Rekino smiled at the warrior before her. She sat down beside him on the step, and looked at him, "Uh ...Thunder?"

Thunder didn't say anything, he just looked at Rekino. The Lady of Wildfire just smiled, "Flash told us everything about what happened to you. I wish that I could help you with your pain. I know that Flash and the others have probably tried," She stopped to take a breath, "If it makes you feel any better, I know how you feel. I found my powers as a Lady Guardian during a battle with one of Talpa's Warladies. After the battle, Mia and I were captured taken to the Dynasty. We were put under control, and forced to capture the remaining guardians, She stopped and looked at the ground, "The girls and I stayed until we destroyed the ...electrolyte ball that was controlling us. We got out of the Dynasty six months before our final battle with Talpa."

Thunder didn't speak through the whole thing. He just stayed quiet to listen the girl give her story. He looked at the ground when he thought she wasn't going to finish.

Rekino yawned for the second time that night. She stood up, and stretched her muscles, "Anyways, we fought and defeated Talpa three months ago. It was a long and tiring battle. Ryo and I used a double Inferno, and singed his ass!" She looked up at the stars again, "Not long before the battle, Rowen and I started going out. Maybe ...three months before that. I guess that is not needed information."

Thunder looked up at her again. Yet again, he didn't say anything. He looked down, but looked back up again when Rekino put a hand on his shoulder.

"Thunder, I know that I can't change what happened to you. I wish that I could, but I can't; however, I do know this. As long as you and Flash are here, then I will do all I can to protect you. You may not need it, bit I still feel better telling you this," She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, "I'm a Lady Ronin Guardian, but I'm a guardian of all warriors on the side of good. This means I'll do whatever I can to protect you and Flash. You are both friends to me now, and I promise I won't let you down," Rekino let go of his shoulder, and walked off.

Thunder's gaze softened at her words. Did she really mean it? He didn't know if he could trust her yet, though.

"Oh, and one more thing," Rekino turned around in the doorway, "I hope that you trust us enough to talk to us soon. You have a nice voice, and a good soul. I would hate to see it go to waste," She walked inside the door, and into the living room. She smiled when she saw Flash sitting on the couch with her arms crossed over her chest, "Hey, Flash."

"Hey," Flash said, "I heard everything you told Thunder. That was really nice of you to say that."

"It wasn't a problem," Rekino smiled, "In the America Zodiac, I'm a Sagittarius, and healing ability is one of my positive qualities."

Flash raised an eyebrow, "How do you know about the American Zodiac? Weren't you born here in Japan?"

Rekino sat down next to her new friend, "Yes, I was. My mother was from Ohio. She came over here for business twenty years ago. You know, I'm only sixteen and Ryo's seventeen. After my mother and father died, and Ryo left me, I was sent to foster homes. Three out of the ten were in American. When I turned ten, I came back here to Japan. So yeah, I was born in Japan, but I stayed in the United States for about five years."

"Ooooh! Okay, I get it now," Flash said, "Where all did you go?"

Rekino sunk into the couch, "Well, I stayed in New York, Arkansas, and Texas," Rekino said, "I came back and Mia's grandfather took me in. Mia and I got really close. Before Talpa's first invasion, I left for Ireland to visit my relatives." Rekino said, "I came back and found out the Mia's grandfather had died at the hands of the Dynasty. I met my brother when he and the guys came in. Right before Talpa's second invasion, Mia and I found our powers. Well, you know the rest."

"Yeah, the others told me," Flash said, "Plus, I heard you talking to Thunder."

"Speaking of which, were are the others?" Rekino asked.

"Oh, they went out into the woods. They said they saw something earlier," Flash said.

*~*

Mesu watched Rekino and Flash through his glass mirror. They were alone. Now was the perfect time to attack, "Soldiers! Go and surround the house. Kill those who needed be!" The soldiers were gone in no time. Mesu smirked, "Soon, I'll have you Rekino and Flash. I will kill the ones you care for most. That would be Ryo and Rowen for Rekino. and Thunder for Flash," Mesu laughed, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Meanwhile in the woods behind the house, Ryo, Rowen, Cye, Sage, Kento, Josephine, Amaya, Hana, and Mia were all gathered around a small campfire, some were sitting, some standing, others, like Sage were leaning against a tree. Ryo was tending to the fire, keeping it going as everyone else kept on guard, not trusting the woods at this time of the night.

