I awoke to a sharp blow across my back. I sat up confused and came face to face with the three
biggest men I had ever met. Two of them stood well over six and a half feet tall and the other one, at least
six feet. In the oldest giant's hand was a riding crop, the object that had awakened me.
     "Good afternoon, gentlemen," I said placing myself between them and the still sleeping Wildfire.
"What seems to be the problem?"
     "The problem, as you say, is that you are a couple of thieves," the youngest growled.
     "Says who?" I reached over and gently shook Wildfire as I talked.
     "Well, the blanket wrapped around your friend there was taken from our boat a couple of days ago."
     "Your boat . . ." I mumbled shaking my comrade harder. The teen still would not open his eyes.
"Sorry, I don't remember seeing any boat. We found the blanket laying in the woods."
     The oldest one grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. The chain stopped him from dragging me
too far. "What the . . ." He looked down at the shackle with a dumb look on his face.
     "Who are you?" the youngest asked. "Escaped convicts?"
     The one that held my arm reached over and slapped the young one across the face. "No stupid, how
many prisoners do you know that are shackled together with pretty gold bracelets?"
     "We're not prisoners," I told them. Then I jerked my arm free and knelt down next to Wildfire.
"Come on," I mumbled checking him over. "You've had your beauty sleep . . . wake up, Wildfire." He
didn't have a fever and I had no idea why he wouldn't awaken.
     "What's wrong with your friend?"
     "He's been sick. He won't wake up."
     "You just got to know how to do it." The youngest lashed out with his boot and caught the shoulder
of the senseless teen. The blow knocked Wildfire over onto his back but his eyelids never flickered.
     "Stop it!" I said moving in front. "Leave us alone . . . take your blanket and go."
     "Go . . . we just got here." The biggest of them advanced. "You have a few questions to answer," he
growled.
     "And if I choose not too?"
     "Then we might be forced to take our anger out on your friend."
     I looked behind me at Wildfire. He slept on, oblivious of the danger. "What do you want to know?"
     "For starters, why are you and pretty boy chained together?"
     "We're Ronin Warriors. Our teacher put us together on this test to make us work together to
survive."
     "Ronin what?!?" the youngest laughed. "Hey Philip, you hear that they think they're warriors."
     "If I had my arm free," I said with a snarl, "then we would see who was the warrior."
     "Why did you take out boat, little warrior?" Philip asked. "Joe, Pa, and I had to swim across that
river to get home."
     "I didn't take any boat. I don't know . . ."
     My words were cut off as I was picked up and slammed into a nearby tree. The father held me up
off the ground. The shackle was pulled taunt and Wildfire's arm was twisted behind his back because of
the need of slack. "Boy, we know it was you and pretty boy. We've tracked you for the last two days.
Don't you go lying to us. Now one more time . . . why did you take the boat?"
     "I didn't take any damn boat!"
     "Hold him, boys," he said tossing me into the waiting arms of his two sons.
     The move had untwisted Wildfire's arm but the chain still cut into our wrists as I was pulled away.
The father knelt down next to the unconscious teen. I tensed as he laid a hand on Wildfire's face. "I'd hate
to see anything happen to his pretty face. Did you take our boat?"
     "Yes."
     The giant grinned and looked down at Wildfire. "And what about him? Is sleeping beauty here a thief
too?"
     "I took your boat, he had nothing to do with it. I forced him to help me."
     The father stood. "Your bravery is impressive, little one." Then he moved behind me as his sons
held my arms in their iron grips. "Remove his shirt," he ordered. They pulled the sweater over my head
leaving my back vulnerable. "Hey, sons, do you know what we do to thieves?"
     "Chop their hands off?" Joe asked with a grin. "I mean, then we could remove the shackle. I bet we
could get a lot of money for that trinket."
     "First things first," the father said. Then the coil of hard leather found my back. I bit back a yell of
shock and before I could recover, the crop found its mark again. I held the pain in check and kept my
quiet until he got tired of wailing on me.
     As soon as he was finished, his sons let go and I fell to my knees. I struggled back to my feet and
carefully pulled my shirt back on. My back was on fire. I glared at the three gloating men. "If you are all
finished with your little games," I said through clenched teeth, "I suggest you leave."
     "We'll leave just as soon as you give us those pretty bracelets."
