the ground. Some were stuck in the windows of the house. He heard an animal cry out and saw a herd of deer running through the woods being guided by...White Blaze?!

"Rowen!"

Ryo came bursting towards him with confusion all over his face. He scanned the area to see if he could find his other comrades.

"Where are the others?"

Ryo took a deep breath to try and steady his racing heart, "They were here, but went into different parts of town after reports of wildlife going crazy."

"Speaking of which….what happened here?"

"I dunno," the ebon haired male started pointing to the house and around the property. "Sage and I were here talking when all of the sudden birds started flying into the house. Then White Blaze started howling and disappeared. Cye and Kento showed up and said that in other parts of town animals were freaking out."

Rowen rubbed his chin in thought. If this was just random, he knew something must be happening. "Animals tend to flee from places when they sense danger."

"I know," Ryo nodded in affirmation, "but what kind of danger could be causing this? White Blaze is leading them all to safety, it seems."

The blue hair genius bit the inside of his cheek. Was this the precipice of the uneasiness Sage had mentioned days ago? His body tensed as he watched the animals running away from the city and into the wilderness.

"Where is Mia?"

Ryo pulled his cell out of his pocket, "I've been trying to call her and it won't connect. I don't know if she's busy or what ."

He started to feel queasy. What was happening?

Amaya stood at the back of the group after they all entered the room of the patient. A sudden chill ran up her spine. The air was cold almost as if she was walking into a crypt. She looked around and saw everyone talking with one another, but couldn't hear. It was as if she was in some other space and time. She looked at the man laying on the bed. She could see and hear him despite everyone else being muted. She could see his breath in the air, a purple/black aura almost licking around his body.

Hana noticed Amaya's reluctant mannerisms almost instantly. Something really wasn't right here, Amaya was a powerful empath, which was a blessing and a curse. She has the ability to feel all of the energies in the room, but doing that could cause her to be physically ill. Hana took quick note of how tightly Amaya was clutching the rosary in her right hand while she crossed her arms over her chest as if to block the energy coming off of this patient.

"So why exactly are we here?" Rekino asked. She scratched her cheek while her eyes darted around the room. "I'm getting the heebie jeebies."

"He said to 'gather the nine', so we are here to see if we are the nine he speaks of," Anayis said.

The nine females gathered around the patient's bed. He was a young man appearing to be in his late thirties with dark hair. His skin was sickly pale and glistening with sweat. His breath appeared as wisps in the air from the temperature dropping in the room. An eerie shadow covered the room.

"I don't like this," Josephine whispered harshly. She felt like she needed to be throwing punches, but there were no enemies in the room.

Something snapped.

"Death is coming," the voice sounded warped. "Your pound of flesh is not enough."

The man shot up from the bed in one swift motion. The cracking of his bones vibrated in the air as the gangly limbs reached out and grabbed Amaya by her upper arms. The guardian of the armor of water inhaled sharply, her light brown eyes widening in horror. Her mouth hung open, but no sound came out. Her pupils were dashing around rapidly as if she was watching a movie.

"HEAR ME!" the patient bellowed.

A surge of energy caused everyone except Amaya to be thrown backwards. This had happened in a matter of seconds with no room to prepare or retaliate. Amaya let out a shriek that would rival a banshee. It was filled with pain, anguish, and despair. Tears were flowing freely from her eyes. She hadn't blinked since she was grabbed.

Rekino centered herself on the balls of her feet and propelled herself forward to deliver a fist to the man's face. Josephine, Hana, and Mia scrambled to Amaya to try and pry the man's hands off of her while the Wildfire Guardian delivered fist after fist to his face.

Nefertiti used the bed to pull herself up into a standing position. She reached inside her pocket and procured a syringe that had the purple mixture from earlier. She quickly stabbed the needle in the patient's neck allowing the fluid to enter through his main artery. The man fell back on the bed just as Rekino delivered the final punch to his face.

Everyone scrambled to attend to Amaya and get out of the room. As the door closed, the patient smirked.

"Darkness reigns as chaos ensues…"

"What in the actual fuck was that?!" Rekino hollered as she ran her hands through her unruly bangs. She watched as everyone guided a still screaming Amaya to the couch in the waiting room of the clinic.

"Amaya!" Mia sat down on Amaya's right side and grasped her shoulders to steady her. The French native was in a full out panic attack of some sort. Josephine sat down on Amaya's left while Hana knelt in front of her holding her hands. The shreels of the Torrent Guardian bounced off the walls as she fought to get free from the restraints of her friends.

