Blaze continued to run the down the long narrowing hallway, getting closer and closer to his destination. White Blaze ran behind him wondering where they were going exactly but figured it was to one of Flash’s human friends. The whole stench of this place disgusted him and he wanted nothing more than to be back home, dozing in front of the fire, or just playing with Ryo or Yulie.

The two animals continued on through the hallway. Blaze could tell they were getting closer as the crystal guided him along. It was mostly glowing sky blue, but a tiny corner of it was glowing orange-black.

White Blaze had no idea why only one part of it would be glowing a different color than the rest, but he was sure he would soon find out as they continued to run. Suddenly both animals could sense the presence of evil, and their ears told them that danger was nearby. They could hear the heavy footsteps from somewhere up the hall, and both animals crouched, baring their fangs, ready to attack and defend themselves and one another. Blaze could already tell these were soldierknights from the smell of them. Soldierknights were possessed by Tophetian spirits, who were once living warriors that had conquered and destroyed many. They had been fearsome fighters known to kill the innocent and their own, using both weapons and sometimes even magic to destroy. How Tutock ever gained control of these horrid spirits would never be known.

How far are they from us? White Blaze asked.

Blaze made no reply and that worried the tiger.

Flash continued on down the hall, keeping herself focused and prepared. She knew she was nearing one of her friends, and it was all she could take to keep from running right to them.

She had to keep herself from doing that. If she was not careful she could run into a trap. She continued on, feeling desperate as she felt awful for not going full force. How much did her friends have to suffer while she was forced to walk carefully? This disturbed her greatly and even caused a heaviness in her heart.

Suddenly she felt something ahead, and looked forward. At least twelve soldier knights were charging for her, swords, spears, axes, and all kinds of weapons pointed outward toward her as they prepared to knock her out, or even kill her. She watched as they came closer and closer, calling out their war cries as they charged. Instantly her power went into action. The heat rose up to several degrees, in fact to about 150 degrees, her hair blew behind her as the power and energy crackled around her, her symbol, that flame appeared glowing brightly in her forehead as the heat continued to build and build.

The soldierknights continued to charge though, almost sure of themselves that they would indeed kill the young girl who had caused their master so much trouble before. And then suddenly just when they were ten feet away from her, there was a bright searing explosion of flames that erupted from them, destroying them. The pieces of the destroyed armors flew in all directions, even coming toward Flash. One piece struck her arm, but she did not feel it as her power protected her. In a sense it more or less bounced off her.

The soldierknights were destroyed, and her power deactivated, returning her to normal. She continued onward.

Rowen’s heart was pounding as he could hear the girl moaning in agony. His eyes lifted upward and beheld the green jewel within the dragon’s forehead. He remembered Flash saying that once the jewel had been destroyed, the prisoner inside it would be free. He was beginning to think these Warriors may have been captured more than just this one time, but right now there was no time to think about that. He signaled an arrow and cocked it on the string of his bow, aiming it right for the jewel. He pulled the string back just enough, focusing as he suddenly released the string, allowing the arrow to fly directly toward the jewel. But to his dismay it bounced off! He frowned deeply. He was afraid of using his surekill as it was pretty powerful and might cause more harm than damage, but now, he realized he may not even have a choice. He grabbed another arrow and cocked it on the string of his bow again. This time summoning up his power, drawing more energy. He could hear the girl groaning above him, and that worried him even more. He suddenly cried out. “Arrow Shock Wave!”

The surekill traveled upward, heading right for the jewel. It struck head on. There was a bright explosion of green, and then suddenly the chains holding their prisoner snapped away. Rowen’s eyes widened as the girl tumbled head first out of the mouth of the dragon, falling toward the floor at exceedingly fast rate.

Oh no! he thought as he raced forward, hoping he would catch her in time. The impact that she would hit the floor with would no doubt severally injure her as she was falling thirty feet. With a grunt he dove forward, catching her in his arms, and falling himself. He hit the floor in a dazed manner, then quickly shook out of it as he bent his head to check her. She was alive, but unconscious. He struggled to his feet, staring tenderly at the girl with short black hair in his arms. “Poor girl… to suffer like that. I have to get you out of here. I hope Sage is nearby. He can help you.” And with that Rowen turned and left the cell, carrying the girl with him.