     I looked down at the shackle. My wrist was raw and bleeding. "Believe me, if I could take them off
you could have them."
     Philip reached out and snagged my wrist. When he did, I reacted on instinct and the next moment
the giant was thrown over my shoulder. I moved a step back to give the chain more slack and braced
myself for the next attack. Joe didn't disappoint me. As he charged, I simply stepped out of the way and
he collided into the tree behind me. He fell to the ground stunned.
     "That's enough. Move one more inch and your friend here will have a third eye." I raised my hands
and turned around slowly. Philip had a barrel of a rifle resting on Wildfire's forehead.
     "Okay, enough fun. If we don't hurry, we won't make it back to the cabin before nightfall." The
father pointed to Wildfire. "Philip, pick up sleeping beauty. We'll work on the shackles back home." Then
he looked over at me and smiled. "Looks like you're going to be with us for some time. Unless of course,
you want to remove that shackle and then we'll let you and your friend go home."
     "I can't. Nobody but our teacher can."
     They dragged us over to three horses tied beside the stream. "Climb up," the father ordered pointing
to the largest beast. I walked over and struggled to get a grip on the saddle-horn. Without the use of my
right hand, I couldn't pull myself up. "Damn runt." A moment later, I was airborne and thrown astride the
horse.
     The sudden movement pulled Wildfire from Philip's arms and his limp body fell down beside the
dancing hooves of the horse. I was dragged from the saddle because of the insufficient slack the shackle
gave us. I landed on top of Wildfire in time to deflect the blow of one of the hooves. As it buried itself in
the middle of my shoulders, I let out a small moan. Both of us were quickly pulled back up.
     "This chain sure is causing you all sorts of problems. Are you sure you don't know how to remove
it?" Philip asked as he swung Wildfire over his shoulder. The ever-present shackle threw me off balance.
     I steadied myself and said, "I can't take them off . . . and you can't either."
     "We'll see about that," the father said swinging up onto the steed I had tried to mount earlier. "Hand
me sleeping beauty first and then you climb on behind me," he instructed. It took a few minutes to figure
out where the shackle should go but we were soon on our way.
     The ride back took most of the day. Even if we could escape our abductors, I knew we would never
make it to the temple before the deadline. Wildfire was blocked from my view for most of the trip by the
broad back of the giant I sat behind. I managed to find one of his hands and held onto it hoping for signs
of life. His pulse was strong but his fingers were limp. Shortly before nightfall we came to a small
homestead. I was dead tired and the wounds on my back ached something awful. I was sort of fading in
and out by the time the horses came to a stop in front of the cabin. I heard the men talking but couldn't
concentrate on what they were saying. As they dragged me down from the horse, the movement caused
wounds to be torn open. I gasped and fell to my knees. Their laughter taunted me as I was dragged to my
feet and into the house. They brought us to the kitchen and the thought of food made my stomach
rumble. The men opened a trap door that led to a cellar.
     "Take him and climb down." I was handed Wildfire. Holding him against my chest, I worked myself
carefully down the stairs. As soon as I hit the bottom, the door was closed and I was surrounded by
impenetrable blackness. I stumbled a few feet into the darkness before falling to my knees. I gently laid
Wildfire down onto the cool dirt floor. Then I stretched out and gave into the weariness that my injuries
had caused.
     Hours later the fog lifted and I felt the chain jingle. A moment later someone's hand circled around
mine and felt for a pulse. "Kento?"
     "Finally," I whispered tightening my fingers around the hand. "I ain't dead yet, Wildfire," I moaned
opening my eyes. Then swore at the darkness that was still too thick to see him. I sat up and shook my
head, my back felt as if it had been ran through a meat grinder.
     "Where are we?"
     "In a cellar," I said and then I went on to tell him what had happened since he had lost
consciousness. I didn't mention the part about the whipping. And when he asked if I was hurt, I lied and
told him it was nothing serious.
     "And I slept through all of this?"
     "Well, that was the weird part. You never once woke up, even on the ride back. I was beginning to
think you had slipped into a coma."
     His next words were filled with hopelessness. "Why . . . why am I so weak?"
     The words I had wanted him to say were finally said and all I wanted him to do was take them back.
