Sage, Sai, Kento, Rowen, and Ryo sat around the round wooden table in front of the fire. Each person held five cards in their hands, positioning the cards and exchanging them with ones in the pile. Ryo laid down his hand.

      "I have a full house," he said.

      "Sorry, Ryo, but I have two pairs," said Kento happily.

      "That doesn't beat a full house, Kento," said Rowen.

      "Drat," said Kento.

      "Anyway, I have a large straight," said Sai.

      "Too bad, I have four of a kind," said Rowen, revealing his hand. Sage sighed and opened his cards in his hand.

      "I feel so sad," he said, hiding his cards.

      "Why?" asked Rowen.

      "Because you worked so hard for nothing, Rowen. Five of a kind!" shouted Sage, slapping his cards on the table. Rowen groaned. Sage grabbed the pile of M &M's, sliding them into his giant bag so Kento wouldn't eat any.

      Ryo collected the cards and dealt out five more. Everyone placed their bets.

            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Rose, Selene, Lita, Amy and I sat in my room doing various things. I was staring out the window at the storm and playing with my locket, Amy was reading a book, Lita and Selene were talking, and Rose was trying to bring everyone together to talk about something.

     "Okay, let me think. Ah, I got it. Hey Selene, I thought you acted a little sweet to Sai at lunch today," said Rose, sitting on the floor. Selene turned to face her, Selene's face going red.

      "Oh yeah? So what? You looked like you were having fun with Kento at lunch," said Selene with a smile. Rose was about to pounce on Selene, when Amy said,

     "Stop fighting. It is very possible for Selene to like Sai and for Rose to like Kento. You guys all like the same things."

      "No, really? Besides, you and Rowen make a cute match," said Lita, joining in the conversation. Amy put her book down and said,

     "Oh. And you and Ryo look so sweet together. Isn't that right, Crystal?"

      "Yeah, Amy. Lita, we might as well become sisters-in-law. Weird, huh?" I said.

      "Hey, I just realized something," said Lita.

      "What?" we all asked her.

     "Well, we all like one of the guys, and if we were to date, the only available people would be Crystal and Sage," said Lita matter-of-factly.

      "So, according to your theory, Crystal likes Sage," said Amy. Everyone looked at me. I felt my face grow red and I said hastily and nervously,

      "I don't like him. Why would you say that?"

      "I dunno. Maybe how you are always picking on him," said Rose.

     "Well, it's his fault. Come on, he flirts continuously. I feel sorry for any girl that dates him. They must know that they are not special to him, only another conquest. If I was looking for a guy, he'd have to think that I was special, that I was meant to be with him, not just a number or a name on a list of girls that he'd dated," I said in an angry tone.

      "Okay, calm down. We understand," said Selene, trying to break up any fight that could happen.

      "I'm glad to see you are awake," said a voice from behind us. We turned and gasped as a girl in sub armor appeared. Her blue eyes sparkled and her long blue-black hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

     "Who are you?" we asked her simultaneously.

      "I am your guide, Lady Kayura, and I will help you understand your armors," she said.

      "How do you know about our armors?" I asked getting into a fighting stance.

      "Because I was there when you first used them and saw you fight. You do know who you are right?"

      "Not really," said Amy.

     "You are the Sister Ronins. The reason is because all of your armors are complementary to the Ronins. Except for yours, Crystal," Kayura said, pointing a finger at me.

      "Why?" I asked.

      "It's a long story," said Kayura as she began her tale.

               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      "Let's call it a night, guys," said Ryo as he packed up the cards.

      "Okay," said Kento, stifling a yawn.

     "Don't start snoring until you get to bed, Kento," said Sai in a teasing voice.

      "I don't snore!" yelled Kento.

      "Will you keep it down! It's past one o'clock! The girls are probably asleep!" whispered Rowen.

     "Sorry," said Kento.

      "Quiet, I felt something," said Sage, who closed his eyes.

     "Is it the dynasty?" whispered Ryo nervously.

      "No, it feels like . . . no, it can't be," said Sage as he opened his eyes quickly.

     "Who is it? Is it Talpa?" asked Sai who glanced at the stairs to make sure no one heard them.

      "No, it's . . ." started Sage before he was cut off by Ryo, who said,

     "Anubis?" Everyone looked where Ryo was staring. In his sub armor, sat Anubis, on a vacant chair.

     "Surprised to see me?" he asked.

     "Yes," said Kento, stating the obvious.

     "Is there trouble?" asked Sage.

     "Yes, the warlords, Kayura, and I came back to warn you of a new evil. Her name is Stigma and she is a collector of armor," said Anubis.

     "That isn't so bad. Why should we worry?" said Ryo.