“Man, what are we doing out here for?” Kento complained. “I’m hungry!”

“Kento, didn’t you already eat?” Cye said as he rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, but that was ten minutes ago!”

All the others rolled their eyes at that.

“So exactly why are we out here?” Josephine wanted to know.

“It’s about the newcomers,” Rowen said quietly as he gazed into the embers of the fire.

“What about Flash and Thunder?” Cye wondered. “They seem okay to me.”

“Yeah,” said Hana dreamily. “Especially Thunder. Nice hair, nice eyes, nice ass..”

All the others just stared at her, and she gave an innocent shrug with a smile. “You can’t deny that he’s got a nice butt. I mean come on!

“I like his voice,” Josephine said thoughtfully.

The Ronins groaned.

“Can we just continue on with this and not think of how Thunder looks to you girls?” Sage complained.

“Oh give it up, Sage,” Hana said. “We all know you like Flash.”

Sage blushed and looked down at his feet. Yeah, he liked Flash, so what?

“Anyways,” Ryo continued impatiently, making everyone stop and look right at him. “We need to find out exactly who they are. We know they’re warriors, but where did their armor come from? Who trained them? Are they good, or evil and just hiding it?”

All of those were very good questions, and it would be difficult to figure them all out.

“So just how do we find all this out?” Amaya asked quietly.

“That’s a good question,” Mia said thoughtfully as she continued to gaze into the fire. “And what did Flash mean that all fires must obey her? Does that mean Rekino and Ryo really have to obey her?”

“Maybe we should ask,” Cye suggested. “I think we’re jumping to conclusions here.”

“Well, I’m not taking any chances, Cye,” Ryo told him firmly. “We need to see just what their angle is, then work from there. I’m sure they would do the same thing to us if we were them, and they were us.”

“How do we know they’re not?” Sage asked as he kept his arms crossed.

“Only one way to find out,” Rowen said.

“Oh? And how?” Hana asked.

“Easy, we…” he was suddenly cut off though as all of them felt the evil presence nearby. All of them stood straight, muscles tensed, and eyes narrowed. And then suddenly they were surrounded.

At least 225 soldiers surrounded them, that was 25 for each of them.

“Alright!” Kento cried. “Just what I like!”

“This is gonna be cutting close now,” Ryo said dryly. “Ronin Warriors! To arms!”

All five Ronin Warriors changed into their subarmors and each began to call on their armors.

“Armor of Torrent! Dao Shin!” Cye cried.

“Armor of Halo! Dao Chi!” Sage yelled.

“Armor of Strata! Dao Inochi!” Rowen shouted.

“Armor of Hardrock! Dao Gi!” Kento cried.

“Armor of Wildfire! Dao Jin!” Ryo yelled.

Ribbons of cherry blossoms and spectral lights surrounded them and soon all five Ronins were dressed in full armor, wielding their weapons, ready to fight.

“Our turn, girls!” Mia shouted as she grabbed her necklace. “Lady of Strata! Inochi!” Then she called forth her full armor. “Symbol of Life, shine forth and envelope me in the Lady Ronin Armor of Strata, Inochi!”

Amaya grabbed her necklace then and shouted, “Lady of Torrent! Shin! Symbol of Trust, shine forth and envelope me in the Lady Ronin Armor of Torrent, Shin!”

Hana grabbed a hold of her necklace. “Lady of Halo! Chi! Symbol of Wisdom, shine forth and envelope me in the Lady Ronin Armor of Halo, Chi!”

Josephine grabbed her necklace then. “Lady of Hardrock. Gi! Symbol of Justice, shine forth and envelope me in the Lady Ronin Armor of Hardrock, Gi!”

Before long all four were in full battle armor and ready to fight.

“Let’s trash these goons!” Josephine cried with a smirk on her face.

“My thoughts exactly,” Ryo said as his eyes flashed. And then the battle suddenly began.

Thunder was still on the porch, but then suddenly he rose to his feet, his eyes narrowed as he studied the area before him. He could feel the presence of evil all around, and he could sense a battle going on a half mile from him. Suddenly Rekino ran right past him, dressed in her subarmor, never looking back. Flash ran out next. “Come on, Thunder! We have a battle to get to!”