"You are not weak. Before you got your armor you were exhausted because you were road weary, then it
was because of the injury I gave you. Wildfire, the power in your armor began to awake . . . and then was
ripped away. Even if you hadn't ended up in the lake, you would have probably fallen ill."
     "Why? What is wrong with me?"
     "Your armor and body need time to become one and that takes a lot of energy on your part and
time. I slept for a week after merging with my armor. You were already out training with us the very next
day, after transforming the first time. You are not weak, Wildfire. You have showed more strength and
power than any of us. But now that your armor has been taken away, I don't know what kind of effect it
is having on you. You were not yet ready for a battle this morning. And having you continue to sleep gave
us an ace in the hole. They think you're really sick and no threat to them." I slowly stood and told Wildfire
to help me search for any way out.
     The cellar was completely empty, which kind of shocked me. "Why do they keep the cellar bare," I
wondered to myself, "do they pick up travelers often?"
     We went back to the stairs and I climbed up first. I braced my shoulder against the door and pushed,
nothing happened. Wildfire moved in behind me and offered his strength alongside, but even together we
had no effect on the stubborn door. As we climb back down, I stumbled and Wildfire reached up to brace
me. I bit back a cry as his hand pushed on my back when he helped me stand.
     "Kento," Wildfire's voice was edged with ice, "exactly what did they do to you while I slept?"
     I thought about ignoring him but then said, "They took what they thought the boat was worth out of
my hide."
     I felt his hand on my back and pulled away. "How bad is it?"
     "Like I said before, nothing I can't handle."
     Before we could continue our dispute, the door above us was thrown open. We raised our hands to
shield the brightness from our light deprived eyes. "I thought I heard you runts scurrying around."
     "Who are you?" Wildfire demanded. "What do you want?"
     The father moved his way down the stairs and as his huge mass filled the small opening Wildfire
stepped back. I quickly moved in front . . . bad move. The light enabled Wildfire to see my back. And by
the language, he used it wasn't pretty. He placed himself between the giant and me.
     I never saw the blow coming and neither did Wildfire. The old man kicked out before he reached the
bottom and his foot caught the side of Wildfire's head. Both of us went down. Wildfire started to stand
but I grabbed his arm and shook my head. "Now is not the time," I whispered, "the other two are
probably close."
     The man laughed and said to Wildfire, "I'd listen to your friend there, if I were you."
     "You can't just keep us here," Wildfire said wiping the blood from his busted lip.
     "Oh, I can't?" He knelt down in front of Wildfire and smiled. "You have an attitude little one, but so
did your friend. We broke him and we'll break you too!"
     I'm not sure what response I expected but it wasn't the hysterical laughter that filled the small cell.
"Great, Wildfire has lost it." His laughter was cut off as the giant reached over and slapped him, hard. I
tightened my hold on his hand as it curled in fury.
     "You're really beginning to tick me off," Wildfire warned.
     "And you really fascinate me, boy." He reached out and grabbed Wildfire's chin. I saw the flash of
fear but it was gone when their eyes met. "Such a pretty face, I'd hate to mess it up."
     I saw it coming. Wildfire's foot lashed out and caught the man in the abdomen. Then when he
doubled over Wildfire brought his leg down. If he had put any more pressure on the blow, he would have
snapped the man's neck in half. Instead he knocked the giant out cold. "Nobody calls me pretty," Wildfire
said with a grin.
     His victory was short lived. A moment later, a rifle barrel was shoved in his face by Philip. "What
did you do to my pa?" he demanded.
     His pa pushed himself off the ground laughing. "See, I told you, Philip. That kid was faking being
sick. Looks like we get to have more fun." He towered over us and looked at Wildfire. "Well pretty face,
why don't you tell me why you stole our boat?"
     Wildfire looked over at me and I gave him the go ahead. "We needed to get across the river . . ."
     "Why didn't you just swim?" Philip asked.
     Wildfire tried to talk his way out but they were done listening. After a few minutes, they told us to
climb the stairs. They wanted to give us an incentive on relinquishing the shackle. We met Joe upstairs in
the kitchen eating a sandwich. My stomach rumbled as he joined us. "Man, I don't think I've ever went
this long without food," I thought as they led us outside.
     We were brought to the middle of the courtyard and our shirts were removed . . . torn from our
bodies. I swore as wounds were reopened. I knew what they planned to do and wasn't sure if I could
handle another go around with the whip.
