Rowen stretched and yawned, throwing the covers off him, his muscles flexed (all you Rowen fans can stop drooling now) and he ran a hand through his disheveled blue haired. He looked at the clock. It was after 11 in the morning. A smile came to his face. It had been a week since he had found his mother. For a year he had endured fierce abuse from his alcoholic father, and then one night his house had caught fire. His father had been so drunk he had passed out while holding a lit cigarette in his hand. If not for the other Ronins coming just in the nick of time, Rowen would have died too. The only one that had died was Rowen’s father. For a time, Rowen had stayed in the hospital, recovering, while the others worried about what would happened to him. Then a miracle had struck, his mother, who had been missing for years, had been finally found. And now Rowen lived with her in a beautiful apartment in Tokyo, Japan. It wasn’t too far from Mia’s manor.

He climbed out of bed, wearing nothing but his boxers.. (you Rowen fans are drooling now aren’t you?) He got out his clothes, a pair of light blue jeans and a black t-shirt, and a few other things, and dressed. After dressing, he brushed his hair and put his headband on. He went to the bathroom, and then came out, and headed out of his room.

The apartment was beautifully designed, with thick grey carpeting lining the two bedrooms, the small hallway, and the living room. The walls were made of cedar wood, and the kitchen floor was linoleum made, a texture that looked like a black and white checkered board. The walls were made of wallpaper material and were mostly fruit baskets over a white coloring. It was this room that Rowen went in to.

He immediately saw the note on the table. ‘Rowen, I went to work, I’ll be home by 5 p.m. There’s food in the fridge, all you have to do is heat it up in the microwave. Here’s the number to my work and to my cell phone in case you have an emergency. Work: 312-797-5031 Cell: 312-509-1213. Love you, see you soon.’

Rowen smiled. His mother was so caring. At night she tortured him with her tickling and even studied with him. They would play baseball in the park nearby, and sometimes try to outdo each other on the housecleaning. It was great to have such a wonderful mother.

He went to the fridge and sure enough there was the food she had set out for him so carefully. He took the plastic off the tray and stuck it in the microwave. He set the microwave on high for three minutes, then went to get himself some juice. When his food was done, he carried it to the table and set it down, then sat down, and turned on the little TV that sat on the counter a foot away from the table, and he watched TV while he ate his pancakes.

At the Koji residence, Mia sat busily typing away at her computer. She had been looking for information about the two new Ronins, and so far they hadn’t found them. She wasn’t giving up though. She knew her grandfather had ways of encoding certain messages into the computer so no one else that wasn’t suppose to would not gain access to such valuable information.

Near by on the couch, Ryo sat eating a bowl of cereal, Rice Crispies to be exact. His eyes were glued to the television, watching Jackie Chan Adventures. White Blaze laid near his feet, half asleep it seemed. Cye and Kento had gone out for a morning swim, and the two girls who had been staying with them off and on, Firestorm and Star had gone with them. Sage was gone too, most likely at his meditation spot in the woods. So it was just her and Ryo, and the tiger.

Mia sighed and rubbed her temples. This was getting frustrating, she decided. The information had to be somewhere in this database, but where exactly? She typed in something else and hit the enter button. Access denied. She tried something else. Access denied. She typed her fingers irritably against her desk, glaring daggers at the screen. She took a deep breath and counted to a hundred to keep herself from blowing up at the computer. Then she typed in Twirling with a burst of fire, followed by, Gleaming with power in the night time sky, and hit enter, and held her breath for what seemed like an eternity. Access granted! Mia let out a whoop.

Ryo glanced behind him, stretching his neck and looking toward her. “Hey, Mia, find something?” he asked.

“I sure did!” she replied enthusiastically. “I finally found the hidden files my grandfather encoded into this computer about the new Ronins.”

“That’s great!” Ryo exclaimed.

“Yeah, now if I can just figure out this password that suddenly popped up,” Mia said, staring at the computer screen.

Ryo got off the couch and went to the computer room, carrying his bowl of cereal. He stood behind her, munching away on spoonfuls, and watched as she tried every password she could think of. Nothing matched. Finally she tried something else. Fire and Stars. Access was granted again.

“Finally!” Mia muttered as the page loaded. And then they saw the information.

When times of darkness shall rise, two will arise, clothed with honor and compassion.

Mia blinked at the screen. “That’s it? That’s the message? Where’s the rest?!”

