"Come on!" Reia urged, as she continued up the relentlessly LONG flight of stairs, with Cye at her heels. "Dynasty morons had to break the elevator..."

"Those soldiers we passed back there looked pretty mangled, Reia. I'd say we're on the right track... Hey, Reia?"

"What is it, Cye?"

"DUCK!"

He grabbed her shoulder and pushed her down on the stairs, just as a jet of fire passed over their heads.

"Close one," She remarked, wrinkling her nose at the smell of smoke. "I hope that fire wasn't from Kasukio... it'd be just like that hot head to burn down the whole museum..."

"Hm?" Rowen gasped to himself, looking up suddenly from his book.

"What is it, Rowen?" Ryo asked, surprised by his friend's sudden movement.

"...I don't know," He whispered. "...Just a feeling..."

Junichi, who had been dozing slightly, in an armchair, suddenly woke up, at the same moment Sage came padding down the stairs, mumbling to himself. Xanthe fiddled nervously with his trusty Magic Eight Ball, all thoughts of practicing his monologue lost.

Kento woke up, but said nothing.

Kawai paced around the room.

"...A feeling," She whispered at last, looking towards the late afternoon sun in one of the windows. "...Something's coming, you guys..."

White Blaze paced the floor, no longer interested in the games he'd been engaged in with Yulie. Mia could not concentrate on the computer...

Stars exploded in Lys' brain when she hit the pavement, so hard the force of Trox's body against hers caused the cement to split, shards flying everywhere. Only her sub armor kept her from being killed instantly.

There was a roaring sound in her ears, and she was only dimly aware of the screaming people on the street. The sun, a dark, sickly orange, was slowly becoming blotted out by clouds.

~...No...~ She thought, dazedly, as she laid on her back, staring up at the sky. ~...It's happening...~

"Get up and fight me, you little weakling!" Trox roared. Lys cried out, and barely managed to roll to the side before an incredibly huge battle ax slammed into the ground.

She nimbly got to her feet, hopping over a nearby mailbox and landing in the street.

Looking around, she realized the once crowded streets were nearly deserted, and the remaining people were totally disregarding her and Trox, all running away like rabbits.

The battle ax cut through the air again as she dodged- again, doing a handspring backwards to dodge two more strikes.

"Stop DODGING, little witch!" The Netherworld man screamed at her, as a shock wave ran along the street, with a low pitched roar. More concrete chunks were uprooted and banged against her, making sparks fly off her sub armor.

~ No more dodging... you want it, you got it, ~ Lys thought. "All right then!! ARMOR OF HALO... DAO CHI!!!"

"AHH!" Kasukio slammed into the wall, so hard he felt it break behind him, falling to pieces after he landed on the floor. Pieces of mortar clattered across the floor, and fell down several stories to the street below. A cold breeze slid into the hallway the battle was taking place in.

"Little fool," Balin laughed, watching the boy pull himself to his feet. "None of you have been able to beat a Dark Ronin one on one! What made you think you could defeat the greatest of them all?"

Balin laughed again as he clacked his swords together, and a stream of blue fire burst forth. Kasukio ducked, throwing himself off balance, and, unfortunately, open for another attack. The well placed blow sent his helmet skittering across the floor in the opposite direction his body flew, and blood trailing from a deep cut on his cheek.

"Why... you really are just a little boy, aren't you!" Balin gasped. "How amusing!"

"You are... seriously... pissing me off..." Kasukio moaned as he sat up again. Outside, lightning was crashing in controlled, abnormal patterns, as it had been for quite some time, since the battle had begun. Looking towards the light outside, he sighed. ~ He's too fast... Arcane's goons are too strong for us, one on one... Oh, man, I hope Lys is OK... if anything happens to my little butterfly, I won't be able to stand it-~

"Let's finish this," Balin stated calmly, brandishing both swords. "Trox has probably already used up that puny girl... and I can't just let him run loose in the mortal realm... not that we're worried about damage, but Arcane likes to keep track of us..."