     My language did not go unnoticed and the youngest laughed. Wildfire came to my defense and was
rewarded with a rifle butt to the head. He fell to his knees and blood ran down behind one ear. It had been
Philip who had hit him but his compensation for doing so was a fist in the chest by his own father. "Now
don't hurt the goods any worse than they are," he commanded pulling Wildfire to his feet.
     "Goods?" I thought. "What in the blazes does he plan to do with us?"
     As he cleaned Wildfire up, he asked what we did for a living. I answered, "We're Ronin Warriors,
we fight."
     "Fight, huh?" A wide grin filled his trollish face. "Hey, I just thought of a way for you to pay off
your debt and make us some money on the side."
     "How?" Wildfire asked pulling away.
     "Why just doing what you say you do . . . fight."
     "Fight what?"
     Joe suggested we fight each other. "Been there, done that," I thought. Then the other son suggested
wild dogs. But the father had another idea and told the boys to put us back in the cellar with some food.
     The food ended up being a loaf of bread and a canteen of water. Without the protection of our
shirts, the cellar was frigid. We broke the loaf in half and each of us ate a meager meal. As we finished up,
I asked Wildfire what the game plan was. "Rest," he said and then groaned. "I wish we had some kind of
light in here."
     The chain shifted as he stretched out across the dirt floor to sleep. I followed the chain back and
gently touched his shoulder as I laid down behind him. He jumped and pulled away. "Hey, even wolves
sleep together for warmth." Wildfire laughed and turned around so I could lie down beside him. Sleep
came quickly for both of us.
     Voices filtered through the dark veil that clouded my mind. I had to force myself awake. When I
was finally able to open my eyes, I noticed three men had joined us and were discussing the upcoming
fight. One of the men was father troll and the other two were strangers. They had Wildfire on his feet but
soon released him and headed up the stairs.
     "Hey," Wildfire called out. "Do you have any blankets we might be able to use?"
     They tossed one down and I walked over to grab it. As I bent down, Wildfire let out a gasp. I turned
around to see what the problem was but the light was cut off from above throwing us back into the
darkness.
     "Kento . . . your back, it's healing itself."
     "What are you saying, Wildfire?"
     "Your back, I saw it before they cut the lights off. It was healing itself . . . somehow. Some of your
cuts are gone. The others looked a few days old."
     "How can that be?" I wondered aloud kneeling down.
     "Turn around," Wildfire instructed. "Let me feel your back, maybe I was seeing things." I did as he
had asked and felt his hands run down the length of my back. "Does it hurt?"
     The question caught me off guard and I appraised my condition. I was suffering from no discomfort
and told him so. "Neither does my shoulder or my head," he informed me.
     I reached out and found his face. I gently traced the cut behind his ear, there was almost nothing left.
"Wildfire, how is this happening?"
     "Come on, think, Kento."
     First I thought of the Ancient, but crossed that idea off. He was good but he almost always made
himself known. The only other logical explanation was our armors. "Our armors can heal us . . . but, we
don't have our armors."
     "Are you sure about that?" Wildfire prompted. "Have you ever tried to call your armor?"
     He still wasn't making any sense. "But even if we could call them, don't we have to wear them to
heal us?"
     "Maybe we were," Wildfire said rattling the chain of the shackle. "Remember you said I was sleeping
so soundly when they found us, you thought I was in a coma? What if I was in a healing trance?"
     I was still having a problem with Wildfire's theory. "Why didn't it do that to you sooner?" I asked. It
ticked me off that Wildfire might have been able to heal himself sooner and I wouldn't had to have gone
through so much trouble.
     "Maybe I was too busy fighting you and myself," he whispered, "that I also fought the armor's
healing power."
     I thought back to his nightmares and knew he was right. However, he had accepted his destiny.
Wildfire was a true Ronin Warrior . . . heart and soul. His hand reached out and grasped my own in the
darkness. "There is only one way to find out if I 'm right . . . DAICHI!" There was a flash of brilliant light
as our armors returned to us.
     "Yes," I cried out. I stretched my arms and noticed I now had mobility. "And my shackle is gone," I
told him. I stood and headed for the stairs.
     "What do you think you're doing?"
     "What does it look like I'm doing?" I asked climbing up.
