“Rowen!” Sage screamed as horror registered on his face. He nearly jumped through the living room window, but Kento held him back in strong arms. The Warrior of Wisdom struggled and kicked to get free, but Kento’s grip was just too strong for him. He slumped against him, breathing hard, sweat pouring down his face, his hair in shambles as he kept his head bowed.

Ryo was furious and he was blaming himself for this. If only he had led all of them outside when he had had the chance, then he could have called forth their armors and defeated the little demon. Now because of his overconfidence Rowen was gone. What were they to do? It was simple and the answer became firm within his head as he looked up, narrowing his eyes into slits. They had to find and rescue Rowen. He knew they would have a difficult time finding him though as he could be held anywhere now. But still they had to try.

He raised his head and looked directly at the others. “We have to find Rowen and we have to find him now. There isn’t time to waste.”

“But we don’t know where to start looking,” Star said with a frown.

Sage could hear them and he knew he had to surmount his own broken self to help out. Rowen was his best friend and he was counting on him. If they could just get some lead on the demon’s hideout, then they would at least have a better chance. Liberating him would be difficult, but they would go to any lengths to save him.

He could remember how he and Rowen had met many years ago when Sage and his family had moved to Toyama from Tokyo. Rowen, then five years old, and with both parents, had made it a point to become Sage’s friend even if Sage had treated him coldly. However as the years went past, Sage grew closer and closer to the determined little blue haired boy. But then when they had both turned eight, Rowen and his parents had divorced, his mother had taken off, and Rowen had been forced to move to Bronx, New York with his father. They had not seen each other for many years until Talpa first attacked. Now with even a few more years that had passed by, Sage felt as if Rowen was the brother he had never had. He was determined more than anyone else in the room to get him back and he would take whatever means there were. Even if it meant going beyond his will, though he knew even that would be disastrous.

“We have to start looking anywhere,” he finally said in a firm voice. He pushed himself away from Kento, but he could feel the Hardrock bearer’s gaze on him, steadily watching him in case he freaked out again. “It’s better to start at one place than at nowhere at all,” he finished.

Mia nodded in agreement. More and more time was passing and so far none of them had even mentioned for them to go already. Rowen could be getting tortured now because of Leokoni’s hatred and need for revenge. If they were going to rescue him they had to do it now.

“Um,” Firestorm suddenly spoke up, causing everyone to look her way. She had been mostly silent and they had almost forgotten she was there. “I can find this demon.”

They blinked at her. Cye came closer to her and stared into her eyes, wanting to know how she possibly could when none of them seemed to know where he was. If she could actually find him that would be wonderful, but how earth would she do that? Did she know this demon lord? It seemed to be the only explanation there was.

“How?” Cye wanted to know as he calmly waited for her answer.

Firestorm looked down, fear registering on her face. For so long she had hid the terrible secret within her, telling only her friend Star, making her swear on everything she had that she would not tell a soul. It wasn’t easy keeping it hidden from so many people, especially when the transformation could happen when she was extremely infuriated without her control over it. But as she had spoken up, she knew she had no choice but to tell them all the truth. She only hoped they could take it better than she hoped.

“I.. I’m part dragon,” she said, her voice a little low.

“Say what?” Ryo asked in shock. He dug out his right ear furiously with a finger, then looked at her again. “Mind repeating that?”

“You heard me,” Firestorm replied, her voice cracking a little. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. The four Ronins, Mia, and White Blaze continued to stare at her. The Ronins and Mia were staring at her in shock, but White Blaze stared calmly as if he had known all along. Star stood beside her, offering her support. “My father is known as a Dragonite. What that is, it’s a dragon who transform into a human and interacts with them. He met my mother, they fell in love, and well of course I was born about fourteen months later. Yes, a human who is impregnated by a Dragonite carries their fetus for fourteen months. Moving on. Because I have my father’s blood in me I can transform into a dragon. And I can smell things normal humans cannot.”

Kento held up his hands, shaking them some. He wasn’t sure if he believed her or not; the whole thing just seemed too farfetched if you asked him. “Wait, how do we know if you’re telling us the truth or not?”

