| Chapter 1 A girl named Emmy By Nat Emmy ran down the street in the pouring rain, cursing the whole way. Why did it have to rain now? She asked herself. There was a big crash of thunder overhead. Emmy screamed as she saw a bright bolt of lightning strike the ground not to far off. She continued to run straight to her house that was still another twenty blocks away. She turned a corner and tripped on a crack in the side walked. Emmy rubbed her head as she stood up. She felt a knot begin to form on her head. �This is just peachy,� she muttered. Emmy was standing up when another bolt of lightning struck not four feet in front of her. Her whole body shook and her fear came out as a bloodcurdling scream. When she opened her eyes she noticed she was no longer in the city. She was in a forest at the side of a road. �Oh, no,� she said and stood up. She thought she saw a small growth of trees that could shade her from the rain on the other side of the road. She looked both ways and began to cross the street shivering the whole time. She wasn�t half way towards the middle of the road when she fell to her knees. �I�m so�c..c..co..Cold,� she managed to say as her teeth chattered. It was then she remembered her jacket that was in her waterproof backpack. She turned around. There was her backpack at the side of the road. She began to crawl towards it. Oh this is so stupid, she thought. It�s so cold and I�m crawling in the middle of the road. At least there are no cars coming. No sooner had she thought this than she saw two headlights speeding her way. She swore out loud and tried to get up. She collapsed back to her knees. Crud! She thought as the car came zooming closer. She closed her eyes and gathered up all her strength. Just as the car was about to hit her she jumped up and clear over the car, landing neatly after it had passed by. Emmy looked at herself. �Holy... Where did that come from?� she cried out. It was then she noticed she had the strength to get her bag. She ran over and picked up her bag. �Hey you! Girl! Hold up one moment!� a voice yelled. Emmy looked to see where the voiced had come from and saw the car that she had just jumped over turned and facing her. Her eyes widened even more when two armored guys stepped around from the side of the car. Emmy screamed. �I�m not a hooker and I�m not a whore so you guys had better just drive on before someone gets hurt,� she said trying her best to be tough. Three more armored men appeared. �Oh no!� Emmy yelled before she turned to run. �Stop! We won�t hurt you,� they cried out. Emmy didn�t listen but kept running. She had run track the year before and knew she was fairly fast. But at the speed she was going it only scared her because she didn�t think anyone could run that fast. Emmy looked behind her and saw a white tiger quickly gaining on her. �What the freak is a tiger doing chasing after me?� she cried. She turned back and just in time before running head on into an orange armored figure. Emmy rebounded and fell to the asphalt. She groaned in pain. �That hurt,� she moaned. �Okay who are you and how can you jump as high as you did and ran as fast as you can?� someone asked. Emmy looked up as her vision swam back into focus. The five armored men stood above her. �How should I know. It�s not my fault I�m running home to get out of the rain and a lightning bolt almost kills me and then I find myself here at the side of the road. And then you samurai looking idiots start to chase after me,� Emmy said in one breath. She took a deep breath and exhaled it. Emmy opened her eyes and noticed her vision was fine and her head didn�t hurt anymore. In fact she felt as good as she had earlier when she had found out she wasn�t going to have to go to summer camp. She jumped up and backed away from the armored men. �What is going on?� she asked no one in particular. �That�s just the thing we wanted to know,� another one said. Emmy shook her head and backed away. She looked behind her and saw the white tiger standing alert. �Why are you guys after me? I didn�t do a thing,� Emmy said. She looked at them. It worked before maybe I can do it again, she thought to herself. She took a deep breath and leapt into the air. She flew above the armored and landed in the trees behind them. Emmy began to run, feeling her life depended on it. Emmy ran into a meadow and stopped suddenly. A white wolf stood there. He looked into her eyes. �This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder,� Emmy murmured as the wolf approached. The wolf flipped it�s head and Emmy noticed a round orb on it�s neck. She gingerly approached the wolf and touched the orb. Instantaneously a dark purple light surrounded her and seemed to go through her. �What�s this?!� she screamed. Gloves appeared on her hands that stretched up above her elbow. Boots that were higher than her knees materialized on her legs and a suit that reminded Emmy of a strapless swimsuit appeared on her body. Then a something covered her mouth and nose. Surprisingly she could still breath. Emmy felt a headband materialize over her forehead. The dark purple light faded. �What is this?