--Mia and Ryo drove back to her house in silence. They were both tired and disappointed. Ever since the final battle against Talpa, they and the other Ronins had been looking for Uli’s parents. That last fight had done a lot of damage to the city and repairs were already underway. People were still missing, though. Some had fled the city, some had willingly joined Talpa’s army and been destroyed, and some had been buried in the rubble of ruined buildings. They searched all the hospitals, police stations, shelters, and even the morgues. Nothing. It had been weeks.

Suddenly, Mia crossed the center line, heading straight for an oncoming truck.

--"MIA! Look out!"

--Mia swerved hard the other way and ran off the road. She slammed on the brakes and they abruptly stopped in a field.

--"Mia! Mia, are you okay? What happened back there?"

--"I…I don’t know. I just felt dizzy all of a sudden. I couldn’t focus. Thank Goodness there was an empty field over here!"

--"You’re probably just exhausted with all the work you’ve been doing lately. On the phone looking for information, on the Internet searching, in the car driving all over. Me and the other guys, we can do more if you’d just let us. You need a break."

--"I can’t, Ryo. Now that things have quieted down, Uli has more time to think, to be depressed. You aren’t there every day to see him waiting for me to bring him good news. How hurt he is when I don’t have anything. He’s become like a little brother to me. I can’t let him down."

--"We all feel that way about Uli. We all want to do whatever we can, but we worry about you, too. Come on. I’ll drive home and you just relax. Take a nap or something."

--Mia and Ryo switched places. Mia was shook up after their near accident and Ryo didn’t think she’d get any rest. But after he’d been driving for a while, he noticed that Mia was fast asleep. When they reached the house, he thought about carrying her in and putting her to bed, but she woke up when he opened the passenger’s door. The others were waiting for them inside. Ryo looked around, but he didn’t see Uli. "Hey where’s my favorite little Ronin?"

--Sage answered, "He’s out back playing with White Blaze."

--No one said anything for several minutes. They were all afraid the news might be bad. Rowen was the first to break the uncomfortable silence.

--"So. Did you find out anything?"

--Mia shook her head sadly. "No sign of them."

--"But that’s a good thing, right? I mean, they’re probably alive then." Kento blurted out.

--"I doubt it, Kento." Sage said. "If they were alive, wouldn’t they have come looking for Uli? We would have met in the middle somewhere."

--Mia looked out the front window at the sun going down over the lake. She didn’t want to give up, but she was just about out of hope. Truth was hard to face when it hurt the ones you loved. "I think you’re right, Sage. I think they must be dead. The work crews are still finding bodies in the rubble. Maybe it’s only a matter of time." Ryo came over and put his arm around her shoulder as she fought back tears.

--"NO! NO! It’s not true! They’re not dead! They’re not! We’ll find them! We will. You’ll see!"

--Mia turned to see Uli in the doorway. "Oh, Uli. I’m so sorry. We didn’t find them. I don’t know if we’ll…"

--"Don’t say that! DON’T!" Uli ran out of the room crying uncontrollably. Ryo went after him. Uli escaped to the little wooden fort they’d all built for him in the back yard. Ryo thought about going in to talk to him, but he changed his mind. Rowen was standing at the door waiting when he went back to the house.

--"Did you find him?"

--"He’s in his fort. I think we should just leave him alone for a while."

--"Yeah. It’s probably for the best. Poor kid. It’s not fair. Talpa’s gone, but he’s still hurting people."

--"We don’t have our armor anymore, but we still need to be strong, Rowen—for Uli, Mia, and ourselves. We’ve got to keep looking. We can’t give up hope."

--Mia invited them all to stay for dinner that night. Kento helped Mia in the kitchen, munching on any snacks he could find until Mia shooed him into the other room. The guys were all sitting around watching television. No one really felt like talking. After a while they could smell something good. When everything was ready, Mia called the guys in. "Ryo. Could you please go get Uli? It’s getting late and I’m sure he’s hungry."

--"Sure thing, Mia. I’ll be right back." Ryo went out to the fort and knocked. "Uli? Hey, it’s time for dinner. If we don’t hurry up, Kento’s going to eat our share, too." He poked his head in. Uli wasn’t there. Ryo ran around yelling his name. His worried calls alerted the others. Everyone came outside and fanned out to look for Uli.

--Uli was walking in the woods, following a familiar voice that beckoned him. When he came to a clearing, he saw a figure in the moonlight. "Mom! It’s you! I knew it. They said you were dead, but I knew you were okay the whole time!" He ran to hug her but he just passed through her. "You…you’re…a ghost!"

--"Oh, Uli. Your father and I’ve missed you so much. I’m not a ghost, dear. I’m as a alive as you are."

--"But why can’t I touch you?"

--"Your father and I, along with some other people, got trapped between this world and the Dynasty during Talpa’s last attack. When he was destroyed, we were stuck. This is the first time I’ve been able to reach you."

--"I’ll go get my friends. They’re the Ronin Warriors. They’ll save you."

--"No Uli! You can’t tell them. Even without their armor, some of the Dynasty’s magic still clings to them. This place absorbs Dynasty magic. If you tell them, they’ll come to save us and be sucked into this place, too—trapped forever. You’re the only one who can save us now. You and the Jewel of Life. Bring it here and it will free us."

--"Uli! Hey, Uli! It’s Ryo. Where are you?"

--"Go back to the house, son. Sneak out later and bring me the Jewel. Remember—don’t tell anyone. Only you can help us. Promise?"

--"I promise Mom. I’ll save you and Dad. You can count on me."

--When Ryo got to the clearing, Uli was looking around. Nothing was there but dark shadows. "Uli! Man! You gave me a scare. Everybody’s searching for you. Are you okay?"

--"I’m fine, Ryo. Let’s go."

--Ryo couldn’t understand why a boy so upset about his parents only hours before, could be happy enough to whistle as they went back to the house. Ryo called everybody back. They’d been so worried about him that even Mia didn’t scold him for running off. As they walked up the steps, White Blaze suddenly jumped in front of them, sniffing the air with caution.

--"What’s wrong with White Blaze, Ryo?" Sai asked.

--"I’m not sure, but it’s something in the house" Ryo and the others slowly entered, anticipating danger. Someone was sitting in the study, back to them.

--"Ryo of Wildfire, Rowen of Strata, Sai of Torrent, Sage of Halo, Kento of Hardrock, Mia, and Uli. It is good to see you all again." The figure rose and turned to face them. Anubis!