Firestorm’s eyes narrowed. She hated when people didn’t believe her about something. Time and time again she would either have to prove herself, or snap off to them that she didn’t care if they did or didn’t. Because of who she was, her temper was great and often out of control. She took a deep breath and counted to ten slowly forward and backward. “I can prove it.”

Sage nodded. “That would be wise.”

So they all went outside and to the biggest part of the yard. Together they waited for Firestorm to prove of what she was. For a long time everything was still, even the leaves on the trees. No sound came from anywhere as she prepared herself. It was like everything was waiting for her to begin.

Suddenly she began to glow a purplish color, the sky turned black as if a fierce storm was coming, the kanji of honor glowed brilliantly in her forehead. All of them stared wide eyed. Only Star and White Blaze seemed to be calm during this. Then suddenly, she transformed.

Before their very eyes stood a forty foot tall dragon. Its scales were black, the eyes the same color of silver blue. The wing span was the same length as the body which was about eighty feet long and thirty feet wide, the tail was thick and massive with six large spikes at the tip, three on either side, there were two spikes above her nostrils, the outer one being slightly larger than the inner one, there were smaller spikes along her forehead, and huge spikes going down her neck to her back.

Their mouths dropped. So she had been telling the truth. This was almost too much to bear, and yet it was quite fascinating at the same time. Just imagine they had a dragon on their side. That was really something, and it would help them out a lot. Now it was time to find Rowen and get him back.

Rowen’s eyes fluttered several times, his eyebrows wrinkled, and a frown came to his lips as his body moved slightly. Instantly, pain shot through his ribs and he gave a little yelp, before his eyes were forced to open and behold his surroundings. He was lying just inches above the stone floor of a dirty cell, his arms and legs had been stretched painfully to either side as he was on his back. It was as if he had been chained to the air itself, for there was nothing underneath his body but just the floor and it was about six inches away. He tried to look around, but he could only look so far without causing pain to his neck and torso.

How long had he been here? he wondered. He could barely remember anything except the battle he and his friends had with the small demon Yata. He realized what must have happened. Yata had finally captured him for his master. He was certain his friends were looking for him, but he wasn’t sure if they’d be able to find him. They had been trying to find out all they could about the demon master only to keep coming to a dead end. And frankly even he had no clue where he was, how close or how far he was from his friends. Could he be miles away, or right before their eyes? It was hard saying, but he was certain he’d soon discover the answer.

He tried shifting again to become comfortable and soon cried out in pain. His left side burned like fire and he soon discovered the reason why. There was a long thin gash running from under his breast to his hip. Although it did not require stitches, it still bled, dripping onto the floor and collecting into a puddle underneath him. Funny, he hadn’t noticed the blood before. Just how had he gotten it?

From the last attack, Rowen concluded to himself. It was the best explanation he could give himself. Now that he knew about it, it was burning like fire and it hurt worse when he moved the slightest way.

He let out a sigh. This was ridiculous. What were they planning?

Suddenly, there was a twinkling before his eyes and he stared at the spot in front of him, narrowing his eyes as it grew brighter and bigger, forming into the shape of a humanoid. A tall man appeared before him, his thin mouth twisting into a cold satisfied smile. His hair was ebony and thick against the back of his skull, trailing downward toward the middle of his back. His skin was a dark tanned color and his eyes were red and piercing.

Rowen blinked at him in confusion as he struggled to figure whether or not he knew this demon. Wait, was this the same demon master that had been defeated by his ancestor so many years before? It had to have been.

“So, we meet at last, Rowen of the Strata,” the demon master said.

Rowen’s eyes turned into cold slits. “What do you want with me?” he demanded. He wasn’t sure why he was asking this as he already knew what the answer would be. It was quite redundant for evil beings to want the same thing from you.

“Revenge,” came the reply. The demon master came closer to his left side and forced Rowen’s head to turn to look up at him. Rowen grimaced and shut one eye against the pressure, trying to pull away, but it didn’t do him any good. His neck was held firmly by the muscular hand, making it strenuous to even turn it somewhat.

The demon master continued on as if this didn’t faze him one bit. “Your ancestor defeated me a long time ago, and I promised to myself I would take out the first person who looked like him. And you, my dear boy, are the spitting image of Bunjiro Dayu.” He let go of Rowen’s neck and walked away from him a few feet before turning again, his long robes and cape swishing around him in a distinctive air of haughtiness. He narrowed his eyes at the boy before him. “You may be wondering why I didn’t attack you before this.”