� she asked looking at herself. She looked at the Wolf. �Lady Niana you have returned to yourself,� the Wolf said in a melodic voice. Emmy backed away. �I have no clue what you are talking about? My name is Emmy,� Emmy explained backing up into a tree. The wolf came closer. �You have returned to lead the ninja�s to conquer Earth. You�re sister Nerissa will be very happy. I must return and bring you with me. Come,� the wolf commanded. Emmy shook her head. �I don�t think so. Get away!� The wolf growled and trotted closer to her. �You don�t remember your true self do you Lady Niana, leader of the Ninja�s? You see my teeth? They are venomous and they can easily put you into a deep sleep. You will come or suffer the consequences,� the wolf threatened. Emmy shook her head. �Why is this day suddenly turning so bad?� she began to sob. �All I wanted to do was get home and now here I am in the middle of some nightmare where a wolf has put me into a whore�s outfit and says I�m the leader of ninja�s and threatens to hurt me if I don�t come with him. Why can�t my life ever be the normal life?� Emmy cried out loud. The wolf walked closer. Emmy closed her eyes. This is not happening. This is just some horrible nightmare. And it�s making me mad as heck, she thought to herself. This wolf is not going to take me dead or alive and that�s final. Emmy opened her eyes. Before she knew what had happened she had pulled two very large Chinese stars from somewhere on her body. �Stay away,� she growled in a voice that didn�t seem to be hers. The wolf started to laugh. �Lady Niana dares to fight against me. She will lose. I serve your sister. I have always served your sister and she has given me permission to annihilate anyone who tries to kill me including you, Lady Niana,� the wolf said and lunged. �The name is Emmy and you will die first, flea bag,� Emmy shrieked as she blocked the wolf and threw him aside. The wolf appeared to be smiling. He bared his teeth and lunged again. This time Emmy didn�t block in time and his teeth sank down into her arm. �You�� she gasped out. �Leave her alone,� someone called and the five armored men from earlier jumped out from the trees. The wolf turned to look at them. �This is not your affair, Ronin Warriors,� the wolf snarled. Who? Emmy wondered. Everything was beginning to get hazy and clouded. She couldn�t really focus on what was really going on. She just knew that the wolf had lunged at the armored men or Ronin Warriors and had ended up with a wounded leg before finally running off into the night. Emmy pushed herself up off the ground and began to walk towards the armored men. She felt the outfit the wolf had put on her fade and disappear leaving her in her regular clothes. She made it four steps before she finally felt everything fall in on her. She was dimly aware of strong hands catching her before she hit the ground. Emmy heard far off voices. She knew that they were talking to her but she couldn�t understand what they were saying. She concentrated all of her energy for one moment before finally giving up and falling unconscious for good. Cye looked down at the girl he had just caught in his arms. She was young, but probably not as young as she looked. She had light brown hair that was pulled into a ponytail that was drenched with rain and sweat. �She�s hurt,� Sage stated. Cye handed the girl to his green armored friend. �Did somebody get her bag? She�s probably got identification or something in it.� Kento held up the waterproof bag. �Let�s get her back to Mia�s and get her out of those clothes,� he said and all the Ronin�s raced back to their car. Sage still held the girl in his arms and looked down at her. Who are you he questioned silently. They all transformed out of their armor and loaded into the car. �You know it�s really quite funny how every time we think that we can live peacefully another thing happens,� Ryo said as he finished driving towards Mia�s manor. Cye and Sage sat in the back with the mysterious girl while Kento, Ryo and Rowan sat in the front. Sage and Cye talked telepathically to each other while the three in the front talked out loud. ~She�s got some power. You can feel it when you touch her,~ Cye commented as he rubbed the ice-cold hand. ~Yes but it looked like she didn�t even know she had them. When we get home I�m calling Kayura and the Warlords over,~ Sage replied as he brushed hair out of the girl�s face. ~How did she transform into that outfit?~ Cye wondered. ~Did you like it Cye?~ Sage teased. Cye mentally growled. Sage gave a short laugh out loud. ~Actually Sage it looked more like the kind of outfit a girl you would be dating might wear, ~ Cye replied. Sage growled. ~I have never dated anyone who looks like a skank. I do have some dignity,~ Sage answered. The rest of the car ride was silent. When they arrived at Mia�s they were surprised to see Kayura�s, Anubis� and Sekhtmet�s care in the front. Cye carried the mysterious girl inside the front door. Anubis, Mia, Kayura and Cale all sat on the sofa while Sekhmet and Dais sat in armchairs. The warlords all jumped up. �Anubis was right. Niana has returned. But she looks younger than before,� Cale commented. The five Ronin�s stared at him. �What are you talking about Cale?� Sage asked his old nemesis. Anubis replied. �She appears to be the leader of the Ninja�s Lady Niana but there is something different about her,� Anubis said thoughtfully. �Has she worn her fighting outfit?