It was hard to concentrate, harder than normal. Niccole rubbed her eyes tiredly and leaned back in her chair. She stared at the lit computer screen in front of her before scowling and clicking the laptop shut abruptly. The figures were right and she knew that, but that didn't stop her from worrying.

A sudden decline in demon battles were not the standard worry of a sixteen-year-old girl, yet here she was worrying about them. Niccole was far from normal in more ways then one. The first and foremost was the fact that she wasn't even a full human. Her birth father was one of the Dragon, which was one of the main reasons for her super strength and speed. Yet not only was she a half-breed, she was also the only dragon half-breed that could shift forms. A normal dragon was a shape-shifter and why that didn't pass down to their half-breed children, she didn't know. She just knew that she could shift into a dragon form. The other oddness in her life was the one that she was currently worrying about. She was a Demon Hunter and the current leader of the Miami Clan.

Niccole scrubbed her nose and stretched her arms up over her head. The demon decline had her stumped. Normal battles were expected nightly, yet there hadn't been any activity in a few weeks.

An opening of the door at the top of the stairs and a sudden stream of white light caused Niccole to blink.

"Niccole? Niccole are you down there?"

Niccole grinned and pushed out with her feet to make the computer chair roll backwards in to the light. She thought privately about how much she loved her chair. An exasperated huff and a shadow looked down at her.

"You could have just answered ya' know," her sister scowled down at her.

Niccole shrugged and stood up. She gave her sister another grin. "Did you want something Cass?"

Cassandra sighed. "No, but Mom wants to go to the store. She wanted me to tell you that she was leaving in," Cassandra looked down at her watch, "five minutes."

Niccole's grin turned into a frown. "She wants to go the store after dark?"

"Yep," Cassandra shrugged, "I think she wants to get her shopping done for the week while she's got an extra hour."

"Always saving time," Niccole chuckled.

"So now I told ya' and I'm goin' to go practice cheers," her sister turned away.

"Wait."

Cassandra paused and raised an eyebrow towards her sister. Niccole kicked backwards to make her chair spin back to her desk. She grabbed her leather coat from the stairway post.

"What?" Cassandra demanded.

Niccole looked up from strapping on her wrist sheaths of knives. "Tell her I'm coming with her."

Cassandra blinked, "That's all?"

"Yep."

"Sheesh, what is up with you?"

Niccole looked at her sister; "I have a bad feeling."

Cassandra looked surprised before scooting off without being prompted. Niccole laughed to herself. Her little sister was very scatterbrained, but she always knew what to do when something was up. She sighed.

"I just wish I knew why I'm so edgy."

"Do I have to go? Nobody cool goes shopping with his or her families. I don't want to be caught here by any of my friends," the young girl complained as the stores flashed before her eyes, a myriad of colors and lights.

It was dark out, at least as close as you got to dark in the cities of Florida. Bright lights momentarily blinded Niccole as she gazed out her window. She rolled her eyes at the sound of her young sister, Cassandra, complaining about being dragged out of the house.

"Then why are you worried? You just said yourself that nobody goes shopping at the grocery store; therefore, no one will see you. And do you ever stop complaining?" Niccole questioned turning away from the window irritated from her sister's whining.

"I'm not complaining," Cassandra muttered glaring at her older sister.

Niccole rolled her yet again, all the while wondering if they were truly related. Then again, she hadn't had the life that Niccole had, so in some ways it was better to be different from than to be as miserable as she was most of the time.

"Don't you two ever stop fighting? Niccole, I know you're uptight about the demons, but please we are your family so treat us as such! And Cassandra, please stop your incessant bickering!" scolded their mother lightly.

Niccole turned her eyes towards the road to her side, now ignoring her complaining sister. It was hard enough having to battle every night, yet God also sought to torment her with going to school and dealing with her family as if she was a normal girl. At least her mother now knew what Niccole was so she didn't have to worry about her finding out.

Yet even as she was irritated, she was also still very worried. Niccole had been feeling a change over the world and even herself lately. Things were evolving too quickly for her liking, and that worried the young girl. Niccole doubted that she and her clan would be able to stop whatever was coming by themselves. She cursed silently.

'I should be expecting something! It has been too quiet lately in the demonic rings not to expect something. And here I was thinking that they were afraid of our forces. Ha! This silence is like the calm before the storm, or the eye of a hurricane. The worst is always still to come.'

She thought deeper about the absence of demons, turning the facts over and over in her head. Not that something would actually turn up out of nowhere. Later when she had time she would meditate for a few hours and see what she came up with. She always trusted her inner senses, but at times meditation was more help, allowing her to focus her energy into her visualizing things far away in the future. Sometimes in dreams she could see the passing of lives of those she knew. Her few most trusted friends thought her secret to be a miraculous gift. She saw it as a curse. Niccole sighed.

"No time to think of myself, something horrible is going to happen I can feel it in my bones," Niccole muttered beneath her breath.