White Blaze frowned as he could hear the soldierknights getting closer and closer. Blaze still hadn’t told him if he had any plan, and far as the tiger was concerned it was either attack and destroy or be destroyed. His eyes narrowed and he snarled as the soldierknights came into view. They saw the two animals, and recognized Blaze immediately. If the tiger was with Blaze, then he must be killed as well. They charged. White Blaze prepared to attack as he crouched down.

Wait. Came Blaze’s voice from beside him.

White Blaze was a little irritated at this. Wait? Are you mad? If we just stand here, they’ll surely kill us with those weapons of theirs! I surely do not wish to die for a second time!

White Blaze grunted, but he paused, reflecting on what Blaze had just called him. Friend. No other animal had called him friend before. Only humans. It touched his heart, making him feel warm inside. And so he waited.

The soldierknights were getting closer and closer to them. At any moment they would crush these two animals with their bare hands or weapons. And then just when they were in five feet of the two animals, the crystal around Blaze’s neck suddenly flared to life as it glowed a bright sky blue, growing brighter and brighter until it was almost white and so dazzling White Blaze had to shield his eyes. The light from the crystal quickly surrounded the soldierknights, enveloping them. Their screams were heard and the tiger knew these screams were coming from the spirits inside these walking tincans as the light destroyed them. A few minutes later the light faded, and the crystal was again the normal color with the exception of that one small corner glowing an orange-black color.

White Blaze opened his eyes and looked around. He saw no evidence of any soldierknights anywhere. Before he could ask what had happened, the wolf was rapidly running down the hall again. And White Blaze followed.

Ryo sighed as he, Sage, Kento, Scorpio, Thunder, and Chilie continued on. They had been walking down a particularly long hallway, and it never seemed to end. Already he was worried about Flash, worried about Rowen and Cye, worried about the remaining Warriors who had yet to be found, and even worried about Blaze and White Blaze. “Man, how long is this hallway?” he asked.

“About a mile unfortunately,” Scorpio replied in his soft Scandinavian accent.

Ryo nearly flipped. “A mile?!”

Sage frowned. “You guys have been here before.. haven’t you?”

The three Warriors were silent, but Thunder was the most silent. He kept his head turned away and started to walk a little faster.

Kento looked at the other two Warriors with concern. “What’s the matter with him?”

They both frowned deeply as they knew exactly what was the matter with him. Chilie looked up at the three curious rescuers and spoke sadly. “Yes, we have been here before. But Thunder has been here more than the rest of us.”

Ryo, Sage, and Kento could hardly believe it, but as they looked into her and Scorpio’s eyes they knew it was the truth. Ryo looked toward Thunder, grimacing in sympathy as he asked softly, “Why?”

“Because, Tutock wants him as his slave. Thunder has the ability to heal any wound whether self-inflicted, accident-inflicted, or inflicted purposely through any type of fighting or magic on any human or animal. He can even heal himself. And he can bring those who have been killed by violence, whether self-inflicted or caused by another, back to life fully, and it would be as if that person or animal had never died to begin with. And no matter how hard anyone tries he can’t be killed. You can stab him in his heart one hundred times, or even shoot him several times in the head, and he still wouldn’t die. You could even blast him with all the power and surekill in the universe, and it wouldn’t make a difference. He would still live.”

The three Ronins had detected anger in Scorpio’s voice when he mentioned about Tutock wanting Thunder as a slave. This also angered them as well as sickened them. What a bastard, Ryo thought of Tutock as his eyes were narrowed in anger.

Sage frowned as they continued on. He had a feeling deep inside him that Thunder had suffered more than anyone was letting on. He also had a feeling that something terrible was yet to come.

Thunder himself must have sensed it as well. The Warrior had stopped walking and had suddenly become stiff, his eyes darting back and forth, his nodatchi held tightly in his right hand.