� �You mean the dark purple strapless, high booted, long gloved, masked and headband?� Rowan asked. Kayura nodded. �That sounds like one of the outfits she used to wear,� Kayura said �By the looks of it, she probably doesn�t even remember any of that. Lady Niana was caught up in one of the most magical battles of all. During the battle she disappeared and no one had seen her for three hundred years. Nerissa her sister took over control of the Ninja�s and enslaved the Lady Warriors. Then they too disappeared. Only two Lady Warriors remained,� Cale explained. Cye laid the girl down on the couch. �Who were they?� �The Lady Warriors of Night and Day, Lady Anett and Lady Marie. They still have hopes of freeing their people and returning Niana to her place as leader over the Ninja�s because she had pronounced the Lady Warriors as their allies, but they too have disappeared. Niana may have been the youngest out of anyone but she knew how to fight and she always won. She used to make sport out of teasing Anubis and making him feel like this was the time he was going to die,� Dais explained. Rowan cleared his throat. �She didn�t seem to know she was the leader of the Ninja�s because she wanted the wolf to call her something. Emma or Emily or Emmy�Emmy that was it,� Rowan exclaimed snapping his fingers. �Hey we have her school bag here. Maybe�� Kento was interrupted by a groan. Everyone turned to watch Emmy turn over on the couch. �Could you please keep the noise level down?� she mumbled. Mia walked over and kneeled by the couch. �Emmy?� she asked softly. The only reply was incoherent mumbling. �Is that your name?� Mia asked softly. �Hm-mm,� was the answer. Then all of a sudden Emmy jumped up and was standing on top of the couch. �Oh my!� was all she said. Everyone looked at her balanced on top of the sofa. �What are you�Who are�? Where am� I think I�m going to faint,� she said and fell to the floor with a loud *crash*. The eleven by standers rushed over and gathered around the girl. �Are you okay?� Kayura asked. �Oh yeah just peachy. I mean how can I not be okay. First I�m trying to walk to my friend�s house but then it begins to rain so I have to run back to my house that is about two miles away. So then I�m running home and a flash lightning practically hits me and I find myself in a forest. I try to cross the stupid road but some drunk idiot comes speeding along and I realize if I don�t move I�ll be killed. So I jump over that car. I�ve never done that before and let me tell you it freaked me out. But what freaked me more out was that these five armored dudes come chasing after me. So then I run into the woods and this wolf is wearing this really pretty orb so I do the dumb thing and touch it and magically I change it the skank of the woods and this wolf is talking to me, telling me I have to go with it or it will bite me with it�s poison teeth. So then I say no and the wolf jumps at me and then I threw him off of me but then he jumps at me again and bites me. Then the five armored dudes come jumping out of the forest and make that little dog run away with its tail between it�s legs. So then I stand up and realize I�m going to lose it and then I fall unconscious and wake up here where who knows where. So yeah I�m okay,� Emmy said. Everyone exchanged glances with each other then looked back down at the girl. The warlords and Kayura gave out a short laugh. �That sounds like Niana all right,� Sekhmet said quietly. �Um you want to get up?� Kento asked. �No I want you all to go away and leave me alone,� Emmy said. She spied Kento holding her bag. �And that happens to be mine mister,� she said and snatched it from his hands. �Now I�m leaving and going home. Good night and Good bye,� she said. �You need a ride?� Cye asked. Emmy turned to look at him. Then she sat down on an armchair. �You know it�s not my fault lately strange things have been happening to me. It�s not my fault I can jump a whole foot higher than my friends. It�s not my fault I have an extremely thick skull and can hi my head into a brick wall and be fine. I don�t mean to do any of this,� she said. And looked up at the guys. �Why am I telling you all this? I don�t even know you guys. You guys look like college students.� The Ronin�s exchanged glances with one another. �We are college students. Sophomore to be exact,� Ryo explained. Emmy looked at them. �None of you are high school students?� They all shook their heads. �That�s too bad for a high school sophomore like me, huh? Well anyways since you all obviously know my name what are all of yours?� Every Ronin and Warlord introduced themselves and Emmy smiled at each one.. �Nice to meet all of you. You know what? I do want a ride home�Cye was it? You wanna take me so my parents won�t get scared if I�m not home in a bit. So can we go?