While deep in her musings Niccole barely noticed how much time had passed by. Their white mini-van was already pulling in to the plaza and to their destination, the grocery store.

"Nooo-!" Cassandra cried out at the sight of the dreaded grocery store.

Her baby sister giggled at the sound of Cassandra's hysterics beside her.

Niccole exchanged looks with her mother, who rolled her eyes in response.

The white doors of the van shut sharply as Cassandra and her family exited the van. They rushed to the heated store as a unit, shivering with the chilly night. It was colder than normal for Florida, the temperature having dropped from a warm 70 degrees to a chilly 30 degrees in one night.

Overhead, unseen by the humans that were scurrying towards the warmer stores, a dark force chuckled. It was time to have some fun with these pathetic mortals. A crackle of lightning lit up the figure's armored face. Kazul laughed. A slaughter was always fun.

And Niccole paused at the sliding glass doors eyes narrowed. Something was up. She glanced back towards the store at her family wrestling a metal cart from a stack. Her mouth firmed to a straight line.

"Nothing will happen to you, I swear it."

"Kento, give it back!" cried Sai as he chased his best friend around their table at the local restaurant they were dinning at. Well, four of them were eating Kento was just inhaling.

"Not in your life, pal," Kento answered back with a wicked smile as he cradled the sandwich against his chest. Nobody was getting this snack no matter what happened.

"It's mine Kento!" Sai replied in earnest as he leaped over the table in an effort to retrieve his food. Sai was desperate, yet he also knew full well there was no hope for his lost sandwich once Kento had laid his hands upon it.

"I saw it first!" Kento called jumping over an overturned chair.

"How is that possible if Sai bought it?" laughed Rowen earning a glare from the fleeing Hardrock.

Rowen rolled his eyes in response. When Kento was hungry it was a very bad idea to get in his way. The only other time he was this dangerous was when he was fighting the Dynasty. Even then Rowen wondered whether or not Kento would fight if offered food.

At Rowen's side, Ryo who remained quiet as he pondered the reason the armors called them to America. Something had to be up for their armors all to act so urgently. It was a relentless tug on their inner senses, so strong of a tug that they could not ignore it, no matter how hard they tried. The tug had brought the five of them back together. Mia was surprised when they all suddenly appeared on her doorstep, each not sure why they were there. It had seemed the logical place to go. A place that was more home to the five then anywhere else.

Sage was also quiet as he picked at his food. Stray thoughts weaved in and out of his inner consciousness. Sage banished them without a second thought, so to speak. He was puzzled to why his armor was acting as strange as it was. Seeing he was the most sensitive of the group, he felt the tug more than any of the others. It wasn't a painful sensation, merely an uncomfortable one. It almost felt like the first time he had met the others. The feeling was almost identical, but what could that mean?

Kento and Sai stopped rolling around in the dust as Kento finished off Sai's sandwich in one large chop.

Sai gave a sneer that was remarkably un-Sai like, "Thanks a lot Kento, what am I supposed to eat?"

Kento mumbled something Sai couldn't understand due to the fact that his face was so stuffed full of stolen food that he looked like a giant chipmunk. Rowen seeing Sai's look of bewilderment, he took a glance over at Kento and cracked up laughing.

"Guys?" Ryo spoke softly, "Why do you think we had a feeling to come here?"

"Don't know, Ryo," Sai answered noticing Ryo's concern about the situation.

"Why do you ask?" Questioned Kento who had swallowed his mouthful of stolen food.

"Because the feeling has left us, for now at least," Sage said sounding more like he was talking to himself, rather than to the others.

"Maybe the danger is over," Kento added hopefully. "I kind of want to get back to finish our visit with Mia."

"Do you miss Mia, or her cooking, Kento?" Sai joked.

"Hey!" Kento protested before he tackled Sai.

"Does this feel like Déjà vu to you too?" questioned Rowen to Ryo.

Ryo nodded noting Rowen's joke, yet he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen. And he was certain that whatever happened would change their lives forever.

Niccole's mother sifted through boxed foods on the shelf. Cooking was hard enough without having to choose what to prepare. The young mother sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She really hadn't wanted to be outside after dark. Discovering the true world with all the evil she had never known about had been hard, but at least now she knew the truth.

She shook her head over the worry she was displaying before randomly picking two boxes off the shelf. She examined what she had picked and sighed again.

"Might as well ask," she thought to herself.

"Niccole, do you want tacos or stir-fry for tomorrow night?" her mother asked holding up the two boxes in question.

Niccole looked around at their surroundings, trying to locate the source of evil she felt. She wasn't aware that her mother was talking to her. The presence outside was making her jumpy. It was most likely just some random shape shifter amusing themselves by imitating the humans.

"Niccole? Niccole!" her mother raised her voice, worried.

"Huh, what?"

