Welcome to the newly renovated chapter one of "Changing Series: A New Foe." This story takes place after "The Consequences of Fallibility," and after Gaiden.

Summary: Now that Kubi has become emperor of the Dynasty, his first plan is to gain revenge on the Ronin Warriors for ruining the Dynasty's reputation. How will the Ronin handle this new foe?

Disclaimer: I do now own the Ronin Warriors, I only own my own characters, and the events in this story.

Part I: Normal Life

Chapter1: How Could He?

It was a sunny day in April in the city of Boston. On the other side of the world, Talpa was beginning his first attack on the Mortal Realm. However, the students of Central High School who were spilling out into the streets did not know of the evil that was targeting their world. Katie, fifteen years old with long straight blonde hair waved down her fourteen year-old sister. Sarah noticing her sister calling her over, parted from her friend and walked over to her.

"Hey Katie," Sarah said, her brown hair blowing in the light breeze.

"Sarah, I have a modeling gig this afternoon," Katie began.

"I know that…" Sarah said, but Katie continued.

"And afterwards, I'm going to dinner with Dana and Tim. Tell mom for me okay? I might not get a chance to call her, and I don't want her to worry."

"Yeah, sure," Sarah replied.

"Are you going straight home?" Katie questioned.

"Yeah, but I'm going to cut through the park, and wait for Christa there. She has a tech crew meeting, and it's too nice of a day to sit inside," Sarah explained.

"Alright, well I'll see you later then," Katie said.

"Yeah, bye," Sarah responded.

Katie climbed down from the city bus in the heart of Boston. She walked down the street towards the modeling agency's studio, and just as she was about to walk in, the ground began to shake. The pavement before her feet cracked and reared up. She screamed and turned and ran about ten meters. Then she looked back to see what was happening. She watched in awe as a large, red, Dynasty gate rose from beneath the pavement. "What…" Katie murmured, too shocked to continue her sentence.

The gate opened with a creak, revealing nothing but darkness. Then the sinister voice of Talpa called out to her, "Your place is here! Enter into the EVIL DYNASTY!" Katie screamed, and turned to run again. However, a group of Nether Spirits spun around her, and pulled her into the gate. The doors closed with a slam.

O

Across the city, Sarah was walking through the park, scanning the area for an empty bench. She pushed her glasses back up on her nose, they never did stay in place. A deep fog began to appear all around her. Then she felt a rumble in the ground. The Earth began to shake violently. Sarah looked around her, and discovered that all the people who had been in the park were suddenly gone. The ground shook again, and she turned to see a Dynasty Gate emerge from the green grass. Sarah remained calm, slowly backing away from the gate. However, the gate burst open, and Badamon appeared in the dark depths. Badamon beckoned her towards him, and shouted, "Come to us warrior, for you now serve the EVIL DYNASTY!" Sarah did not waste another moment, but turned and ran. However, a team of Nether Spirits wrapped around her, and dragged her in. The gate closed with a resounding thud behind her.

O

September:

Ryo lounged on the living room couch in Mia's large home, watching the news. The somber newscaster began to speak, "The young Japanese – American model and her sister who were reported missing six months ago still have not been found. It appears that they have vanished without a trace. If you have any information please call…"

Ryo switched the TV off, and stood up and stretched. He turned to Mia, who was absorbed in her new woman's magazine and said, "Well, I'm going to bed now."

"Good night Ryo," she replied without looking up. "You have school tomorrow, so do not forget to set your alarm clock again."

Ever since he returned from New York, Ryo had stayed at Mia's home. The others felt it best that he not be alone after what happened to Luna. Returning to Japan had numbed some of the sorrow Ryo felt over her death, but he still thought about her constantly. He could not help but blame himself, as he always did when things went wrong. Mia had supported him the best she could. She was an attentive listener, and a great advice-giver, but Ryo still missed his cabin, and being alone.

O

The following day began like any other. The Ronin Warriors met up with each other outside before school started. They joked with each other, laughing at Rowen who always arrived just before the bell. Then they all went to their classes.