Ryo and Kento noticed that Chilie and Scorpio were also suddenly on their guard, and that concerned them. Even Sage seemed to be prepared to defend himself. And so they also stood in a ready fighting position.

They stood quietly, waiting, listening. No sounds were heard, other than the tense breathing they all had. By now all three Warriors had a symbol glowing in their foreheads. Thunder had a lightning bolt shining brightly in his forehead, Scorpio had water droplets glowing in his forehead, and Chilie had a heart flashing in her forehead. The Ronins did not really know what these symbols stood for, but they did know it meant one thing. Danger was nearby.

The six teenagers in mystical armor continued to stand on their guard, waiting, listening, knowing that at any time whatever evil was coming would soon be upon them. Kento was getting irritated and was wishing that whoever was coming after them would just show up so he could fight and defend his friends.

Ryo’s eyes were narrowed and he gripped his blades tightly in his hands. His breathing was quiet, but on edge as he waited. No way was he going to let anyone harm Flash’s friends. They had already suffered enough.

Sage was calm and ready for any attack coming up against them. He could feel the presence of evil coming closer and closer and his eyes flashed with anger as he remembered how much these Warriors had suffered. He knew how they felt, to be a prisoner to your enemy, to suffer mercilessly while believing you could die at any time without ever seeing your friends again.

“Where are they?” Kento muttered impatiently.

“Keep a grip, Kento,” Ryo ordered. “They could be anywhere.”

Kento let out a heavy impatient sigh as he gripped his weapon. “I just want some action, and justice.”

“Oh, you’ll receive action alright, boy. Justice, I think not!”

The six teenagers stood back to back, each facing outward. Thunder, Chilie, and Scorpio all recognized that voice, but the three Ronins did not. Before a move could be made, something knocked Kento down, separating the six of them. Kento landed hard on the floor and grunted as he quickly climbed back to his feet. “Okay, whoever knocked me down is going to get it!” he cried.

“I’m sorry,” came a mocking voice. “Did I hurt you, fat boy?”

“Hey!” Kento shouted indignantly.

“Kento’s not fat,” Ryo said as he gripped his swords tightly. “He’s just big boned.”

“Sheesh!” Kento said. “Everyone is insulting me!”

“Actually, that would be considered a compliment, Kento,” Sage said.

“Uh?” Kento’s face took on a blank look.

Sage did not answer as his eyes were darting back and forth. They could not see their attackers, but he was sensing they were there, surrounding them. He glanced toward his left and saw that Thunder was staring stiffly before him, the Warrior’s eyes were narrowed with a calm anger that frightened even him.

“Hey, why don’t you stop hiding yourselves!” Scorpio shouted.

Another blow came quick and fast, knocking Scorpio backward and right into the wall. The Warrior was stunned as he slumped down.

“Scorpio!” Thunder cried out. He leapt into the air and somersaulted in the air to get to his friend. He never got that chance. Something struck him full force, knocking him backward and right into Chilie.

Sage’s eyes widened seeing the young girl fall to the floor. He was very worried that Thunder might have accidentally crushed her as tall as he was. Chilie wasn’t exactly big, in fact she was very thin.

Thunder quickly got off Chilie, and turned to her. The poor girl had been knocked out by him and it angered him. Whoever had thrown him was going to pay. He started glowing a bright red color and his symbol flashed more brightly on his forehead as he laid his hands on his unconscious friend.

Sage sensed something sneaking up behind the Warrior and he swung out, protecting him. There was a grunt of surprise and a swoosh!

“Very good, Twin of Storm!” came a surprised voice.

Sage’s eyes narrowed angrily. “We’re not related, but that doesn’t give you the right to harm him or anyone else for that matter!”

The voice chuckled mockingly as if it didn’t agree. “Oh that is where you are wrong, boy. “I do have the right to harm them. If they would not get in Emperor Tutock’s way, we would not even bother with them. And Storm would come to no harm if he would just cooperate.”

Ryo looked toward Thunder and Chilie. By now he had completely healed the girl, and she was standing as if nothing had even happened. All three Warriors were once again back to back, facing outwards.