     "Kento, I can't see a darn thing in here. Stop playing your games. Where are you going?"
     "I'm heading upstairs to teach these guys some manners."
     "I don't think that is such a good idea."
     I stop my ascent and asked why not. "With our armors on, we could really kick some hillbilly butt."
     "Because there has to be over twenty people up there. I don't like the odds."
     "Come on, what are you waiting for . . . backup?" I asked. "If the Ancient was going to help, he
would have been here by now. No, we are on our own."
     "I wasn't thinking of the Ancient," Wildfire said. "Remember what the Ancient said during our
studies that one time . . . about our armors being linked to one another and having the ability to
communicate with each other mentally?"
     "You were awake?" I wondered to myself. I remembered the class but had more than a little doubt
we had such ability. I worked my way back down the stairs and toward Wildfire. "Do you think we can
do it?" My foot found his leg and I collided into him as I fell.
     Wildfire pushed me back with a laugh and, as I sat, said, "Well, there's no better time than now to
try. Why don't we join hands and combine our powers?"
     I reached out and found his hands. I crossed my legs and closed my eyes. "Um, um, um," I hummed
trying to focus.
     "Try to meditate a little quieter," Wildfire scolded. The was no anger in his words.
     "Who do you think we should try first?" I asked.
     "Actually, we should try to connect to each other. If we can't do it here, there is no way we will be
able to reach the others."
     "Okay, let's do it." The room became silent and I really tried to do what had to be done. Just as I
found the calm needed, I felt something brush my cheek. It felt like the breath of a child.
     "Hardrock, can you hear me?" Wildfire whispered.
     "Of course I can," I said with a sigh. "I'm only sitting a foot away from you." It was then that I
realized the voice was coming from inside my head. I opened my eyes and a red glow was coming from
where Wildfire sat. After a few moments, the red glow took the shape of the symbol of 'Jin', or Virtue.
The symbol was burning on his forehead. "Ryo, on your forehead the symbol of Virtue is shining."
     In the crimson light, I saw his eyes open but they were not focused. He closed his eyes and shook
his head. As he lost concentration, the light faded and he let out a moan. "I guess that didn't work out," he
groaned.
     My words of congratulations died in my throat. "Didn't work out?" I almost yelled. "You don't even
know what happened, do you?" The other three Ronin Warriors and I had been trying for weeks to
connect with our armors and the new kid on the block did it first. "You connected with your armor's
soul," I told him. "I'm sure of it. The symbol of Virtue appeared on your forehead and glowed bright red. I
heard your voice in my head. You did it, Wildfire. You can call on your Mystical Armor!"
     Wildfire was unconvinced. "Well, let's just hope I can call on the guys," he said. He found my hands
again and we fell silent. I could feel him taking power from my armor. This time though, I didn't even try
to connect with the others. After a few moments, Wildfire let out a gasp and then fainted. I laid him down
and stretched out beside him. I fell asleep listening to the wild music and stomping feet of the people
above us.
     Wildfire slept all night long and most of the next day. At breakfast when the door opened, I braced
myself for a fight but they didn't even come down. They just tossed a bag into the cellar. It took a few
minutes of searching the ground in the blackness but I found the small sack. Inside were a couple pieces
of fruit and more bread. I ate exactly half of what was in the bag and saved the rest for Wildfire. I did the
same at lunch. A couple hours after lunch, the activity upstairs came to a head. I knew we were running
out of time.
     I had Wildfire's head resting in my lap. I dampened my bandanna from the canteen they had tossed
down with lunch and wiped his face with the cool water. "Come on, Wildfire. Time to wake up." I shook
him gently. "We don't have time for more beauty sleep. They're coming . . . we have to do something."
     There was movement as he shook his head. "I'm blind!" he cried out.
     His shout startled me and it took a second to realize what he had meant. I bit my lip to suppress my
laughter. "No, you're not," I said pushing him up and off my lap. "We're in a cellar . . . remember?"
     "What time is it? How long have I slept?"
     "I think it is late afternoon," I told him. "You have slept all of last night and most of today. That
mental stuff really drained you, I hope you were successful."
     "I don't know for sure," Wildfire admitted standing. "I think I was. What about our friends . . . did
they like our armor?"