"She's freaking out!" Josephine didn't know if anyone heard her over Amaya's yelling.

Fiona darted into a room on the right then re-emerged just as quickly as she had disappeared, but with a syringe in her hand. She squeezed in between Mia and Hana to grab Amaya's upper arm.

"What is that?" Hana bellowed.

"Diazepam," Fiona replied as she inserted the needle into Amaya's upper arm and pushed the medicine into her body. Within seconds, Amaya's lithe body went completely limp and her eyes closed. No one moved until they heard a blissful sigh come from the Torrent Guardian's lips signaling that she was, indeed, unconscious.

The eight women all moved around until Josephine was sitting on the couch with Amaya's head resting in her lap. Mia and Hana fell on the floor as Rekino started pacing. Nefertiti made sure that the door to the patient's room was locked before she pressed her back to the door and let her body slide down to the floor. Anayis and Rubi held one another as the latter started saying a prayer in Spanish.

"H'okay," Rekino stopped abruptly, "I'll ask again. What the fuck was that? Because last I checked that damn sure didn't seem like delusional rantings to me!"

Nefertiti pulled herself up, running a hand down her pants, "Unexpected."

"Ya think?!" Josephine replied quickly.

Anayis wiped at the sweat on her brow, "He wasn't like that this morning."

"What did he do to Amaya?"

Hana sat up slowly, letting out a breath as she did so. "We won't know until she wakes up. How much Valium did you give her?"

"Enough. She should wake up in a few hours," Fiona tucked a red curl behind her ear. "Of course, it all depends on how long it takes her body to recover."

A loud smash made everyone jump. The small garbage can that Rekino kicked hit the wall as the contents spilled out. The ebony haired warrior's amethyst eyes were wide in anger and disbelief as she panted loudly to control her emotions.

"This is some bullshit," she screamed as she punched the wall and effortlessly left a hole where her fist collided.

"Hey!" Nefertiti shouted.

Fiona stood up, "You're paying for that."

Rekino rolled her eyes and made her way to the exit. Hana and Mia were shouting for her. She turned around, the long braid of her hair whipping around her body.

"You can take your disbelief and shove it up your ass!" She ran out of the clinic.

Everyone was left in an uncomfortable silence. Hana stood up slowly, looking around the clinic. Anayis stepped forward.

"Someone should go after her."

"Yeah," Hana ran a hand down the front of her scrubs pants. She looked at Mia and Josephine. "Anyone coming?"

Mia shook her head, "I'm sure Ryo is wondering where I am by now."

The Chinese martial artist denied as well, "I'm going to stay with Amaya. Someone needs to be here when she wakes up."

Hana nodded and made her way out of the clinic as fast as she could. For some reason, something wasn't sitting right with her. First, that insane patient. Second, the skies looked awfully angry at the moment. She needed to find Rekino before something happened.

Sage Date was driving around the city in his Dark Green Mitsubishi Eclipse. His phone was connected to a conversation with Kento and Cye. The three were all roaming the city to try and find out what was going on with all of the animals. Birds were flying towards the South right in the direction of the Koji-Sanada manor.

"Are you guys seeing anything?" He asked.

A crackling sound of a potato chip bag came from the other end before Kento answered, "All the cats and dogs are running out of alley's. I seen some rats, too."

Cye sighed on the other end, "Please don't get food all over my car."

"Man, you know how I am when I feel like there is a fight coming on!" Kento retorted. "I gotta eat to make sure I'm juiced to kick some ass."

The blond warrior shook his head, "Calm down. This could just be some weird things to do with sun spots or radio waves. We don't know for sure if it's an enemy."

He suddenly remembered the dream he'd had a week ago. So much blood and death…

The Halo warrior had been to preoccupied with the images in his mind that he didn't see someone run out in front of his car. He screamed and hit the breaks as a loud bam rung in his ears. Kento and Cye were talking together on the other end making it hard to understand. His vision was blinded by stars from his forehead colliding with the steering wheel.

"I gotta go," he said hastily, hanging up the phone. He jumped out of his car to check and see if anyone needed medical attention, but stopped before he could utter a word.

On the hood of his car was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. She was crouched down, her wavy blonde hair hanging over her shoulders. Midnight blue eyes stared angrily at him. He stepped forward to apologize, but she beat him to it.

"Do you have eyes, guy?!" She shouted.

"Uh, I—I'm sorry, miss."

"As you should be!" she jumped off the hood and landed close to him. "I could have died."