     "Because, to live, she drains the energy out of people, killing them. And she finds new wearers of the armors she collects and turns them evil. The armor she has with her is called the armor of the Amazon. It is worn by a female, and it makes her incredibly strong. But she doesn't own the other two in the set, the armor of the Arctic, or the armor of the Abyss. Kayura wears the latter and the other is worn by someone in your school. I don't know what side the Arctic will be on, so be wary of him or her."

     "Wow," said Sage and Rowen together.

     "Is there anything else?" asked Kento. Everyone looked at him in shock, and then looked at Anubis.

     "Yes, there is. There are five new allies that you'll meet soon, called the Sister Ronins. They are called this because their armors are complementary to yours. Except your armor, Sage. It doesn't have a complementary armor," said Anubis.

     "Why?" asked Sage with concern.

      "It's a long story. Oh, before I forget. Do not tell them of your identities yet. I will tell you when it is time to reveal it to them," said Anubis before continuing with his story.

                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     "That's it," said Kayura, who was now seated on my bed. We all sat there in thought. I broke the silence.

     "Thanks for the extra info, Kayura. But can we tell them who we are?"

     "No, not until I tell you to, because it would be dangerous to reveal your identities to them now," said Kayura. A shrill neigh and a loud roar sounded above the thunder without warning.

     "Starlight's in trouble, let's go!" I said, jumping to my feet and appearing in my sub armor. The others did the same.

     "Wait, go fully armored, visors down," said Kayura.

     "Yes, ma'am," we said. We got into transforming position.

      "Armor of the Comet!"

      "Armor of Volcano!"

      "Armor of Tidal Force!"

      "Armor of the Cavern!"

     "Armor of Psyche, Tao Chi!" Soon, we were in our armor. Our visors slid down over our faces and only our eyes showed. I opened my window and we slipped outside.

      "Here goes nothing. Armor of the Abyss, Tao Chi!" said Kayura as soon as we left.

                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      "White Blaze is in trouble!" yelled Ryo, jumping up and getting into his sub armor. Anubis grabbed his hand.

      "Remember my words, Ryo," said Anubis.

      "You got it, Guys?" said Ryo to the others who were in their sub armor.

     "Ready," they said in return.

      "Armor of Halo, Tao Chi!"

      "Armor of Strata, Tao Inochi!"

     "Armor of Torrent, Tao Shin!"

      "Armor of Hardrock, Tao Gi!"

     "Armor of Wildfire, Tao Jin!" After a blast of cherry blossoms and having their visors drop, they ran out the door.

      "Be brave. Armor of Cruelty, Tao Chu!" shouted Anubis. His armor appeared around him. His helmet disappeared and he ran after them.

               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     We ran over to the barn and gasped at what we saw. Starlight was in her purple armor and her horn was glowing like she was about to strike at something. White Blaze was in some type of armor and was next to Starlight. The rain dripped down our backs. In a flash of lighting, I saw what they were staring at. A giant panther lurked in the shadows. It was light green and its yellow eyes glowed in the darkness. A bolt of lightning flashed and struck a nearby tree. It fell to the ground as it was consumed by fire. The light from the fire revealed the armor the panther was wearing. It was exactly like White Blaze's armor, only jungle green in color. The panther was about to pounce again, when a voice called out,

     "Enough, Sphinx." The panther, now known as Sphinx, turned its head and purred at its master. Starlight galloped behind us. A girl walked out from behind the trees. She had straight black hair that went down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were black and they had a green hue in the firelight. Her skin looked like it had a dark, natural tan. She stood in her armor. It looked like Kayura's armor that she wore when she was under Talpa's control. It was similar, but the colors were different. Her boot and arm coverings were jungle green. The leotard was green as well. The rest of her armor was grey. On her right-hand guard, there were three bumps. On her left-hand guard, a miniature crossbow was attached. Across her back rested a long staff.

     "Good girl," she said to the panther. Sphinx turned her head and growled at us.

      "Who are you?" I asked, taking out my two katanas.

      "I am Jazelle, wearer of the Amazon armor," she said.

      "That was one of the armors Kayura told us about," whispered Amy.

      "Nice to meet you. We are the Sister Ronins. Psyche," I said.

      "Comet."

     "Volcano."

      "Tidal Force."

     "Cavern."

     "Enough chit-chat," said Jazelle as she prepared to strike.

     "Hold it," said a male voice from the other side of the field. All eyes turned to where the voice was heard. Five armored men appeared, each in a different color.

     "You weren't going to start the party without us, were you?" asked the one in the dark blue.

      "Let's introduce ourselves to the ladies," said the one in green.

     "Okay, I'm Wildfire," said the one in red.

      "Halo," said the one in green.

     "Strata," said the one in dark blue.

     "Torrent," said the one in light blue.

     "Hardrock," said the one in orange.