“It never crossed my mind, to be frank,” Rowen spat at him.

The demon master continued as if though he had not heard him. “The truth was, I did attack you. I’ve been attacking you all your life from the time your parents divorced and your father took you to the States.”

Now Rowen’s eyes opened so wide they looked ready to pop out through his sockets. He stared, horrified at Leokoni who wore a smirk on his cold face. The bearer of the Strata armor was certain he had gone completely white. For a long time silence reigned between the two of them. The air in the room seemed awfully thick, and Rowen wondered whether or not he was having difficulty in breathing. He wanted to close his eyes against what he was seeing, wanted to be deaf unto the words that he had heard with his own ears.

Leokoni continued as if this was an ordinary conversation he were having. But it was much crueler and one filled with poison which nearly tore Rowen’s heart into several pieces. “You see, your father did in fact love you very much, Rowen. I, however, saw his broken heart and spirit, and used that against him to get to you. Though when he foolishly got drunk and smoked that cigarette, causing the fire in your house, I lost my control on him. And I lost the power to torment you. But do you think I gave up? No. I planned a new way to get at you.”

“And that would be?” Rowen pressed. A part of him was being sarcastic, but the other part needed to know just what was planned. It might save his life if he was lucky enough.

“I’d like you to meet someone,” Leokoni said. He snapped his fingers and a swirling mass of black energy appeared. At first it looked like a tiny black dot, but the more it grew the more it began to look like some kind of vortex. When it had grown about the size of a small closet, Rowen thought he could see a figure hanging from golden chains in it. He peered closely at it, trying to take it in so he could at least tell who it was. Though, he was having a difficult time doing so.

“Something wrong?” Leokoni asked with an amused smile. “Perhaps you need a better perception?” He snapped his fingers again and the vortex actually brought its prisoner closer to Rowen. He stared again, a frown on his face as he began to recognize several distinct features. The black hair, the piercing night blue sky eyes, the pale skin. Fear immediately became readable in his eyes and he about choked on it. “D..Dad?” he stuttered.

The figure slowly looked up at him. Pain registered on Mr. Hashiba’s face. There were several large deadly looking bruises on it, two under his eyes, near the jawbone, his right eye was swollen shut, his lips cracked and bleeding. “R.Rowen,” he managed to spit out between painful gasps, before vomiting up blood.

Rowen looked on in horror. His heart pounded with fear, thumping wildly against his torso, making it difficult to even think straight. He wasn’t sure if he was suppose to feel regretful for his father, or whether he should just shrug and not care what had happened to him. All he knew was that he wanted this nightmare to be over.

The dragon swooped across the land, its belly nearly touching the ground as she sniffed along it. Various smells from decaying animals and plants, to shoes, and dead skin, to other smells which are undetected to human beings, came up to her nostrils. Behind her, a group of four boys wearing their subarmors, and two girls followed.

So far she hadn’t picked the trail up, and Ryo was getting worried. He knew he had to be patient, but there wasn’t much time to waste. Who knew what that evil demon was doing to Rowen right now?

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to think about that right now. Rowen had already been through so much his whole life, suffering each day, and without telling them for the longest time. When he finally had told, he begged them all not to do anything. But the question was why? Fear most likely. But now, Rowen was probably more frightened than he had ever been.

They continued to travel onward, going deep into the woods now. White Blaze joined Sage’s side, sensing the Ronin of Halo was particularly antsy at the moment. They couldn’t have him going off suddenly and alone, so the tiger knew he would be the best one to stop him should he try anything.

Star watched as the dragon lowered herself to the ground and came closer as she sniffed around the ground several times. She then began digging at an area. Star felt a glimmer of hope. Whenever she did that, it meant something important was found. From behind her, Ryo, Kento, Sage, and Mia caught up, all wondering the same exact thing.

“Did she find him?” Sage demanded.

“I don’t know,” Star replied, then looked up at the dragon. “Firestorm, find anything?”

Firestorm continued to dig around the ground, then found what she was looking for. She snatched it up in her jaw and showed it to them. It was Rowen’s jacket.

“He shouldn’t be too far from here then, right?” Ryo asked as he took the jacket and held it in his hands.