“Why don’t you stop hiding, you cowards!” Thunder shouted. The Ronins grimaced a bit, their ears ringing. Thunder had a loud voice when it came to shouting they realized. But then they also realized that he had said cowards. Not coward. So there was more than one here.

“We know there’s more than one of you!” Ryo shouted, his voice carrying through the hall.

“Yes,” came another voice, more deep than the first. “But how many can you guess!”

Kento clutched his weapon tightly, his breathing deepened as his eyes darted back and forth as he tried to see where their enemies were. It was hopeless.

“There’s five of you,” Thunder replied, his eyes narrowed and staring straight ahead.

“Very good, Storm,” came another voice. “But are you sure you are not being deceived? Perhaps there are more than just five of us.”

The six warriors kept on their guard, knowing that at any time one of them could be struck fast and hard. Never before had the Ronins been through this type of battle, just waiting and watching, being all tensed while waiting to see if you would be struck at any time.

“Thunder is right,” Sage said. “There are only five of you.”

“And there’s more of us,” Kento said.

“You can’t expect to beat the six of us, either!” Ryo said.

“Are you so sure of yourselves?” came another voice. It was hard to tell where the voices were coming from as they seemed to be all around them.

“Give us a break,” Chilie retorted. “We Warriors defeated you the last time. We can do it again, and again, and again.”

There was mocking laughter and the tension in the air rose. The Warriors and the Ronins tightened their weapons more firmly as they stood back to back again, eyes darting here and there. And all of them knew, they were in for the fight of their lives.

Cye continued to walk down the long narrow hallway. He was nervous and tense and just expecting anything to come out and attack him. His yari was held tightly in his hands as he kept moving forward, his ears and eyes listening and looking for any sounds or sights of danger. A shadow moved behind the corner up ahead and he froze, his heart pounding. What was that? he wondered. An enemy of Flash’s? Perhaps one of the Warriors who may have escaped? Flash herself? Cye didn’t know, and for once he was confused, and a bit frightened. But he had to do this. He made a promise with his fellow Ronins that he would help her rescue her friends, and no matter what happened to him, he was going to keep that promise. So he continued onward, searching, hoping he would find one of the Warriors soon.

Eventually he came to a barricaded door and stared at it for the longest time. Could this be a door to a cell? he wondered anxiously. He had no idea, but he did know the only way he was going to know is if he went in.

Cye gritted his teeth and stepped forward, reaching hesitantly toward the door knob. He was rather nervous about opening it, for it could very well either electrocute him, throw him into some unknown vortex, or even be just another hallway, or even a flight of stairs. On top of all of these he was hoping he would find one of the Warriors here. He touched the knob, grimacing as his eyes closed tightly as he waited for the unexpected. Nothing happened. He drew in his breath and was releasing it as he turned the knob and pulled it open. His sigh stopped mid-way, and he about choked on it. Standing before him was at least thirty soldierknights all staring coldly at him.

Cye slammed the door shut very quickly and leaned against it, but his efforts to keep them locked in that room proved futile. The soldierknights charged the door down, and Cye flipped into the air, turned, and landed, facing them as he was surrounded.

They attacked as one. Cye spun in the air, weaving his Yari expertly, slashing and dashing against them. He gutted two, flipped another over his shoulder, kicked one behind him, elbowed another, then gave it a quick kick in the chin, sending it crashing into a wall.

But more came upon him. He received a vicious blow to his stomach, and a kick in the face. He flew back, hitting his back against the cold, stone wall. Already he could feel a few cracks in his armor, and he bit his lip. Oh no, he wasn’t going to give up. Time to give something these bloody losers would all regret.

He pushed himself off the wall, and focused his weapon on them, drawing energy into it as he prepared his attack. The soldierknights charged at him, yelling their death cries; their weapons raised high. “SUPER WAVE SMASHER!!”

The attack struck full force and the soldierknights flew back, breaking apart. Cye did not wait around as those Tophetian spirits rose up from the destroyed armor. He ran for it.