"DO YOU WANT TACOS OR STIR-FRY TOMORROW?" her sister told her in exasperation. Cassandra wanted to get home so she could practice her cheers for her squad tryouts.

"Tacos," the blonde answered absently.

Cassandra blinked in surprise, "But you hate tacos."

Niccole shrugged, distracted again. The feeling had returned, and it was not a shape shifter. Shape shifters didn't feel evil, ever. Mischievous, yes, evil no. She lowered her eyebrows determined to figure out what was going on. And then as if the presence knew of her determination, the lights flickered, and died. It had begun.

Sage's head jerked up hard in surprise as the Dynasty's presence suddenly overwhelmed his senses. The blonde squinted in pain before brutally shutting off all of his extrasensory senses.

The rest of the Ronin's felt the same thing, yet to a lesser degree. Kento fell over onto the table next to him, throwing food and the members of the said table, all over the floor. Rowen dropped a bowl of hot soup down his new shirt, while Sai scrabbled at his ears in desperation. The younger warrior didn't want to fight; he didn't want to feel the Dynasty again, not ever. Ryo just grimaced and looked over to the distant horizon, once bright with the lights of stores, now dark with the evil of the Dynasty.

"Come on guys, time to go before we scare the locals," Ryo commented as he stood.

"So sorry, sorry," Kento apologized in a hurry as he stumbled out the door.

The man on which he had fallen on, glared menacingly at Kento, and started to cuss at him in English. Kento was long gone by the time he finished his threats. Sage pulled a wallet out of his back pocket and shoved some bills down onto the cashier's hand. The cashier stood blinking in surprise before turning in time to see the glass door creek shut with a small bell the only thing that rang out to their presence.

Niccole's mother looked up meeting Niccole's eyes in the dark. Niccole shrugged and motioned silently that she was going to go and check it out. Her mother nodded in understanding. Niccole whispered a few words softly before she left. A small glow formed in the area next to her mother and two sisters. The glow solidified to the wolf guardian of her family. The wolf snorted and went into guard position next to her mother.

Niccole nodded solemnly towards the wolf that had no name. Niccole slowly slunk away from her family, leaving them in the spirit wolf's capable protection. She explored the darkened store alone not armed except for the four hidden knives that she kept on her person. She searched each aisle carefully; making sure not to bump any people who were all huddled down low to the ground as if they could sense the evil that condensed around them.

The air was tinted with evil, but not as much as before. The threat inside the store was over, and Niccole sighed with relief because all of the people would be safe until she was done scouting. Quickly hardening her face, Niccole left the store knowing her family would be safe.

Niccole entered the parking lot wary. The evil was all around her, swelling up with so much strength the normal feeling of the night was enveloped. It took all of her willpower to remain outside the "safety" of the store. She knew that they would only be safe if she protected them. Conquering the doubt that swelled up inside her at the feel of the Evil she stepped farther into the parking lot. From there here determination took over, shoving the doubt to the side of her mind.

The small huntress moved slowly and silently through the rows of cars. Her eyes darted around constantly and her ears were pricked allowing her supernatural senses to catch the smallest sounds in the air. Niccole caught nothing but silence in its absolute form. Her face showed no surprise, but her eyes danced in worry. It was odd for bugs not to chirp on a night like this.

The evil abruptly strengthened and she was frozen between rows because of its strength. For the first time in a long time, fear rose up in her throat. The evil was so enormous, so overpowering Niccole doubted her abilities to conquer it. She slowly felt at her Hunter's Medallion. She felt comforted by its presence. Niccole rubbed it gently invoking the spell that lay dormant in its depths. The twin swords crossed on its surface glowed blue as the illusion worked its magic on her body. When it finished glowing, she smiled. She knew the illusion had worked. Her body was distorted to look like another. Silently she thanked her mage friend Akira for cooking the illusion up. Now she could fight without worrying for her family's safety. Her identity was safe.

The evil continued to swell while she transformed her appearance. With her concentration broken from the illusion that had been triggered, the evil struck her hard. Niccole inhaled sharply steadying her haywire senses. She realized that the evil was playing with her and because of that her anger took over.

"I know you're here! Show yourself!"

The evil created fog suddenly. It was green and smell of decay. The death fog cloaked over everything muffling the senses. Niccole crouched low growling gutturally deep in her throat. An eerie shriek rose the hair on the back of her neck making her soul tremble.

"Come out coward! Your tricks are not enough to scare me!"

The evil shifted briefly and a voice rang out. "Mortal do you not fear the slaughter?" It questioned with a metallic voice that grated on the nerves. Her snarl became larger and she growled out an answer. "Fear a coward who doesn't want to show himself? Why would I fear an asshole like that?"

Quiet like she never heard before prevailed after her voice. The silence was loud and Niccole had an irrational urge to make as much racket as she could. The urge quickly went away leaving her still disoriented.