� Everyone just stared at her. Cye nodded and picked his keys up. Sage followed him as they headed out to the car. Emmy slung her back pack up over one shoulder and looked at Mia�s house. She softly sighed. She opened one of the back doors and got in as Sage and Cye got in the front. Both glanced at her as they began to drive down the road. Emmy leaned her head against the window as she told them her address. She listened to them talk but then focused on the woods outside the window. She was scared. I have a right to be, she thought. I have lost it entirely. My life has gone crazy officially. She sighed again as she thought about the day�s event�s. First I found out I don�t have to go to summer camp. Then I try to go to Nat�s house but then I get caught in the rain and have to run back home, but I don�t make it cause I get shocked by lightning and I end up�.that�s it! I�ve died. That�s why everything is insane. Emmy giggled. Then thought some more. But not really, I mean I�m going home right. So I�ll be okay. I�m going to take a very long shower and snuggled into bed with my little dog Rowdy and� �We�re almost there. Are you sure this is your address? This is the business apartments,� Sage explained. Emmy looked at him. �Um�yeah�that�s where I live. I live on the bottom floor where they allow pets,� Emmy said. Cye looked at her from his mirror. �You have a pet?� Emmy smiled. �A little white dog named Rowdy. He�s five years old in August,� she explained as her apartment came into view. She smiled as she saw the familiar sight. �Hey thanks guys. Just promise me that you will have your friends looked over for some medical care. They were saying some weird stuff back there and quite frankly they need to have a psychiatrist look them over. I know I�m scheduling for an appointment in the morning.� Emmy opened her door as Cye parked the car. �You are sure these are your apartments? These are only for superior business people,� Cye said. Emmy rolled her eyes. �Look guys. Yes this is where I live. I promise you can even stay and watch me go in my house and I�ll bring my parents out okay�.no, not really. Just stay here until I go in,� Emmy rambled and walked over to her back door. Emmy took a deep breath as she opened the door and walked in. She was barely inside when something had lunged on her. She fell back outside the door. Quickly she pushed the thing that was on her off and jumped up. The wolf from earlier was standing in front of her. �Lady Niana came to where she thought her home was I see. Well I�ll break the news to you. You are in an alternate dimension from your original home. You will never be able to go back. You will become Lady Niana again!� the wolf exclaimed and jumped at her. Emmy wasn�t fast enough and the wolf had his teeth buried in her neck. Emmy fell backwards onto the ground. �You will not escape. This time your dosage will be a high one, so you won�t wake up so soon.� �No! Stop!� Sage called. Emmy moved her eyes and saw his whole body was covered in armor except for his head. She looked up and saw Cye was the same way except he was standing on top of his car. �You won�t take her without a fight.� Emmy felt herself getting weak. Everything was swimming in and out of focus. She was barely aware of what was going on. She didn�t remember the fight. She just knew that Sage was cradling her and murmuring words of comfort before she again lost consciousness. Sage and Cye hurried and drove Emmy back to Mia�s mansion where Sage flew into the house, grabbed his medical kit and began to bandage Emmy�s neck while everyone else questioned Cye. Anubis walked over to the couch where Sage was placing a gauze strip on Emmy�s neck. �It wasn�t her home was it?� Anubis asked. Sage shook her head. �The wolf said something about alternate dimensions or something along that line,� Sage replied as he finished. Anubis touched the girl�s cheek. �Then I was right. She�s been sucked from her dimension to ours with no way back to her own,� Anubis said softly. Sage looked up at his friend. �It�s a very good thing you are training to be a doctor. I don�t think anyone else in this house would have been able to do that.� Sage smiled at the comment. �She�ll be out for awhile. So since she�s stuck here and no place to go�� Sage said. �And Nerissa after her, she�s going to need some protection,� Anubis replied. �She can stay here,� Mia said from across the room. �We do have one more spare room. And you guys can keep an eye on her.� �We must be going. Please call and let us know when she wakes up. I would like to talk to her,� Kayura called as the Warlords walked out the door. Kento looked over at the sleeping girl. �You know if she weren�t so young, I�d probably ask her out.� Rowan laughed. �Kento, she�s a sophmore in high school. You�re only a few years older than her, I�m sure she wouldn�t object,� Rowan said. Cye smacked Rowan upside the head. �She seems to be more dignified than that,� Cye said. Sage nodded in agreement. �Emmy didn�t wear that outfit by her own will. She hates it if you hadn�t noticed,� Sage added. �Well anyways, let�s get her up to the bedroom, tomorrows last day of classes and we all need are sleep,� Rowan said as they all walked upstairs. Sage stayed behind holding Emmy. He looked at Mia. �What is it Sage?� she questioned.� Sage looked at the sleeping girl. �She�s funny. She�s scared out of her wits but still is strong you know what I mean?� Mia nodded. �She�s going to be a lot of fun,� Mia said then hurried him upstairs to the bedroom. �Funny thing is, I feel like I�ve known her forever. Like, oh I don�t know how to explain it,� he said as he walked upstairs with Mia. He looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms. What is it with you? Why do I have this strange feeling? |