She was as tall as she was beautiful. Not much shorter than himself. Her body was properly proportioned. Her hair – golden and wavy – stopped just past her shoulders blades. She had a beautiful hour glass figure, but it was her eyes – the color of midnight – that made his body shiver. The way she was glaring at him didn't let any perverse thoughts stay in his mind, though.

"I'm really am sorry, miss," he cleared his throat. Compliment her. "That move was quite impressive."

The woman flipped her hair over her shoulder, "Flattery won't get you anywhere, but thank you."

He extended his hand, "I'm Sage. Sage Date."

The woman's look changed from anger to something he couldn't quite read before she bowed and reached out to take his hand. "Hana Utano."

When their skin touched, electricity ran through his arm and all the way down to the Earth. His silver eyes stared into her midnight blue ones as the world stopped turning. He didn't know how long they stood there, but he knew he needed to let go before things go awkward if they already weren't.

"I'm inclined to do something to make up for this mishap, Utano-san," he said suavely. "I can compensate with money if you would like."

"Maybe you should just watch what you're doing, Date-san, before someone gets hurt."

Her reply was quick-witted and something he didn't expect. He gave gave her his best smile offering his hand again, "I still must make up for what I did to you."

Hana shifted her weight, "How about I take you up on that offer later. I'm actually kinda busy at the moment."

"I might not ever see you again," he said coolly.

Hana smiled while laughing at him. He thought it sounded like angels, "This city isn't too big. I'm sure we'll see one another again."

Sage didn't expect her to move so quickly, but she was across the street and headed in the direction of downtown before he knew it. He composed himself quickly and got back into his car. His palms were sweaty. She had just bested him.

Hana Utano…

He opened his smartphone to call Cye and Kento back before they worried about him, but he was still intrigued by the blonde that just ran off.

As she had ran out the door of the clinic, Rekino sub-armored up and ran all the way to Mt. Fuji. The bubbling and rumbling of the lava below was washing away all of the anger and anxiety within her. This was the place of her armor's power, and a place where she found the most tranquility. Here, she didn't have to worry about anyone bothering or disturbing her meditation process. She could feel the axis of Lady Wildfire's power within the volcano. She imagined being enveloped in the churning magma below her as the heat and flow of the liquid erased all the negativity.

Rekino felt powerless. That wave of energy that has washed over them while that lunatic had hold of Amaya had left her feeling helpless. If only she had of reacted sooner then he friend wouldn't be laying in an opium based sleep waiting to wake up. She had seen the look on her French friend's face. Horror. It had been pure, unadulterated horror. There was nothing worse than the feeling of helplessness. That's why she had studied the martial arts so that she wouldn't be helpless. To defend herself and those she cared for from psycho's like that man at the clinic.

The bearer of the guardian armor of fire brought herself back from delta level consciousness to reality. Still in her subarmor, she sat up and let her legs dangle over the edge of the volcano. The smoke cascaded up into the air. She locked her eyes on the faint, red aura beneath her and started a series of breathing.

That man's actions also reminded Rekino of that dream she had had about her brother and friends. So many dead bodies. Blood, destruction. She put her right hand on her face, fingers curing in the hair that fell over. And that man in her dream. White hair, silver eyes...he was too ethereal looking to be from Earth. Who was he? Where was he from?

Lightning flashing and thunder crackling from above jarred her thoughts to present. This definitely didn't feel normal. She back flipped away from the ledge and landed in a fighting stance as a bolt from the Heavens crashed down on the other side of the volcano's opening. She shielded her eyes with her forearm. Energies of power filled the air, weaving around her.

"Where isss The Balance?"

Rekino moved her arm down to reveal three creatures standing across from her. She almost jumped out of her skin. At 4'll", these things towered above her. They had to be at least seven to eight feet tall! They looked like lizards with scaly bodies, long fingernails, and forked tongue. They were all dressed in different colors. The first one that had spoken had on a silver colored armor that covered all his vital spots. A sword was strapped to his side.

Rekino took a step back to keep distance between her and the group of three, "I don't know who you're talking about," she said harshly.

A second one spoke. This one was in all black armor with a halberd on his back, "We know he issss here. Tell uss and we will ssspare you."

"It's kinda hard to tell you something I don't know."

The third and final one was dressed in gold. He seemed to not be carrying any sort of weapon, "Then you mussst die."

She was already deducing how she would fight each of them based on their weapons. The first one would use close combat while the second would fight from a distance. It was the third one she wasn't so sure about. His lack of weapon made her assume he was a hand-to-hand fighter. She clinched her fists.

"It's rude to show up and attack a lady without introducing yourself."

The sword wielder drew his weapon, "We are the Zzzendlar."