     "They haven't seen it yet," I told him as I too stood. "When they tossed breakfast down, we were
hidden in the shadows."
     "Let's see what happens when we take the armor off," Wildfire suggested. "Maybe with our crystals
hidden we can get the jump on them."
     I crossed my arms and removed the armor. The now familiar weight was once again on my wrist.
"Great thinking, Wildfire, no crystal and the damn shackle is back," I grumbled.
     The door opened above us. Joe stuck his ugly head down and growled, "It's show time, warriors."
     I led the way and about halfway up Wildfire whispered, "We removed the shackle before, we will do
it again . . . when it is time. I bet they don't even notice your back."
     I smiled but didn't answer as we were ushered outside. We were led into a mass of people. The
courtyard was filled with men, women, and even children. The mob parted and at the end of the lane was
a pen. As we walked into the enclosure, I felt Wildfire call out telepathically. I looked over to see if he had
gotten an answer but he shook his head no. I let a smile escape and heard Wildfire let out a soft groan.
     "Hey," I thought, "we're going to fight anyway . . . I might as well enjoy myself."
     "Good evening, everybody!" the father troll yelled. As the crowd quieted, the father explained that
we would be fighting an assortment of things. I wasn't sure what he was referring to, but I hoped he or his
sons might get to be our targets. After the introduction, we were led over to a small table where a variety
of weapons laid. I picked up a long lance with a curved blade at one end and twirled it around. Wildfire
picked out a small sword and stepped back.
     "Let's get this game over with," Wildfire told the old man. I looked over at the older teen. His eyes
danced with fury.
     "Alright," the father agreed. Then he yelled out to the crowd, "First round is something simple . . .
just a few of my cousin's dogs." He then climbed up onto the wall and got ready to watch the contest.
     "What . . . you're leaving before the fun starts?" I asked as four doors slid open and let four dogs
into the arena. I placed myself back to back with Wildfire and braced myself. "Time to call on the armors
yet?" I asked as the dogs kept circling.
     "Not yet, we need the others," Wildfire said. "You can pull on the chain all you want, I only need
one arm to fight." Then he yelled out to the crowd, "Oh, this is really fun . . . these puppies are positively
terrifying."
     "And they say I'm the impatient one," I thought with a grin. A shrill whistle commanded the dogs to
attack. I ran the lance through the first one and then rammed the blunt end of the spear into the head of
another one killing it. Wildfire had disposed of the other two. I looked down at the dead animals and said
softly, "Wildfire, I feel bad about killing these dumb beasts."
     "I know, me too," Wildfire said as he readied himself for the next round. "But we probably put them
out of their misery . . . they looked abused."
     "And now send in the hogs," the father commanded.
     Two wild boars came at us from opposite sides. The one that charged me went to the left but then
cut right. I dodged out of the way on instinct but the move left Wildfire's back unguarded. The tusk of the
boar tore into the oblivious teen's side. He dropped to his knees with a scream.
     "Ryo!" I screamed launching my spear. It planted its blade into the head of the angry beast. Even
before it fell, I was at Wildfire's side. Blood gushed out of the wound and onto his jeans. I pressed my
hand against the wound and watched as blood seeped between my fingers. "I'm sorry, Ryo," I said pulling
him to his feet. "I let the pig get pass me. Backup or no backup, we've got to put on our armor. It will stop
the bleeding."
     Wildfire nodded his head. With his free hand, he grabbed my own and together we called the armors
to us. As soon as the protective covering returned to us, Wildfire pulled away and stood tall. The crowd
gasped and pulled away from the fence.
     "What the . . . your shackles . . ." Philip stuttered.
     "I told you," I growled advancing. I was finally going to be able to kick his butt. "We're Ronin
Warriors on a quest to save the world."
     "Game over," Wildfire said heading for the wall.
     "Not so fast, Ronin Warriors."
     I turned around to watch an armored-covered gladiator drop down into the arena. "What . . . I
thought only we got to wear the cool looking armor," I said to myself as the samurai advanced. In his right
hand was a lance identical to the one I was using. "Alright, this game just went into sudden death
overtime."
     "Who are you?" Wildfire demanded picking up his sword.
     "The Dynasty sends its regards." The soldier lunged but Wildfire deflected the blow with his blade
and rolled out of harm's way.