Thunder nodded and raced down the steps, following after Rekino and Flash. They ran for a few blocks, but didn’t get very far before they were suddenly surrounded by seventy-five soldiers.

Rekino’s eyes narrowed, and she suddenly called her armor. “Symbol of Virtue, shine forth and envelope me in the Lady Ronin Armor of Wildfire, Jin!” In moments she was dressed in full battle armor and holding her Wildfire swords, ready to fight.

Flash looked around for a moment, and when she felt it was safe, she raised her arms. “Armor of the Warrior! Now Come!” A spiraling tornado fire suddenly shot out from her, enveloping her completely, her symbol a flame shone brightly from her forehead and seemed to engulf her. In seconds she was dressed in a blue and white armor that was flexible but strong in material. Her armor appeared and she put it over her head, the visor went down over her eyes and her sword, a pure sword made from fire itself with cutting edges and cackling flames appeared in one hand.

Thunder raised his arms next and shouted with a strong voice. “Armor of the Warrior! Now Come!” A huge red lightning bolt suddenly appeared out of the sky and struck the tall blond, engulfing him in a spectral bright red light, his symbol, a lightning bolt shined brilliantly on his forehead, covering him completely. In seconds he was dressed in a red armor with black designs. His helmet which was red with two even black horns appeared on his head, and his visor went down over his eyes. His sword, a nodatchi which was from the bottom of his feet to his chin in height appeared in his hand.

Ryo’s swords flashed through the air, slicing two soldiers in half. He punched and kicked a few more, then flipped another over his shoulder and off came its head.

Sage swung his sword in a high circular arc, taking off the body parts with his nodatchi. He felt a soldier strike at him, and retaliated with a blow of his own, sending the soldier crashing into a tree where it crumbled to the ground

Rowen shot off arrow after arrow, knocking soldier down after soldier. He did his famous flying kick and knocked down another one while using his bow for defense. A soldier grabbed one leg, and Rowen shot an arrow into its chest, then flipped and landed on his feet, once again shooting down soldiers as if he was in a target gallery.

Kento and Josephine were having a ball taking down soldier after soldier, using their nanjintas to knock them off their feet and taking off a body part or two. Josephine felt a blow to her back and she turned to the soldier and snarled. “You’re gonna regret that!” She grabbed the end of her nanjinta and slammed it over the soldier’s head, then drove the weapon through its chest, causing it to dissolve into nothing.

“Remind me not to get her angry,” Cye said as he defended himself against attacking soldiers with his Yari. A soldier came to close to his face and he stepped back, opening up the man catcher part of his weapon and cutting the soldier in half with it.

Mia shot off several arrows at the same time, destroying soldiers left and right. She kicked a soldier from behind her, sending it flying into Hana’s nodatchi where it was quickly sliced in half. She gave a small smile to Cye’s remark and kept firing arrows, hitting her targets five at a time.

Hana swung her nodatchi up and over her shoulder, striking a soldier between the eyes, then she suddenly flipped the soldier over her shoulder, using her sword to do so. She elbowed another, and sent it flying into a tree, then swung around, cutting another soldier in half. A soldier attacked her then when she wasn’t looking and she felt herself flying through the air. She kept a hold of her sword, but then she felt the stunning blow of a chain hitting her in the face. She grimaced and fell to the ground, and struggled to get to her feet. She never got the chance. Ten soldiers surrounded her and begin to hit her all over with everything they had. Her cry of pain echoed through the forest.

“HANA!!” the others cried.

Sage was worried. He leapt over a tree stump, slashing and cutting down soldiers as he tried to get to Hana. He was suddenly blocked by soldiers and he was forced to fight again. Next to him, Ryo wasn’t doing well either. A soldier had stolen one of his swords somehow and he only had one left to defend himself. A chain suddenly wrapped around his ankles, drawing them together and causing him to fall flat on his face. He lost both swords now, and the soldiers attacked him repeatedly.