Prepare yourself, Lady Wildfire!

The voice thundered loudly in her head as the three reptile looking creatures jumped across the volcano opening.

Mia made it home in record time. On the way, she had came up with a solid excuse as to why she hadn't been answering her phone. She jumped out of her old jeep, running to the door. Steadying her heart rate, she opened the door only to be greeted by her fiance.

"Ryo—"

"Thank God you're okay!" Ryo wrapped his big, strong arms around her body. She returned the action, laying her head on his shoulder. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"

"I'm sorry," she whispered into the exposed skin of his neck. She pulled back, kissing him harshly yet quickly. "I was caught up at school with some late work and a student that needed help. I didn't realize you had called until I was almost home."

Ryo ran his hands down the side of her head, smoothing out her mocha colored hair, "Dammit, Mia." He put his forehead against hers, his tiger blue eyes burning into her own. "I was about to leave to come find you."

The lovers stayed like that for several minutes before a familiar voice cleared his throat.

"Hate to break up this sweet moment, but Sage and the others said that everything is clear in town."

Mia looked over her lover's shoulder to see Rowen standing about fifteen feet behind them. She moved away from Ryo and walked towards her counterpart who had no idea who she really was.

"What's going on?"

Ryo took her hand, "While you were gone all of the animals in the area starting acting weird. Deer, bears, wolves...they were all running away from the city. And White Blaze was acting as their guide."

She hummed out loud, "Wild life does run away from an area they sense danger in."

"That's what I said," Rowen countered, "but Sage said that all they have seen were birds, cats, and dogs running in this direction, but no real bad guys in the area."

They were all quiet before Rowen suddenly said, "Oh! Sage did almost run over a girl."

"He needs to watch where he is going!" Ryo said.

"That's exactly what she said to him," the bluenett countered, "but he also said he had never seen someone as beautiful as her."

Mia made her way towards the kitchen. She was dying of thirst, "I don't see anyone wanting to try and go out with someone who almost ran them over. Sage is a smooth talker, but I don't see it happening."

The two Ronin Warriors accompanied her into the kitchen. Mia sat down at the table with her glass of water. Ryo quickly sat in the seat beside her.

"He did get a name though," Rowen said.

"Oh?" Ryo laughed. "Leave it to Sage to get a girl's number after he almost kills her."

Mia sipped the cool liquid thankful for the sustenance, "It was probably fake."

The Strata warrior rubbed his chin, pondering the situation, "That is true. 'Hana' is a very common Japanese name."

The Guardian of Strata tried not to choke on her water. She remembered the incident at the clinic. No way…

"What was her last name?"

"Utano," Rowen said quickly. "Hana Utano. He said he was going to tell me about it when I got home."

Mia didn't know what to think. Was this the universe's way of putting them all together without anyone knowing? Suddenly, she felt her armor orb burning in her pocket accompanied by a surge of power. Something was going on, but what? Then she remembered the faint words spoken by the male patient at the clinic.

"Darkness reigns as chaos ensues…"

Next chapter: A Small Battle and Family Reunion

Name: Nefertiti Sorenson (Neh-fer-tee-tee Sohr-en-son)
Category: Lawful evil
Age: 26
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 155lbs
Hair Color: Silver (shave underneath, butt length)
Eye Color: Turquoise
Ethnicity: Egyptian
Birthdate: August 25
Birthplace: Cairo
Astrological sign: Virgo
Blood Type: Rh-
Favorite Sport: None
Martial Art: Wing Chun
Interests: gardening, herbs, snakes, spiders
Dislikes: abuse against animals
Language: Egyptian, English
Armor: Armor of the Snake/Autumn
Virtue: Obedience
Weapon: Six swords attached to the back and sides of the armor
Profile: Works in a clinic as an herbalist and makes antidotes for many poisons and regiments for her friends. She works in part with the World Health Organization to distribute her antidotes. Also, uses venom from certain animals and herbs to help those who suffer from certain mental conditions and medicinal purposes. Operates an apothecary at the clinic..
Armor of the Snake: She is able to sluff off the outer layer of damage to her armor and revive its power ONCE during battle. Once a year, during mating season, if she uses her armor she is blind. She is unaware of when this will happen.
Nefertiti's Closet: Her favorite shades are medium green colors, off whites, and silver. She will be seen in scrubs at the clinic. Sandals are her favorite type of shoe. She absolutely loves sandals with strings that will loop around her leg up to her knee. She loves clothes that flow and move like water. She enjoys wearing dresses that stop at her shins or long skirts. She likes pants suits with big legs.