The dragon nodded her head in agreement, then took off to the sky again. They followed her, praying and hoping they would get to their destination as quickly as possible. They didn’t care how long it would take them to find Rowen, and they did not care what obstacles they had to go through. They were even willing to give up their own lives just so he would be free.

They came out of the woods after an hour and a half and found themselves on a deserted highway near the beach. The dragon sniffed about, trying to determine the direction of where the demon’s and Rowen’s scent had gone to. So far she couldn’t smell anything at all. She snorted and looked down at Star and shook her gigantic head.

Star frowned and turned to the others, looking rather disappointed. “She’s lost the trail.”

“Now what?” Kento wanted to know. He could just imagine what horrible things were happening to Rowen right now.

Ryo looked around the surrounding area. A gentle breeze came up from the ocean’s currents and seagulls cried to one another above the waters. He wasn’t sure what to do at this point. All he knew was that Rowen needed their help. Then he looked down at White Blaze. The tiger stared back at him as if waiting for a command. And then he knew. He nodded his head. “Okay, White Blaze, try to track down Rowen’s trail.”

The tiger sniffed the air, then sniffed along the ground, going in a circle a few times. As everyone waited they held their breaths in hope the tiger would find something. For about ten minutes White Blaze sniffed along the ground, coming closer to the water’s edge. Then suddenly he began to paw at a certain spot in a furious manner. Sage got to him first and studied the area below him. There was a thin footprint there and it didn’t look as if it belonged to a normal human being. Claw marks were showing just about the footprint, and one nail mark was showing on the back of the heel.

Sage looked up at the others. “They were here,” he said bluntly.

Mia was looking around with a frown. Where could they have possibly gone? she wondered. Then she looked over at the ocean as it suddenly hit her. “That demon must have flown him over the ocean.”

“Great,” Kento said bitterly. “So how do we get to him?”

“Well, I can swim across,” Cye said.

“That doesn’t help the rest of us,” Ryo said with a frown.

“Ahem,” Star cleared her throat, getting their attention. They raised their eyebrows at her, half expecting her to say something about renting a boat. Instead she pointed to Firestorm. “We can ride on her back, and she’ll fly us across.”

“Um, how high?” Cye asked. Given the choice between air or ground, he’d rather stay on ground as heights frightened him. He would only go atop high buildings when it was absolutely necessary and he tried to avoid it at all costs.

“Not real high,” Star said thoughtfully, “but high enough to avoid the ocean’s currents.”

“It won’t be that bad, Cye,” Kento said.

“And we have no other choice,” Ryo said.

“Right then,” Sage said. He climbed up on Firestorm’s back, and was followed by Ryo, Mia, Cye, Star, and then Kento, and finally White Blaze. The dragon turned her massive head to make sure everyone was on board and hanging on firmly. She couldn’t afford to lose any passengers. With a small roar, she began to flap her wings against the air currents before catching the right one, and soon lifted up into the air.

Leokoni smiled at Rowen calmly as the teenager continued to stare in horror at his father. He walked around to the front of his head and stared at his other prisoner for a while before lowering his eyes to meet Rowen’s. “Is there something the matter?” he asked casually. “I’d have thought that you would love to see your father again.”

Rowen spat at him. “You monster!”

Leokoni wiped it off with a disgusted look, then grabbed Rowen by the jaw and pressed his thumb into one corner of his mouth, stretching it outward just enough to add some pain to the boy. “Yes, I am a monster, Rowen of the Strata. But I will be more than just a monster if you dare spit at me with your pathetic saliva again.”

Rowen stared at him as he winced. He could feel blood dripping down his mouth and he was sickened by it. Finally Leokoni released him and walked away from him so that he stood in between the two prisoners. “Now that I have the both of you, what shall I do with you?”

Rowen didn’t answer as he tried to work his bonds free. He knew he didn’t have a lot of time left before the demon master killed him. He continued to pray his friends would show up in time to save him, but as the minutes ticked by with each agonizing moment, he wasn’t so sure they would make it there at all.

Leokoni suddenly grinned a fiendish grin and clapped his hands loudly. “Let’s have some fun shall we?” Without waiting for an answer he summoned his power and caused the room to go entirely dark.