Cye was knocked backward into a tree and a soldier punched him hard in the face causing his vision to swim. A weapon slammed down over his head causing him to drop to the ground, but he wasn’t unconscious yet. He struggled to get up, then he felt them snatch his weapon from him. And then they used his own weapon against him as they beat him without mercy.

Rowen was suddenly kicked hard from behind and he fell forward. One horn was grabbed and he suddenly felt himself colliding into a tree face first. He grimaced in pain, then felt himself flying backward where he hit another tree with force. A fist slammed into his stomach and he doubled over, only to feel an armored boot kick him in the face while at the same time feeling an axe-chain hit him over the head. He suddenly cried out loudly in pain. And then he met with darkness.

Mia screamed, in rage. She could see four of her friends, Ryo, Cye, Rowen, and Hana all out cold and lying helplessly on the ground. She was beyond pissed. She drew her bo and locked an arrow onto it, drawing energy and power, as she suddenly cried out, “Angel’s Heavenly Cry!”

The attack went out and obliterated at least sixty soldiers.

Sage called his surekill next as he too was extremely ticked off. “Thunder Bolt Cut!” The attack destroyed at least fifty soldiers in its path.

Amaya was also ticked off and she called her surekill as well. “Deep Aquamarine Illusion!” The attack flew out and collided against the soldiers, destroying at least forty of them.

Josephine was the next to call her attack. They were gonna pay for hurting her friends, for hurting Cye. Oh they would pay dearly. She called her attack, “Rolling Earth Crush!” The attack went out like the others, and another fifty soldiers were destroyed.

Kento called his attack next as he was also angry that his friends were hurt. He would make them pay for doing this to them all. He begin to swing his nanjinta around his head, crying out, “Iron Rock Crusher!” The attack went out, causing the ground to shake. Forty soldiers were destroyed, buried by rubble.

All six stood there, breathing slightly hard as they cautiously looked around for more enemies. The woods were clear now, and each of them, two to one injured Ronin or Guardian, went to Cye, Hana, Rowen, and Ryo. Kento cautiously lifted Ryo and held him over his shoulder as Josephine carefully picked up Cye. Sage picked up Rowen and Mia picked up Hana.

“Let’s get back to the house,” Sage said sadly. All agreed and they all began to make their way back.

Rekino was battling in full fury, weaving her swords like meat daggers, chopping up soldiers as they came to her. She gutted one, flipped another, kicked one into a tree, sliced another in half, and punched one a few feet away where it landed in a tree.

Flash was battling nearby. Her sword took off the head of one, she did a somersault, then kicked outward with both legs, knocking two soldiers away in opposite directions. She landed on her feet, and gave a high round house kick to another, sending it crumbling into a tree.

Thunder was battling left and right, but the funny thing was he looked as if he were dancing gracefully. His sword went up and across his back, catching a soldier in the throat. He knocked it backward several feet, then side kicked another coming at him. He ducked from a chain and brought his sword out so fast it was barely seen. Three soldiers had been sliced.

More soldiers seem to appear from no where attacking with more fury. Rekino gritted her teeth as her symbol flashed brightly. She had a bad feeling something had happened to her brother and it was making her extremely pissed and worried. Finally she couldn’t stand it anymore. She raised her swords high and called her surekill. “Tornado Fire Flare!”

The attack went out and destroyed fifty soldiers. Flash and Thunder were a bit surprised at how strong the attack was. But still there were more soldiers to deal with. Thunder raised his nodatchi high above his head, as his symbol the lightning bolt in his forehead flashed brightly and he glowed red, and cried in a loud strong voice, “Lightning Bolt Strike!” The attack went up and then went across the sky as lightning flashed above, lightning up the darkening sky. It came down and struck at least forty-five soldiers, electrocuting them to a crisp.

Flash saw even more soldiers and suddenly allowed her power to go into action. Her symbol, the flame in her forehead glowed brightly, the heat begin to increase, if she had not been wearing her helmet Thunder and Rekino would have been able to see her hair blowing behind her. Rekino begin to feel stronger and she fought all the more harder. And then suddenly the soldiers begin to explode several at a time. By the time Flash was done, sixty soldiers had been completely obliterated. The area was clear now and all three warriors stood there.

“Rekino?” Flash looked at her friend with concerned.

Rekino was feeling miserable. “Something…something happened…” was all she could say.