"What do you mean, 'used up'?! If anything happened to her, Mister..."

"You children are far too easily distracted! Spending all your energy worrying about your little girlfriend will only make your death come that much quicker! NOW! Prepare to meet your maker!" Balin threw the two swords, heading for Kasukio's head...

There was a WHOOSH sound, and a pair of metallic PINGS, as the swords clattered to the ground, inches from their intended mark. Two golden arrows imbedded themselves into the wall, deflected off the swords.

"...Reia..." He muttered, dazedly.

"Kasu, get out of the WAY!" Reia cried, diving at her fallen friend and shoving them both to the ground, just as the cry "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!" echoed through the hallway.

Balin cried out and held his arms out in front of himself, in an attempted block, as the brilliant blue water energy passed over Wildfire and Strata, and slammed into him. The building shook, and more stone came loose from the walls and ceiling.

"That should take care of him," Cye commented, as he ran to the scene. "Everyone all right?"

"I'm fine, but what about Lys? We have to find her!" Kasukio exclaimed, as he shook his head from side to side, trying to clear it. "That big guy knocked her out that window..."

The dust cloud from Cye's attack began to settle... and out of the shadows and the flickering light from half broken bulbs, staggered Balin.

"...That... was a nasty little trick," He growled. The blond man held his hands out, and the kitanas flew back to him. "...No moregames, Wildfire... I will personally separate your head from you neck... and then I'll kill the two of you as well, I don't care what Persephone or Kaori say..."

"You'll have to fight all thr-" Reia began, as she took an arrow from her quiver, but Kasukio held his hand up.

"No... Reia, please, go find Lys for me. This is my fight!" The red haired boy stated, in the most solemn, even voice she'd ever head him use.

"He'll kill you without backup!" She protested.

"That guy will kill Lys without backup!" He shot back. "Reia, please..."

She stepped back, and looked over at Cye, then back at Kasukio, and nodded.

"Cye... will you stay here and help Kasukio?" She asked. He nodded, and she made a sprint for one of the (now many) shattered windows.

"No you don't!" Balin shouted, as he flung more fiery energy from the swords at her, but he was a moment too late; she was out the window before the fire could touch her.

"AHH!!!" Lys screamed as her body bounced off a wall, and she found herself rolling into the street.

She coughed, and to her dismay blood fell from her mouth. Her entire body ached, but she kept her grip on her sword, and sat up.

"Try this on, baby-cakes!" Trox yelled, as he advanced on her again. He raised his ax into the air, laughing insanely as it began to glow with sickly green energy.

~ Somehow, I doubt I should let him do whatever he's planning on doing...~ Lys thought, as she stood up shakily. Over her head, the clouds parted just enough for a single beam of light to shine down on top of her. Closing her eyes, she held her sword aloft over her head, as the beam of light forming a Halo around her grew brighter, and lightning began to spark in the heavens above...

"...THUNDER BOLT CUT!!!" Lys commanded all the lightning to gather above her head, and come down to her sword, the perfect conductor, filling her with new strength and power. She lunged towards the warrior who'd been pummeling her a moment ago, mouth open in a silent scream, bright, hot light trailing in her wake.

Trox seemed frozen in place, and even as the raw, channeled power streaked towards him, Lys found a small smile creeping onto her lips. Surely, this would be the end of one of Arcane's cronies.

It was almost funny- Lysithea Tai was regarded as one of the most gentle girls around. Her nickname at school was "mouse". Kasukio privately called her his "little butterfly". And yet, here she was... without an ounce of remorse for what was about to be visited upon the Dark Ronin of Ignorance. She wasn't quite sure why... Perhaps she was simply hardened by being a Ronin Warrior... maybe it was because she knew if they didn't destroy the enemy, they themselves would die, and the world- the future- with them. Perhaps she was still angry over the near death of her best friend, at the hands of one of Arcane's warriors.

But, more than a few instances too late, Lys realized something was wrong. Trox just stood there, smiling. Even as the thunder energy crashed into him, he did not grimace, only laughed. He was pushed back where he stood, but did not waver or even fall.