Ryo blinked. “Maybe that is just it. Short message though.”

“This is not helping us!” Mia exclaimed.

Ryo sweatdropped. “Mia, calm down, okay? Maybe your grandfather thought it would be enough for you to figure it out.”

Mia sighed irritably. “I guess.”

“I’m sure we’ll find the two new Ronins,” Ryo said.

“Yeah, when the evil shows again,” Mia muttered as she exited the database.

Ryo didn’t respond. He was thinking. Why were the two passwords, Fire and Star, the same as Firestorm’s nickname, and Star’s name?

Sage opened his eyes and glanced around his surroundings. Immediately a frown came to his face. It felt more darker and more cold. He shivered and looked toward the sky. All the birds were flying off somewhere, squawking loudly. He frowned and stood up from his spot on the boulder. He jumped off it, looking around. The wind picked up considerably, blowing his clothes.

He thought he heard a whisper just then, but it was so low, he began to think it was the wind itself. But, wait, no.. The wind had its own voice. This was something else. He reached for his armor orb in his pants pocket, ready to transform into his subarmor. Too late! He suddenly flew back against a tree. He felt stunned, his eyes were widened, pain shot up through his spine, and he let out a several gasps in shock.

He shook his head, trying to make sense of what had just happened. He looked around, waiting to see his opponent. It was all quiet, the wind had quieted down, and it was like it had been when he had first came here.

He struggled to his feet, wincing. Whatever had attacked him was strong and quick. He had to get home and tell the others. He took his orb out and quickly transformed into his subarmor, not taking any chances as he ran for the house.

Several thoughts came to his mind as he ran through the forest. What had attacked him? Did they have a new enemy? Who was their new enemy? What powers did they have? Did the new enemy have an armor? Was it after their armors? Was it after Ryo’s White Inferno? He didn’t know the answer to these questions, but he did know they would have to fight again.

He came out of the forest, and ran down the long winding road, ignoring the few vehicles that passed by him. Some drivers and passengers gave him weird glances as they drove by. One honked his horn at him. Sage barely glanced at the driver. He continued to run and run. When he came to the end of the road, he crossed over, going down a small embankment, and running across a small dirt road, heading for home. He had to get there and soon, worrying if the same force that had attacked him, was also attacking the others.

The house was getting closer and closer. He hoped Mia and Ryo were still there. They would have to tell Rowen, Kento, and Cye about this as well. He ran through the main gate of the driveway, and ran down the long wide drive way. He threw the door open and ran inside the house.

“Ryo! Mia!” he shouted.

Both Mia and Ryo jumped. They raced out of the computer room and ran to Sage. Something had happened, they knew. But what?

“Sage! What’s wrong?” Ryo asked.

“We’ve got a new enemy!” the Ronin of Halo exclaimed. “Something attacked me in the woods, not long ago.”

“Did you see what it was?” Mia asked. “Or who?”

Sage shook his head. “No. Whoever it was, they were quick. They slammed me against the tree and disappeared.”

Ryo frowned deeply. Was this what the poem was talking about? The new evil? Did that mean the new Ronins would soon appear, and help fight against the new enemy?

“Are you all right, Sage?” Mia asked with concern.

“I’m fine, Mia,” he said. “We need to tell the others.”

Ryo nodded. “Okay, call Rowen at his house. “I’m going to go find Cye and Kento. I’ll be back soon.”

Sage nodded and Mia headed for the phones. Ryo put his shoes on and White Blaze stood up and joined his side. “Ryo,” Sage said after a bit. “Be careful.”

Ryo nodded and made sure he had his orb. “I will, Sage. I’ll be back with Kento and Cye in a flash.” He opened the door and ran out, his tiger following beside him. Sage watched him for several moments before he shut the door. Beads of sweat poured down his face and he sat down on the couch to rest.

Mia was speaking to Rowen as of now, telling him what had happened. Rowen promised to be over right away, and when the conversation was over, she hung up and returned to the living room. “Rowen’s coming,” she said as she sat on the armchair.

Sage nodded and rubbed his face. “I always thought we were done fighting, and even if we had to fight again, it would be Talpa or one of his old henchmen. But the Warlords are good now, and Talpa’s destroyed. I don’t know what it could be.” A frown came to his face.

“Well, whatever it is, Sage, we’ll know about it, and the Ronins will defeat it,” Mia told him.

Sage nodded. “I know, Mia. I know.” He could only hope that she was right.