A figure abruptly approached her from within the fog, the outline of the figure hazy from the distance. The sound of clanging armor sounded soon after the figure appeared its sound rough against the silence. Niccole stood her ground as the armored figure came nearer, close enough to see the eyes beneath a silver faceplate.

The figure, who she assumed was a man, stopped within a few feet of her. He stood still watching her as if curious. Niccole watched him carefully, noticing absently his weapon, a halberd. Her stance shifted slightly so that she was better balanced for an attack from such a long reaching weapon.

She made a mental not to the weaknesses and strengths of the armor. The armor was of an old style, she guessed of oriental origin. Double flaps on the helmet protected the neck from damage in close combat. It seemed awkward because of the long horns emerging from the top of the helmet. She also noticed that a thinner layer of armor covered the legs compared to the rest of the body armor. The legs then were vulnerable. She only absently noted the colors of the armor; a blood red hue on a dark gray. The armor was not meant to be hidden and was not made to be fast.

"You mortal will die for your impertinence. I, Kazul of Slaughter, shall see to this!"

Niccole smirked. "Do you really think I'm afraid of you? Let me clarify. Does 'fuck you' clear up that misunderstanding?"

Kazul straightened abruptly a glint in his eyes showing his displeasure. "You intrigue me human."

"Intrigue this, demon." A fireball came to her hand with a mental command and she let it fly violently at the armored man. Kazul watched the fireball in surprise. It hit him hard sending him fling into several parked cars where he remained topped smoking from the energy of her attack.

She called the fire again, letting it ring around her protectively. She knew the demon was not done with. Kazul proved her right as he lifted himself up painfully from the crushed car underneath him. He glared at Niccole who watched him silently from a few yards away. A growl came from his throat before he sprung out into an attack. Niccole didn't have time to dodge, but her shield of fire warded off the attack. The shield flicked and went down as she called back the flames into herself.

Kazul stood up once more his eyes now wary as he examined her. The faceplate slide apart without him touching it. His tongue darted out and licked blood from his split lip. "So you're a viper, are ya' girl? Well, I'll take that spirit out of you real quick, girl."

"Really, demon? What makes you think that you'll beat me when I have beaten so many others of your kind? You do not know whoa are dealing with Kazul. But you will soon find out."

The halberd was drawn off of the armor and was held threateningly towards the girl. Niccole drew her double knives from her wrist sheathes keeping them in front of her.

Kazul snorted in disgust at her choice of weapons. He charged then with a yell not bothering to protect himself. She was, after all, just a mortal. Niccole turned late to avoid the weapon, only a second or so before it would have struck her. She darted forward quickly bringing one knife hilt to his temple. She didn't bother trying for the body armor with the other knife. Niccole went for the leg armor as she fell away while Kazul was still stunned from the temple shot. She ripped deep gashes into the armor above his right knee.

The armor was as thin as she expected. It ripped underneath her mystical knife. Kazul fell hard and remained down for a few minutes. Niccole darted backwards into yet another defensive crouch. The knives were re-sheathed; they had done the job she had wanted them to do. Kazul remained an unmoving statue for several minutes before coming back to his feet. His eyes were now full of anger.

The halberd came forward once more and glowed blood red. Kazul called out with his metallic voice high over the parking lot. "Apocalyptic Death Strike!"

A blood red energy flung out into a small globe that started with his staff and went outwards in all direction. Niccole's eyes went wide in startlement before taking off at a full tilt away from the energy.

"I'm never going to make it!" She looked back once. "It's too close! I wish I had called the Hunter's when I had the chance. Mother, forgive me!"

And then there was nothing but silence once more. Niccole had the weird sense of disorientation that only happened in flight. She opened her eyes with this realization to find herself in the arms of a boy. The blue hair hung slightly in his face as he grinned down at her. Niccole blinked in shock. He wasn't a Hunter!

The boy landed from his jump lightly for her benefit. He released her before she could flip out of his grasp. This boy was also wearing armor, yet some inner sense told her that he was different than Kazul. She examined him briefly to verify what she first thought was true. He stood still and made no movement towards her.

Another boy startled her as he yelled out at Kazul. The language was unfamiliar to her and she was irritated because she could not understand what was being said. Kazul answered in the same language, his voice was thick with anger. Niccole narrowed her eyes at the tone.

"I wish I could understand what was fucking going on!"

With that thought something clicked inside of her brain. The language barrier no longer stood in her way.

"...only the Dynasty would attack a helpless person who can't fight back! Can you fight us though?" The black haired boy called out his fury evident. Niccole raised an eyebrow to the helpless part, but was wise enough not to comment.

Kazul smirked at their ignorance but didn't comment either. "Are you the Ronins Talpa was telling me about?" He looked up and down at them. "I don't see what the big deal was all about!"

The one in orange armor bristled and stepped forward with his weighted Bo in front of him. "I'd like you to come over here and tell us that!"