     The Dynasty! The gates must have already opened. I watched as all the spectators ran away,
including our abductors. "I will see you again," I promised and then turned my attention to the man in the
arena. "Well, looks like we get to have a real fight," I told Wildfire as I collected my weapon and charged.
I underestimated the speed of my foe and soon found myself airborne as the samurai's lance caught me in
the side.
     As I shook my head to clear it, I noticed Wildfire's attention was on me and not our opponent. The
soldier came up behind the distracted teen and brought his lance down long ways across Wildfire's throat,
choking him.
     "Let him go, buckethead!" I warned attacking. The Dynasty soldier flipped Wildfire around so the
blade of my weapon struck my friend in the chest. "No . . . Ryo!"
     A roar came from the far side of the fence and the next second, Wildfire was knocked from the
grasp of the evil one by White Blaze as he joined us in the ring. I quickly moved in front of the stunned
Ronin and waited for the soldier to make his next move. The tiger was thrown to the side and the samurai
let out a shrill whistle. Beside the unearthly warrior, two more soldiers appeared.
     "Oh man, the stakes just went up," I said backing up a step.
     An arrow appeared from nowhere and found the eye of one of the Dynasty's soldiers. The creature
dropped to its knees with a howl and the air was filled with a rank smelling smoke. The armor fell to the
ground empty. I expected that but Wildfire didn't and he let out a gasp. "What are they . . . they're not
human," he stuttered.
     "They're spirits trapped by the Dynasty and forced to do its bidding." I looked up at the blue
armored-covered teen who had spoken. He was balanced on top of the fence with another arrow already
locked into place.
     "Alright!" I shouted, "the cavalry has arrived. Great shot, Rowen."
     "Do you mind if we join the fight?" Sage asked as he and Sai joined us in the ring.
     The battle was on. From the corner of my eye, I watched Sage telling Wildfire to sit this one out. I
groaned softly, Wildfire could hold his own if these guys would give him a chance. I watched the teen in
red go down but then lost him as I dodged the blow from one of the demon soldiers.
     The fight went nowhere. They hit us we hit them . . . no one seemed to be getting the upper hand.
We were starting to tire though. Then something spectacular happened.
     "ARMOR OF THE WILDFIRE . . . DAICHI!!!" I turned around and in a blinding flash, Ryo
stepped forward dressed in his full armor. He withdrew his twin blades and advanced.
     "Ryo!" I cried. "You did it!"
     His eyes met mine and he smiled. "It's time I sent you guys back to where you came from," he told
the demons. The fight was quick and one sided. When the fog cleared, Ryo stood alone with his swords
buried into the backs of the remaining soldiers.
     "Alright, Ryo smoked them!" I cheered.
     "Great job, Ryo." The compliment from Rowen fell on deaf ears as Wildfire pulled his swords from
the empty armors.
     Ryo's attack came unprovoked as he let his blades fly and they buried themselves on either side of
Sage's head. As Wildfire turned toward the emerald teen, I could see the anger that burned in his eyes. He
was ticked.
     Sage stood his ground as the angry teen approached. "I was told that I am the leader of this group.
Why is it then that every time I turn around I'm being pampered and protected like I'm . . . I'm a fragile
china doll?" His fist slammed into the wall cracking the planks of wood but Sage still just stood there and
watched. I knew what Wildfire needed was a release from his fury. I walked toward him as he lifted Sage
off the ground.
     "That's enough, Ryo," Rowen commanded stepping forward. He reached out and touched Ryo's
shoulder. "Armor down, Ryo, before you hurt someone and we'll talk."
     Wildfire tossed Sage into Rowen and both fell to the ground at my feet. "And I'm sick of being told
what to do!" he screamed. I stepped back and watched him remove his swords from the wall. Then
leaping over the fence, he disappeared into the woods.
     "We've got to go after him!" Rowen said picking himself up.
     I put a hand on his shoulder stopping him. "I saw his eyes, Rowen. Believe me when I say you don't
want to come between him and his anger right now. Let him blow off some steam . . . he might hurt you
now, even though he wouldn't mean to."
     "Alright but let's not let him get too big of a head start," Rowen said clearing the wall in one jump.
"This is an awful big forest and we don't have time to play hide-and-seek."
     "But why not, that's my most favorite game," I said following him into the woods.