      "Oh, look at that, Sphinx, the men want to fight. Well, I'm Jazelle of the Amazon," said Jazelle mockingly as she scratched the head of her panther.

      "Nice cat. White Blaze!" yelled Wildfire. White Blaze ran over to him and turned to face the panther. He growled, showing his teeth.

     "Don't start the fight without us, Ronins," said a man in purple armor as he jumped into view.

      "Dais!" said Hardrock in shock.

      "Don't worry about a thing, girl, for we shall destroy you," said a man in tan armor and a red cape as he jumped down into view.

     "Don't forget about me. Little girl, my venom will destroy you and rot away your flesh," said a man in green armor as he appeared on the scene.

      "The more the merrier," said Jazelle with a laugh. But two more figures appeared from the house.

    "Jazelle, look into your heart for the goodness that is there," said Kayura as she walked onto the site in her new armor.

     "Kayura, what happened to your armor?" asked Strata.

      "I have it, Ronins," said Anubis as he walked onto the scene in his armor of cruelty. The five Ronins lined up, with the warlords between them. The Sister Ronins lined up on the other side. Starlight and White Blaze took the ends.

      "This is too easy," said Jazelle as three long thin claws shot out from the bumps on her right hand guard (think Wolverine from X-men). They glowed green and she raised her hand.

     "Jaguar Slash!" she said as she slashed her hand through the air. Three green bolts of energy shot out, knocking all of the Ronins and Warlords to the ground. Only the Sister Ronins remained. Jazelle's claws disappeared and on her left hand, the crossbow opened up. A green arrow appeared on it.

      "Cobra Sting!" said Jazelle as the arrow flew through the air at us. It hit the ground in front of us and exploded with a poisonous energy. We were thrown back and couldn't get up as the poison took its effect. Jazelle closed her crossbow and took out her staff.

     "Now to finish you so that my master can have your armors," said Jazelle as she held her staff much like Sai holds his man catcher for his sure kill.

     "Spirit of the Amazons!" cried Jazelle as green energy shot out at all of us. I covered my eyes and awaited the pain, but it never came. Instead, a loud cry escaped the throat of a bird. I opened them to see the staff lying on the ground and a silvery blue falcon flying back to the arm of its master. A man stood on a branch of the tree in front of us in ice blue armor that loosely resembled the Wildfire armor.

     "Good job, Isis," said the man. The falcon squawked in response. The man jumped down from the tree. Jazelle had recovered her staff and said to the man,

      "Who are you, and what right do you have butting into other people's business?"

     "I am Arctic, and I can do what I please," he said in response. From behind his back, he produced a battle axe with a blade made out of what looked like unmeltable ice. It had a dark blue handle, the blade was ice blue and it looked a bit like Saranbo's axe. He pointed it at Jazelle.

     "So, Jazelle, do you think you can beat me?"

      "My, what confidence," said Jazelle as she held her staff, ready for her sure kill.

      "Let's see what you got," said Arctic, letting his falcon fly up from his arm.

      "Spirit of the Amazons!" said Jazelle. Green energy blasted from her staff, straight for Arctic. He held his battle axe vertically in front of him.

      "Aurora Barrier!" he shouted. Multi-colored light radiated from his axe. It curled around him and began to gain the appearance of the northern lights. The green energy hit the barrier head on. A bright explosion occurred and as the smoke cleared, Arctic stood smiling. Jazelle's cocky smile left her face.

      "Let me show you what I can do," he said as he faced Jazelle. He brought his arm across his body, and pointed his axe to the left.

      "Arctic Blast!" he yelled as ice blue energy radiated from his battle axe. He slashed his battle axe toward Jazelle. A swirling mass of ice blue energy swirled at Jazelle. She jumped out of the way with seconds to spare. She landed and looked back at the ground where she was standing moments before. It was covered in ice.

      "Nice try, but you need to be faster. Spirit of the Amazons!" she shouted without warning. Arctic jumped out of the way, but the green energy hit Kayura, who had just gotten to her feet.

      "Kayura!" we all shouted as her body was covered in green vines. A lone vine left her body and was connected to Jazelle's staff. Black energy traveled through the vines and into Kayura. She screamed in pain. We had gotten to our feet and were about to try and free her when a loud sound filled the air. All eyes went to the sky. A large figure flew down to the ground and cut the vines. It was dark blue. It had the head and wings of an eagle, the body and tail of a lion, and the feet of a dragon.

      "It's a griffin!" shouted Strata.

     "Whoa, what else can arrive now?" muttered Kento.

      "Night Shade?" said Kayura as she ran over to the beast who had saved her. The griffin bent its head and looked at her. It nudged her with gentleness and caring.

     "Why do all the bad things happen to me?" said Jazelle as she shook her head. She placed her staff on her back and disappeared.