Rowen heard a soft moan, then looked down to see the young girl was coming to. He quickly looked around to see if any enemy was lurking nearby, but saw none of the sort. He gently laid the girl down and supported her as she opened her eyes. “Hey, are you okay?” he asked worriedly.

“Ow, my head,” she groaned as she placed one hand on her head, grimacing in pain. She paused for a moment, the looked up at Rowen with dark brown eyes, a weak but questioning look on her face. “Who are you?”

Rowen could tell she was from Russia just from the accent. But that didn’t matter now. He had to get her back to her friends and hopefully Sage would heal her. “My name’s Rowen,” he replied gently as he helped her up. “I’m a friend of your friend Flash.”

“Flash? Where is she?” the girl asked, looking around cautiously.

“I haven’t the slightest idea,” Rowen admitted truthfully. “We all split up to find you guys quicker.”

The girl was about to reply, then suddenly narrowed her eyes.

“What?” Rowen asked with a frown. “What is it?”

“Shh!” the girl ordered, as she continued to listen to something.

Rowen became silent, listening as well. Gradually he could hear footsteps, and they were getting closer and closer toward them. The girl instantly stood on guard-ready, holding her two large boomerangs in her hands. Rowen cocked an arrow, waiting as well. Who knew what or who was approaching.

The battle was vicious, and unlike anything Ryo, Sage, or Kento had ever felt before. They could now see the owners of the voices, and so far, this battle was not going well. Already Kento had been seeing illusions caused by the one Scorpio had called Karma. In a way Kento was reminded of Dais, but Karma proved to be trickier, even sneakier, and a whole lot faster.

“Hey, come on you jerk! Stop hiding behind your illusions!” Kento yelled.

“To you they may be illusions, but they are very real,” the voice replied mockingly. “What is real and what is not real? Who knows? But soon all things that don’t exist now will exist, such as your friends betraying you!”

Kento was shocked, his eyes wide, and his mouth hanging open. “WHAT?!”

Ryo was fighting viciously against the one Chilie called Claw. His swords swung back and forth, connecting with his weapon each time. He was forced to back up as the Guardian kept attacking him sadistically. “Don’t believe him, Kento! It’s all a lie!”

Kento seemed unsure as Karma smirked viciously.

“Kento, don’t believe him!” Sage said as he swung his no-datchi back and forth, clanging it against Suicide’s weapon. “Remember, Dais tried to pull that on you!”

Kento’s eyes narrowed as he remembered and a sudden rush of anger coursed through his veins. He begin to twirl his bo in high arcs around his head, being careful not to strike his friends down. His eyes gleamed angrily as he called his surekill. “Iron Rock Crusher!” The attack went full force, shaking the entire floor area and creating a large size hole in the floor. Kento smirked. He’d like to see any evil jerk get out of that.

“Kento, look out!” Thunder suddenly cried. Kento looked up, only in time to feel someone slam into him, knocking him back several feet.. He and whoever had knocked him down landed on the floor a bit hard. He gritted his teeth, then his eyes narrowed angrily.

“Kento…”

Kento stopped, realizing that Thunder had saved him from having his head cut off by a large blade. Thunder immediately jumped to his feet and began to attack full force, using his no-datchi with one hand, using his other fist to punch, and his legs to kick. Nearby Chilie and Scorpio were teamed up against Surge, and were fighting him the best they could, while dodging his attacks. It wasn’t easy. In fact none of them were having an unproblematic time. To the Ronins taking on these Guardians was like fighting two Warlords at the same time.

Sage suddenly yelped as he was thrown hard against the wall. Suicide kicked him in the stomach, denting his armor, causing him to groan in pain. He slowly slumped over.

“Sage!” Scorpio cried as he leapt over Surge. He raised his spearstaff, prepared to beat Suicide over the head with it. Suicide ducked, then swung his leg up and sideways, kicking Scorpio into the opposite wall. The boy hit the wall hard and was pretty much dazed. Suicide did not bother with him. He turned to Sage and grabbed him by the horn of his helmet, turning him so that he was facing the wall. With one quick move, he slammed the boy’s face hard against the wall, sending him into that oblivion known as unconsciousness.

