Ryo, Rowen, Sage, Sai, Kento, Zoe, Anubis, and Mia all stood around Uli, forced smiles on their faces. Uli was going home. The others couldn’t be there to say goodbye--Zane was still house-sitting for his and Zoe’s uncle, and Astarte, Gilgamesh, and Trace were still bumming around somewhere in the Mediterranean. But the people closest to Uli were there—the ones he’d spent the most time with. They all hated to see him go, but his place was with his parents. Hecate had sort of told the truth about one thing. Some people from Earth had gotten trapped in another dimension during Talpa’s last battle with the Ronins—only not in some strange shadowy realm. Kayura and the dark warlords had found them wandering around in the Dynasty. She’d started sending them back to Earth for Mia and the others to take home. They’d been ecstatic when Uli’s parents had been among those found. The two of them stayed at Mia’s for a while, but the excitement soon wore off as everyone realized Uli would be leaving. Today was the day.

Uli looked up at Mia and the others, eyes red with tears. "Will I ever see you guys again? You’ll come visit me…won’t you?"

Kento laughed. "Of course we will. You’re an official, certified, grade-A, junior Ronin Warrior, aren’t you?"

"Yeah, man. No way we’d forget you. You saved my life, remember?" Ryo put his hand on Uli’s shoulder. White Blaze was licking Uli’s hand.

Mia was nearly ready to burst into tears, but she held herself in check. "I’ll stuff everybody into my truck and we’ll visit all the time. You’ll get sick of seeing us. This isn’t goodbye. It’s just…see you later. And I told your parents that if they ever need a baby-sitter, to give me a call." Mia knelt down and started buttoning up Uli’s sweater.

Uli rolled his eyes. "Aww, Mia! I’m not a baby." Everyone laughed.

"I know that, Uli. But it is kind of chilly today." She stood up, looking to where Uli’s parents waited by their car. She had to let go. Mia backed off so the others could talk to Uli. After a few minutes of hugging and tense laughter, Uli walked over to his parents. They all waved and yelled as the car drove out of sight, Uli’s sad face staring out the back window. White Blaze even chased the car for a ways until Ryo called him back. Everyone stood around, not knowing what to do next.

Anubis approached Mia. "Take comfort that what you said to Uli was the truth. Today was not a goodbye…merely ‘see you later’. Uli is, and always will be, an important part of your life."

Mia shook her head in agreement, then turned and ran into the house. The others just stood there, a heavy silence among them.

The air suddenly grew thick, the sky dark with storm clouds. A disembodied voice startled them. Kayura. "Ronins! You must come to the Dynasty at once! A fearsome new evil power is on the rise here, threatening all that the warlords and I have done to rebuild this place. We need your help to stop it before it spreads!"

Ryo was already in his subarmor. "Whatever you need, you’ve got it! Just let me get Mia and summon the rest of the Sentinels and…"

"There’s no time! We need the Ronins now. The Sentinels should stay on Earth anyway. We don’t know if this new evil force has plans for Earth or not. Someone should remain to protect it if necessary. Hurry! We’ve no time to lose! I’m trying to open a gateway, but something is impeding me. Anubis, could you..?"

"Of course, Kayura." Anubis used the power bestowed upon him by the spirits of the Ancients to open a doorway to the Dynasty.

Ryo turned to Zoe. "Tell Mia we'll be back before she knows it."

Kento smiled at Zoe. "Yeah. This shouldn’t take long. I’ll be back in time for our date." Then Kento did something that surprised everyone--even himself. He grabbed Zoe and gave her a quick, passionate kiss.

Zoe said breathlessly, "You’d better be. Or I’ll come looking for you…and it won’t be pretty." She pushed him away from her. "Now get out of here."

The other Ronins were giving Kento sly looks as they headed for the portal, White Blaze running behind them. As they walked through, Sage and Sai started teasing Kento. Zoe just shook her head. "Boys will be boys. Come on, Anubis. Let’s go back to the house and see about contacting the others."