Kazul grinned and charged headfirst at the "Ronins". Niccole watched him closely keeping a careful watch on his movement. She knew that the others were not expecting such a sudden attack, yet they still managed to throw it off. Kazul met Niccole's eyes briefly in promise. She sneered in response.

"Who are you?" Sage questioned, ignoring the girl Rowen rescued who was staring at them all in what he thought was complete puzzlement.

"I am Kazul, of the armor Horror. I was sent to destroy this city, but since you've shown up, maybe I can have some fun."

"Why do they always want to do it the hard way?" Ryo sighed as they attacked the warlord.

Kazul flipped away easily from their counterattack as his halberd glowed gray instead of red. Niccole dodged to the side because she was expecting the attack. The one in red dodged to the other side in preparation for his attack. The gray power streamed out in a violent wave. The wave struck the four remaining Ronins and instead of destroying them like expected, swelled around them in a round bubble of gray energy.

"If you think this is going to hold us, you're wrong," Sage yelled at Kazul.

"THUNDER BOLT CUT!"

"ARROW SHOCK WAVE!" Rowen called adding to Sage's attack.

The two powers bounced off the walls and hit Rowen and Sage hard. Both fell back in pain. Ryo groaned as he felt his friend's pain.

"My turn," Kento called angry about the warlord's power.

"IRON ROCK CRUSHER!"

Sai, the only one not to call on his powers, watched silently as Kento was thrown back by his own attack. Sai ran over to his injured comrades helping then to sit up.

Kazul laughed sinisterly, "As you might have realized, my power bubble reflects your own powers back at you."

Ryo charged angry with his friend's capture. Both katanas were held high as he attacked. The warlord slid to the side missing Ryo's charge and slashed Ryo's back with a backwards strike his Datchi. Ryo fell to the ground the pain in his back unbearable.

"Ryo!" the remanding warriors shouted in unison.

The warlord again chuckled slightly amused, "Oh, did he mean something to you?"

The warlord slammed his sword into Ryo again causing him to fall into unconsciousness. He then flipped the wounded warrior up in the air, and as he came falling down the warlord called his sure-kill.

" Apocalyptic Death Strike!"

The attack seared into Ryo's motionless body as it plummeted to the earth. His body shook violently when it landed, but was silenced as the warlord leaned his foot onto the injured warrior.

"Stop it!" Kento screamed along with Sai.

"Time to end this, Ryo of the Wildfire," Kazul said as he turned Ryo over and prepared to run him through with his sword.

"Ryo!" his friends yelled helpless to aid their friend.

Niccole watched with a strange anger as Kazul beat that Red armored one. Her hunter side was infuriated at the injustice of his actions. The long since buried feelings of honor rose up in her throat. She darted forward without really thinking about it.

She body slammed Kazul knocking him away from killing the red armored one. Kazul grunted in surprise from the forceful slam she delivered. He rolled in midair so that he might land on his feet. He glared balefully at her. Niccole grinned wiggling her fingers in a mocking sort of hello gesture.

One hand was placed on a hip as she leaned towards him. "Why Kazul did you forget about me?" The hand was moved from her hip to another mocking gesture over her heart. "I'm insulted! Now what are you going to do to make me feel better?"

Kazul snarled in anger, yet she detected a hint of fear in his posture. She smirked, fear she could use. "Mortal do not test me. Your fire is not strong enough to defeat me!"

Niccole grinned as she summoned water from the moisture in the air. It surrounded her in large rings that moved like tiny jet streams around her. "Who said I was going to use the flames?"

She called an attack concentrating the water around her tighter. "Aquarius Ice Storm!" The water shot out from her hand condensing into hard shards mixed with freezing water. Kazul dug his feet into the concrete to stay on his feet. The ground around him was ripped up in the ice storm. Niccole called out another attack while he was distracted with the ice storm. "Ice Cage!" Blue energy left her left hand in a short stream. The energy shifted into an icy cage that rose several meters into the sky and surrounded Kazul with thick rods of ice.

Kazul screamed his frustration once he noticed what she had done. Niccole just smiled with her usual cockiness and turned on her heel. She would have walked away from the scene entirely if she had not seen the fallen red armored one once more. Niccole stooped next to him and checked the pulse on his neck. It was weak from his beating. Niccole bit her lip in indecision. She looked up towards the bubble and locked eyes briefly with the blue armored once. His eyes were pleading, but he said nothing.

Niccole sighed. "Sometimes I'm too soft for my own good." She muttered softly reaching down to half pick up the red armor. She propped him up on her shoulder and slowly walked towards the gray bubble. The other four crowded around the side that was closest to her, their hands pressing hard in a half-hearted attempt to free themselves. The red armored person was softly placed near the bubble. She stood up to her full five feet and two inches in height and summoned a glittering silver sword to her hand. It's hilt was wrapped in shinny ebony wood. The blade itself was of pure silver with an edge so thin that a microscope had trouble detecting it. It glistened in the light, yet it absorbed the light around it instead of reflecting it.