“SAGE!!” Ryo cried as he tried to get past Claw to help his friend. It was no use. Claw would prevent his every move, forcing him to fight. He had no choice but to clash back.

Suicide left Sage there and attacked Scorpio viciously, not giving the boy a chance to regain his strength.

“SAGE!!” Chilie cried with concern and worry in her voice. No matter hard she tried, Surge continued to attack brutally, giving the girl no chance to run to Storm’s look-alike.

Karma in the meantime had suddenly called up at least one hundred soldierknights. And Ryo, Kento, Chilie, Thunder, and Scorpio knew the odds were against them and not looking good.

Ryo suddenly called for a drastic measure. He brought his swords together and leapt high into the air, drawing power and heat from the blades. “FLARE UP NOW!!” he cried. The attack went out and obliterated several of the soldierknights.

Scorpio felt weakened from the heat, but it wasn’t enough to keep him down, much to the Guardians dismay. He placed his own weapon sideways before him, chest level and began to spin it around and around like a pinwheel. The weapon glowed bright yellow and his symbol: waterdroplets: appeared glowing brightly in his forehead. “WATER TORRENT POWER!!” A fierce tsunami-like sprout of water erupted from his weapon and struck against more soldierknights sending them crashing to the floor in pieces.

Chilie crossed her slingshot daggers over one another across her chest as they too began to glow bright purple. Her symbol, the heart flashed brightly in her forehead as she called her attack. “LOVE SURRENDER!!”

Instantly three large wild animals, a boar, a jaguar, and a bear appeared, attacking the soldierknights violently, as she in turn began to use the sling part of her daggers to attack more.

Thunder was now battling both Suicide and Sin, and was literally trying to keep it altogether. Every time he would go to call his surekill, one of them would stop him, causing him to back up each time with every strike.

They’re doing this on purpose.. but for what reason? he wondered silently as he continued to parry and block each blow. Something’s not right here. I’ve got a bad feeling.

Karma smirked as more soldierknights came and attacked. The Warriors and their new comrades were battling the best they could, but their best would soon prove useless. With a flying twist and a vicious kick to the head, Kento was knocked head first into the wall. It didn’t knock him out, but he was pretty disorientated.

Karma nodded to Claw, and Claw smirked, as he brought out strange looking black disks from his armor’s belt. He cast them forward.

Ryo was still fighting, cutting down soldierknights, and kicking others into the wall. He punched one right into Scorpio’s blade end of his staff, then ducked to avoid the weapon of another as it nipped his helmet. He straightened up and elbowed that soldierknight into the wall. He did not see the disks coming straight at him until it was too late. He felt something extremely tight grab onto his arms clamping them tightly down at his sides. Then his legs felt pretty much the same way. He felt paralyzed all over except for his neck and his head. He fell forward, crashing to the floor with a grunt. Then he just laid there, completely motionless, feeling as if his energy were being sucked right out of him, leaving him immobilized and helpless.

“RYO!!” Scorpio and Chilie yelled. Both tried to get to him, but the attacks of the soldierknights were preventing them. Surekill after surekill was called, but more soldierknights took the places of the last ones.

Karma smirked and walked to Ryo and seized the bound boy by one of the horns on his helmet. Claw had Sage over his shoulder, and Sin and Suicide were still battling against Thunder. Karma suddenly vanished into thin air, taking Ryo with him. Claw followed suit, and Sage was gone as well. At the same time Suicide knocked Thunder’s no-datchi out of his hand, and Sin kicked him hard in the face, sending great pain through him as it felt as if his face had been cut up by glass. He cried out loudly, slumping forward. Suicide quickly yanked his hands behind his back, chaining them tightly before the Warrior could shake off the pain and fight back as Sin made sure the others were kept busy. In a matter of minutes they too had disappeared, leaving two exhausted Warriors battling for their lives, and for the life of one very dazed Kento of Hardrock.