"Pretty tasty!" He roared. "I like your pretty little power!"

"No way!" Lys cried, stepping back in shock. "He... he absorbed my power!!"

"Check this out now, baby! IGNORANCE'S REFLECTION!"

Trox swiped the air with his ax, and the lightning zapped to him, turning deep purple magenta. It gathered on the blade, forming into a huge, ax shaped, electric weapon.

Lys tried to dodge, but apparently Trox had absorbed and taken on all the lightning's qualities- including the incredible speed.

Every nerve in her body seemed to explode with pain when the purple energy hit her, and she flew a long way, before bouncing and rolling into a parking lot. She probably would have tumbled farther, but she hit a parking meter, hard enough to make the metal pole nearly double over.

She laid on the ground, unable to move. Her vision swam, and she blacked out, but only for a few moments. Trox wanted her awake for what would happen next.

"Well, that was a good work out," The huge man said lightly, as he leaned over her, leering down at her battered face. He pulled her helmet off, allowing her long silver braid to tumble out onto the ground. "I don't think I'll kill ya just yet, though..." He picked up the braid, holding it in a hand that was nearly as big as her head. "Such a delicate lil' thing, and a Ronin Warrior... oh yeah... I'm gonna have fun, ripping ya up some more, before I kill you..."

Lys tried to move, but he was too strong. She just couldn't. Her sword had been knocked away, and was out of reach. Her whirling mind wouldn't stop long enough, and it hurt terribly when she tried to concentrate.

Trox laid a hand on the breast-plate of her armor, still leering at her. "Ya wanna see another trick, baby?" Black energy gathered at his fingertips, where it touched her armor. "...Dispel...Magic!"

Lys' eyes grew wide, but no sound came out of her mouth, as she felt her power dribble away. Not into Trox, he wasn't absorbing it... simply banishing it. The armor of Halo dissolved away, leaving her in her sub armor. He grinned evilly, and concentrated, as the spell gained power, her sub armor vanished as well.

Trox held her down, so easily. He didn't even need magic to deal with the flimsy cloth between him and her. Lys whispered something, perhaps "...No..." but he only laughed, as one hand settled around her neck and began to squeeze, and all she could hear was her pulse roaring in her ears and the sound of tearing cloth...

Reia's feet hit the pavement, and she began running. There was no sign of Lys, or her attacker, anywhere.

"Lys?"

The street was eerily empty, like a ghost town. But then, something caught her attention. A ways down the street, around the corner, there were sporadic bursts of energy, but even as she began to move towards them, they ceased. The air was still, and too quiet.

"Something's wrong... LYS!" Reia took off running, nocking an arrow and setting two extras in her teeth, just in case, even as she ran.

As she skittered around the corner, the site she found was certainly not the one she expected. Reia screeched to a halt, her mouth hanging open in sheer horror. The extra arrows she'd placed into her mouth fell and clattered against Lys' forgotten Halo sword, laying on the pavement, but she paid the weapons no heed.

A dome of dark purple lightning had surrounded them, but Reia could see, far too clearly, what the evil man was doing to Lysithea, her dearest friend in all the world.

Tears came suddenly to Reia's eyes, spilling over as panic and pain welled up in her.

"...Stop..." She whispered. "STOOOOOOP!!!!!!!"

Reia's bow came up, without thinking, only with feeling. Pain, horror, and most of all deep, venomous, flame hot anger and hatred for the creature...

"ARMOR OF STRATA!! ARROW SHOCK WAVE!!!!!!" Reia screamed, as loud as she could make her lungs go. "BURN IN HADES, YOU PIECE OF NETHERWORLD FILTH!!!"

Trox looked up, surprised in the heat of his lust, as Reia's powerful arrow shattered his energy shield. It exploded, throwing the huge man back onto the pavement.

Reia was not going to give him a chance to recover, or even to put his armor back on. She nocked another arrow, vowing aloud, "I'LL KILL YOU!!!"