The one in light blue shook his head in shock at the sight of the weapon. Their mouths moved frantically and Niccole mentally translated what their lips spoke. "Please don't...not Ryo..."

Niccole cocked her head in amazement. They thought she was going to kill him. Well, she would show them what she truly intended to do. Niccole swung the blade up in a graceful arc that sliced downwards upon the gray bubble. She smiled as it struck knowing in that instant that she was right in her assumption to how that bubble worked. The bubble disintegrated with a pop scattering little flecks of gray energy across the parking lot.

The four blinked in surprise for the second after the destruction found them floating in midair. The displacement of the bubble did create a small pocket of anti-gravity that temporarily allowed them to float. That effect did not last however and the four fell hard to the ground. They fell with a large clang on the pavement below. Sitting up carefully and slowly as a group with large moans and groans emanating from their forms briefly forgetting about their fallen companion. The one in green, as if suddenly remembering their fallen friend, bolted to his feet and ran to the red ones side. Niccole had a feeling that he didn't do that often by the looks on the other's faces. They too rushed up once they realized where the green one was headed.

The one in light blue cried out softly, "Ryo." The yari-holder touched "Ryo's" face gently with armored fingertips. The boy was unresponsive to his friend's touch. Niccole sensed she was not needed and stepped away from the gathering.

Sage rushed by the red head to get to Ryo. He had been worried when she had, for the lack of a better word, summoned that sword to her. He had felt that she might just end Ryo's life. Sage felt foolish because of it. His wisdom should have told him what was going on.

Halo glowed a light green as it healed his injured leader. Sage fell into a light trance and felt separated from his surroundings. Wisdom flashed; Halo was making him remember.

"You are not the leader over me, Wildfire. I have no master. Maybe

we shouldn't even fight as a group. It obviously hasn't helped us any.

Why go after any of the others? You were able to free yourself so

maybe that is the way it is supposed to be!" Sage's eyes flashed

with conviction in what he believed. Ryo face vaulted at Sage's words.

Halo felt a pang in his heart but didn't let it effect him.

"Sage we must find the others. Talpa separated us for a reason, why

can't you see that? Where is your wisdom now Halo?"

Ryo refused to cringe at the look Sage gave him. "I don't care is I'm leader or not. I never asked for it, but I do..." Ryo trailed off as a flicker of pain from his battle with Sekhmet announced itself. His armor flickered out before he collapsed.

Sage darted forward to catch the injured Wildfire. Gone was the anger replaced with remorse for taking his anger and frustration out on Ryo. He lowered both of them to the ground still cradling most of Wildfire's weight.

"Ryo, I should not have taken my anger out on you. I'm just..."

Ryo interrupted. "Sage I don't know weather or not I'm fit to be leader, but I do know this. Virtue tells me that we need to find the others; they are the only ones like us. If Virtue tells me this, then what does Wisdom tell you?"

Sage looked into willful tiger blue eyes and was amazed by their strength. He closed his eyes. "It tells me that you will be a great leader, Ryo."

Halo finished with the brief vision of reminder. Sage had all but forgotten the basis of their friendship. A rumble and cracking of ice startled him. Sage looked up eyes narrowed, yet still healing his wounded friend. Kazul was free.

Rowen cussed and brought his yumi up to bear a golden arrow strung tight. The warlord stepped forward in all of his putrid glory and he was pissed. He took one step forward and then stopped as the girl Rowen rescued stepped in front of the armed archer. Rowen choked and dropped his bow a bit. He didn't, after all, want to hit the girl. Kazul cackled.

"Ready to fight me so soon girl?"

The warlord walked forward once more. The girl, her face complete straight, un-holstered two strangely shaped pistols from under her thigh length brown leather jacket, her movements almost to quick to be seen. The pistols were held confidently in front of her. She smiled cockily. Kazul paused at the site of the weapons held so firmly and aimed right at him.

"Do you think that those can stop me girl?" He chuckled. "You must be joking! You are a formidable opponent, I must admit more than the "Ronins", yet those weapons are no match for my mystical armor. If you put them down, I might be tempted to allow you into the Dynasty. I'm sure my master will want such a fierce warrior as you. Tell me your name girl and it could happen."

The girl began to chuckle in a manner that quickly turned into a full-blown laughing fit. She threw her head back proud and free both pistols still aimed at the warlord.

"Your 'mystical' armor is not as impenetrable as you make it out to be. What about that faceplate of yours? Do you think it will stop these special armor piercing bullets from guns that are powerful enough to send regular bullets flying through a tank? I think not. Now you can take that offer, scrunch it up into a little ball and shove it where the sun doesn't shine. My name is Niccole and I serve no master."

Niccole's Japanese was fluent, and she did not question it. She was at the moment to furious to care what language she was speaking as long as her point was getting across. The warlord snarled at her answer and she could feel the surprise of the boys behind her as well.