Rowen’s eyes widened in anticipation. This reminded him of Cale, but it seemed more dark, more cold. And he wasn’t exactly sure why. Was Leokoni a true demon, meaning created as a demon, and not a human that was turned into a demon? It seemed to be the only true answer he could think of, as nothing else made sense right now.

Suddenly, Leokoni stretched his arms apart, and at the same time, Rowen’s chains jerked his limbs outward, stretching them far apart while at the same time sending electrical currents through his body. Rowen tried to hold back his screams, but it was no good. They filled the air, echoing off the walls.

“Ah,” Leokoni said with a smile as he cupped one ear, “music to my ears.”

The chained spirit stared at his tormented son. Cracked lips parted painfully as he whispered, “R..Ro..Rowen..”

Leokoni glanced toward him. “It’s no use. He’s too much in pain to even notice you anymore.”

“You are a cruel bastard!” the spirit spat angrily.

Leokoni chuckled. “So they say, but do you think I care what name you call me?”

Rowen’s voice continued to scream in protest to the agony he was enduring. But there seemed to be no end to what he was going through. His kanji began to flash on and off several times, before it suddenly died altogether, and he suddenly became limp.

Sage gasped suddenly as he got a terrible pain within his forehead. He held a hand to his head and nearly fell off the dragon, had Ryo not caught him in time. He felt cold and weak and could barely hold himself up. He could vaguely feel someone supporting him, but he couldn’t tell who.

Ryo was worried. Sage’s skin felt cold to the touch, but why? He held Sage the best he could and looked at Star. “Think we’ll land soon?”

Star looked out over the ocean, then at the dragon’s head. For a moment she didn’t answer Ryo as she wasn’t sure at the moment. Finally she looked back at him. “Hopefully soon,” she replied. She didn’t admit it, but she would feel much better once they got Rowen back. She was beginning to love the blue haired genius. Not for his brains, though, but for his sweet personality. She felt so bad for him she wanted to cry right then and there. Tears threatened the corners of her eyes as she felt the urge to, but she held them back. Crying wouldn’t help get him back. They had to take action.

Kento glanced toward Sage, worried about him. He said nothing, trusting Ryo to be able to handle the situation. For the time being he kept his thoughts focused on the recent events, and wondering how they would defeat this demon master and his lackey. Mia hadn’t been able to find any weak points to the main demon. As far as they knew the little demon hated light. Wait, light…. He quickly glanced at Sage and frowned more as the thought suddenly hit him.

“Ryo!”

Ryo glanced at him, wondering what was on his mind. “What’s up, Kento?”

“Ryo, don’t you think it’s just a little weird for Sage to suddenly become ill?”

Ryo blinked, but said nothing as he waited for Kento to go on. By now everyone else was listening too, wondering what Kento was saying.

“I mean think about it,” Kento continued. “Rowen gets attacked by a demon who can’t stand the light. Rowen and Sage are best friends. Sage is the Ronin of Light. Put two and two together, man.”

“Wait,” Cye interrupted, “are you saying that somehow, Sage is being attacked too, to keep him out of the way of rescuing Rowen?”

“Yep,” Kento said with a nod of his head.

Mia frowned deeply. Now she was worried more than ever. She knew they had to get Sage well again in order to fight this demon master. Otherwise, they could lose Rowen forever. And she did not want that. She cared about Rowen just like she cared for all of them. He had helped her out so many times, especially with electronics and with her tires whenever they needed changing. And if she ever had trouble solving something, he was right there to help her. She wasn’t letting anyone stop them from getting him back. She quickly looked at the others. “We need to get Sage the proper help, and I know just who can help us.”

“Who?” Ryo asked her.

Mia didn’t reply to him. Instead, she looked at Star. “Tell Firestorm to head northeast toward the Himalayan Mountains.”

Star nodded and spoke briefly to the dragon. The dragon made no reply, but instead shifted her weight and took off toward the direction as requested.

Ryo continued to hold Sage, aware now that the blond Ronin was running a high fever. A frown of worry came to his face. Would Sage die before they could rescue Rowen? Who did Mia know could help him? He didn’t know the answers, but he hoped to know soon. But for now all he could do was pray that Sage would make it. They needed him. Without him, their entire team would fall apart.