O

Rowen and Sage had a writing class together, which Rowen despised, and Sage loved. Their current unit was freestyle poetry, and everyday they were forced to write poems about any topic. Rowen usually carved out poems about the great expanse of space, or, if he was feeling particularly creative, about the merits of math and science. Haine-sensei always discouraged his topics, as her main attempt was to draw out the feelings of each student.

Sage was one of her favorite students. He could write with grace about the beauty of nature, or the feelings he had during kendo matches. However, Sage rarely read his poetry aloud. Haine-sensei had taken to reading them herself, whether or not Sage wanted anyone to hear them.

Today was another 'sharing day.' Rowen looked over at Sage, who was sitting nervously across the room. 'I wonder what he wrote about this time…' Rowen thought to himself.

Haine-sensei stood before the class, a bright smile on her face. "Today, I will read aloud the best poems written by all of you. I must admit, there were many wonderful, insightful poems handed in last week. Although, some of you are still not reaching within yourselves, and allowing your feelings to flow freely." She briefly glared at Rowen, who shrugged.

She cleared her throat and began to read. The first few poems all dealt with love. Rowen rolled his eyes as a classmate's poem centered around the purity of her lover's kiss was read. Another few were about nature, a usual topic for the Japanese to discuss. Then, she came to the last poem. Rowen looked over at Sage again, certain that it had to be his.

"This one is extremely wonderful, and afterwards I think we should all discuss it as well," Haine-sensei smiled. She began to read,

'I hear the screams of my friend,

Echoing in the dark night

I want his pain to stop, but I am helpless,

Bound to the duty of protecting someone else,

I can do nothing but watch, watch and listen

He screams again, his torture never ending.

All at once, he is silent,

I see him lying prone, his skin pallid

I know it is now over; I failed him.

How I wish he would scream anew.'

"Isn't it wonderful? Very well done, Date-san," Haine-sensei smiled. Rowen shuddered, and turned his face away from the front of the room. He stared at the wall, images flying through his head, images of his first battle with Talpa. Across the room, Sage glanced at Rowen. A deep flush crept over Sage's face as he saw that Rowen had turned toward the wall. "Now, why don't we discuss this," Haine-sensei suggested.

Hands immediately flew up in the air. The first student, a female with tears in her eyes, told Haine-sensei how beautiful she found the poem. "You can sense the guilt, and the regret in it, it's gorgeous," she said.

Another student however, did find it gorgeous. "I don't get it, he calls the other guy his friend, but then he wants him to be tortured," the student said.

"What do you mean, Matsukai-san?" Haine-sensei asked.

"Well, he's talking about how he wants to help his friend, but he doesn't, then his friend is silent, and he says he wishes he would scream again. First of all, why didn't he help the other guy, and second of all, why would he want him to be hurt?"

"Matsukai-san, I…" Haine-sensei began, but she was cut short by Rowen's voice.

"That's not what he's saying. He does want to help his friend, but he can't. He has to protect someone else. Then he says 'it's over' because his friend has died. He wishes he would scream again because then at least his friend would be alive, and maybe he, or someone else could save him," Rowen said, without facing the class.

"Hashiba-san, that is quite an interpretation for someone who only writes about science and math," Haine-sensei laughed.

"It's not an interpretation, the poem states everything I just said, you don't need to 'interpret' it, you just have to read it," Rowen said, angry. Haine-sensei ignored his comment.

"Anyone else?" she asked. Sage looked guiltily at Rowen. He had asked Haine-sensei not to read it aloud, but he had known she should. Sage sighed, he knew he should have warned Rowen, not blindsided him.

When the bell finally rang, Rowen pushed ahead of everyone else and left the classroom first. Sage ended up being the last one out, as the females in the class had grouped around him to tell him how beautiful his writing was. Sage finally charged ahead of them, just to see Rowen's blue-haired head in the distance, climbing the stairs.

Rowen was fuming, his head pulsing with anger. 'How could he write about that? He knew Haine-sensei would read it aloud! Why would he do that to me! Why would he write a poem about me dying, and not know that it would bother me! How could he write about that!'

Please excuse that horrible display of poetry. I am not a good poet, but Sage is, so just pretend it was awesome.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of a long, long, story. Please review!

Thank you,

Sarah Shima