Kazul stepped forward one more step. Niccole clicked back the hammers on her pistols with her thumbs. She smirked as he froze once more.

"Boys, are you almost ready to move?" she questioned one eyes sliding back to look at them standing protectively around the red one.

"Ready to move?" answered the one with the bow.

"Yeah..."

"Rowen," he supplemented.

"Yeah Rowen, unless you want to stay here with a demon that you five obviously can't handle by yourselves."

Rowen scowled at her.

"Hey watch out!" yelled the one in light blue.

Niccole whipped her head around and flipped backward to give herself a few extra seconds away from Kazul's frenzied charge. She landed firmly directly in front of the five armored boys; her guns still pointed directly in front of her. The pistols roared and spit fire as she sent constant slugs tearing at the warlord. A select few hit him slowing him down briefly. Her guns clicked empty after one slug nailed the warlord in the faceplate. He roared as he clutched a bloody section of his face where the slug had ripped away the faceplate.

"Shit!" Niccole cussed calmly dropping her empty cartage's from her pistols. She reached back simultaneously loading her pistols once more with spare cartages on her belt.

Kazul had gotten with in a few feet of her in the brief respite of bullets. Niccole still calm fired her guns once more slowing the warlord down to a near crawl. He still got to close for comfort.

Niccole holstered one gun to free a hand to touch the hunt medallion around her neck. It flared as he reached the last foot in front of her. A blue energy shield coalesced around her and the five armored boys. Kazul hit the barrier just as her remaining gun clicked empty. She smirked again at his infuriated face before turning away from the dome. Her safety was clicked on and the gun holstered behind her back. The leather jacket sighed as it covered the two pistols once more. She then walked towards the five armored covered boys.

"Now," she said pausing next to Rowen, "you can all tell me what your doing in Miami 'cause it's freakin' obvious ya'll aren't from around here. Don't lie either, 'cause I'll know if you do."

Rowen looked back questioningly at the others. Ryo took that as a cue to groan and sit up in Sage's arms. His blue eyes slightly unfocused, as he looked at the others confused he asked the million-dollar question.

"Hey guys, who's that girl?"

The "girl" smiled at Ryo. "My name is none of your business, but you can call me Niccole. And you five are in my territory so unless you have an extremely good reason to why you are here and how Mr. Fluffy is over there I suggest you leave, now."

Rowen scratched the back of his head, "A good reason, sure we have that. But you see...you most likely would not believe it."

Niccole cocked her head, "Try me."

"Well you see, we are fighting that warlord's master who we thought was dead until recently. Um...our armors called us here and we think its because another armor for our side is nearby."

The redhead raised an eyebrow, "Ya know, your right. I don't believe it and at the moment I frankly don't care. I have a responsibility to these people and I'm going to do that. When I open the shield you all better run as fast as your asses can from this site. If I don't see ya'll again I'll forget all about ya. Is that clear?"

Sai frowned, "What gives you the right to tell us what to do?"

Niccole un-holstered a gun with one hand and clicked in a new cartage with the other. The gun aimed directly for Sai's faceplate did not waver in the slightest.

"This does. The people in this city are under my protection I will do anything to protect them, understand? Now get. The dome will fail in a few more seconds."

"You know you're a bitch, right?" Rowen asked sarcastically.

Niccole turned away from Sai and looked towards the dome shield. "Yeah I know. Why do you think I've made it to such a ripe old age?"

She was silent for a few seconds before speaking once more. "I'll give you guys the time you need to get your injured friend away from here. Good luck."

Rowen was speechless as she walked away towards the warlord. The shield flickered and died not giving Rowen the time to retort. Sai grabbed one of his arms and hauled him off with Kento holding Ryo. Ryo cried out yet not in pain like the others thought. His hand gripped Kento's arm firmly.

"Kent, guys, we can't just leave her here alone to fight a Dynasty warlord! She's just a girl." Ryo exclaimed.

Sage frowned down at their injured leader. Kento just chuckled. "Sometimes that 'Virtue' of yours goes into overdrive Ryo."

Ryo scowled at Kento. "Don't even tell me that 'Justice' tells you that this is alright. Your thickheaded, Kent, not stupid."

Rowen stopped dead in his tracks jerking Sai unexpectedly. The water warrior glared at the air warrior. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm staying. You may be able to drag Ryo around, yet you can't do the same to me."

Ryo mouthed a 'thank you' which Rowen nodded in acknowledgement. Sage sighed heavenward. "Alright we'll stay. Ryo is not fighting though. Kento, can you watch out for him?"

Kento nodded and Ryo turned his scowl upon Sage. It wasn't like he couldn't handle himself, even in his weakened state. Sage ignored the glare easily; after all, he was well accustomed to them. Sai was the only one in the group with manners even close to his own.

Niccole knew in the corner of her mind that the five had stopped in their retreat and where headed back. That was not expectable. He pistols roared as she sent slug after slug into Kazul, yet it was not enough to stop the demons charge and all the while the five were coming closer into range for Kazul to hit with his super attack. Niccole decided to end it once and for all.

She cartwheeled towards the warlord coming up in front of him when she landed from it. Her pistols were silenced as she placed them at his neck in the only part of him that was not covered by armor. Kazul froze at the feeling of cold steel on bare flesh. He too knew, although he wouldn't admit it, that it was a weak spot in his armor. Kazul gulped slowly because for the first time Slaughter knew fear.

"Now demon what are you going to do?" She asked cocking her head comically, yet her eyes hardened in anger. He had, after all, attacked the people that were under her protection. She would not except anyone endangering the "innocent" humans under her care.

Kazul forced himself to remain calm all the while reaching for an extension of his power. "I'll worry about that the next time we meet, Nicole."

"I think not," Niccole said grimly before gripping both triggers. The bullets she fired whizzed harmlessly into the air as the warlord Kazul teleported out of the way.

"FUCKIN' ASSHOLE!" Niccole howled into the sky.

The Ronins were standing still in shock only a few meters away. A warlord of Talpa was not able to defeat a girl, a girl that was obviously far from normal.

Sage tilted his head slightly towards Rowen, yet still keeping his eyes on the cursing redhead. "Remind me never to piss off another girl or woman, ever."

"Duly noted." Rowen answered dryly.

"Why do I have a feeling that finding what we came for is going to be harder than we thought it was going to be?" Questioned Sai.

"Because a new variable has been entered into the equation," retorted Rowen.

Kento wailed, "But I hate Math!"

Two Weeks Later...

Niccole sighed softly as she pulled into her school's parking lot. She was tired from the demons she and her clan had to fight at the dock the night before. The battle raged till dawn broke clear. The demons fled before the light could strike the battlefield. Light was their only weakness, a weakness that could not be used often. That said battle only gave her a few minutes to take a shower and put on clean clothes before heading to her school, her homework once again not completed. It wasn't like she didn't want to do her homework; it was just that she didn't have time.

She shut the car door behind her and clicked the alarm on as well. Car alarms almost never prevented car thieves, but it was better than nothing was. She waved sluggishly as one of the girls she met before she quit the dance team. They were, fortunately, still friends. The girl, Erica, waved back from across the parking lot. Niccole pointed towards the cafeteria and Erica nodded in response.

Niccole trotted up to the building where her mocha was screaming her name. She loved her school if only for one reason, they served coffee in the morning. This morning especially, she would need the caffeine buzz. True she needed little sleep compared to most people, only a few hours a night, but even she needed sleep once in a while. Lately, she was not getting that sleep.

The thought of her lack of sleep made her frown. The once "calm" time was over and the demons were attacking with a vengeance. Not only that, but Niccole had to deal with the constant dodging of the five new boys to the area. They too seemed to fight the demons, if only the weird armored ones, through the streets of Miami. Niccole knew that they were searching for something important to them, and she frankly did not care. They were foreign and did not belong on her clan's streets. With them here the clan had to go into overdrive to keep the humans clueless about the goings on around them. The boys didn't seem to care what a ruckus they caused with the natives. They were, of course, too busy looking for the "feeling" that their armor gave them.

She snorted as she entered the line to get the coffee. It seemed that there where others that needed the buzz as well. Even with the length of the line, she was through it within a few minutes, and happily sipping on the caffeine loaded beverage. Life couldn't be better, or could it?

"I should have never thought that. I know now something is going to happen that I'm not going to like." Niccole muttered this to herself still focused on her coffee.

"And this is where the school populace hangs out before class starts." The principle stated walking through the cafeteria doors backward almost bumping into Niccole's caffeine filled dreams.

Niccole looked up startled and caught sight of a shock of blue hair. She blinked as she sided away from the principal (who was of course, ignoring her). She couldn't have possibly just seen what she thought she had seen. Niccole looked back towards the voice of the loud principle.

"Oh crap. No way!"

She turned forward quickly before they saw her staring at them. Niccole cursed the fates that so hated her. Why were those boys here? At her school?

She scowled into her mocha. "I hate mornings."

"And I can't even call Diagon for advice! Not while I'm in school at least. Cell phones aren't allowed in school premise! At least they don't know what I look like without my hunter illusion. I think I need to thank Akira once more for making that illusion for me."

A bell rang over head. Niccole turned her scowl to the clock overhanging the doorway leading towards the rest of the school. The clock failed to be impressed. The hunter chugged the rest of her coffee before throwing it away. She did need that caffiene.

"Well another day at the farm. Damn, doesn't it feel like we are cattle in this school?"

A student who was passing her turned and smiled. "Here, here."

Niccole shook her head. "There are way too many liberals like me in this school. And I so love it."