The desert sun beat down on them relentlessly as they traveled. The small band
of teenagers and their teacher staggered towards the growing line in the
distance. It was a caravan of about twenty large animals. They were just able
to see the small speck like outlines of the people riding and walking beside
them. 
	"We'll meet them in a few minutes." said Jun as he walked down the side of a
particularly large sand dune. 
	"Only if you don't get us lost again you incompetent..." muttered Victor as
he staggered along in an almost identical stride a few feet behind; Ryoken and
the women were directly behind him.
	"They don't seem to notice us, or they don't care." noted Achika.
	"I don't think they can see us yet, we are a much smaller group." said
Itazura half heartedly.
	"Why are they getting in a circle?" said Phil as he stopped at the top of a
smaller dune. Jun and Ryoken turned to see that the caravan had stopped moving
and were forming what appeared to be a defensive ring.
	"This can't be good." said Ryoken as he broke into a run.
	Within a few moments they were about fifty yards away from the caravan. A
large and messy looking red spot could be seen clearly several yards away and
the men from the Caravan were peering over the large camel like creatures that
made up the herd. They were all armed and were watching the desert vigilantly.
The animals were about the size of a large elephant and had the dumb gaze of a
cow; they were making uncomfortable noises and jerked their heads around
nervously. One of the men noticed the group standing in the desert and called
to them.
	"What are you doing?! Get in here or you'll be killed!" he cried waving them
into the ring. Suddenly his animal jumped up throwing him back into the
circle. The small group looked on in horror as the huge beast seemed to sink
into the ground screaming desperately.  The sand at it's feet swirled and
moved as it seemed to swallow up the creature easily. When the torso reached
the ground the sand became a sea of blood spraying anything within a ten foot
radius of the unfortunate beast. Jun watched mesmerized as a long, black and
skinny hook like claw shot from the sand and impaled the creature's head
finally ending the screams. He shifted to the side as he finally regained his
senses and saw that there were two of them, they were opposite each other like
a pair of plyers or scissors. The last remains of the animal were pulled
quietly beneath the sand and the caravan calmed visibly. It seemed to be
finally over.

	Jun and his group walked over to the man who had waved them over and just
looked shocked. "What the hell was that?" asked Jenn as she stared at the spot
on the ground.
	"Ugly." said Victor with a frown as he kicked at the sand idly.
	"A sand demon, it took everything I own..." said the man looking at the spot
and sobbing to himself.	
	"Who are you?" said a new voice from behind them. Jun turned and saw a
beautiful woman of about thirty years old standing with a group of people
watching them closely.
	"We were heading for that city over there. I'm Jun and these are my fellow
travelers..." 
	Introductions were made and the group settled down after the initial shock of
the attack. An hour or so later they sat with a small group of the merchants
around the fire. Many other such groups surrounded them and light music
floated through the air. The mood was not very festive tonight though.
	The woman's name was Itora, she had long red hair and deeply tanned skin. She
also appeared to be the leader of the caravan. The people themselves were
dressed sort of like Arabic gypsies. They were mostly dark skinned with a few
people who were obviously from other cultures. Many of the darker skinned
people had red hair; especially the women.
	"It is unusual for them to attack this way; they avoid large groups and tend
to travel alone. It was very unfortunate to run into two of them the way we
did." she said with a tense sigh. The man had not taken the loss of his animal
well, he was currently sitting near the outside of the camp watching the
desert quietly.
	"Ever since the evil empire arose the land has become more hostile. It's
creatures more aggressive and angry. It's the fault of those damn Akama." said
an older woman near to them. She gripped Achika by the arm and pointed her
finger in her face as she said this. 
	Jun smiled and kept up his conversation with Itora. "I bet those things in
the river weren't near as plentiful a few years ago."
	"What you say is true I'll admit; but it hardly had anything to do with the
western continent. That has affected only our economy thus far." she smiled as
she said this and the old woman waved her hand and gave her a distasteful
look.
	"What do these things look like?" asked Ryoken calmly as he played with the
sand at his feet idly.
	"No one here can tell I'm afraid. They have been killed or captured before,
but it is rare. They are dangerous but not usually very aggressive; besides
they taste terrible, no one hunts them." said one of the men.
	"I'm told they are quite unpleasant." said Itora with an odd look on her
face. 
	Victor smiled from his place at the small circle. "I think that it would be
wise if someone were to find out why the animals are so aggressive lately.
Perhaps the government?"
	"Many people have asked that, but no one listens. The kings are lazy and
preoccupied with the threat of invasion from the western continent. Most of
them save Josei have loose treaties with the Akama; but they are very
cautious. Many of them give secret support to the resistance, often sending
men to 'defect' so to speak."
	"The king of Corinal has said it is just the unusual weather that causes the
animals to act this way. He says that the creatures are uncomfortable and
grouchy. What I saw today was not the effect of a drought or flood." snorted
an older man who had been silent until now.
	"I agree, such an explanation is very unlikely." said Phil as he drank some
of the strange wine they had given them. It was not very strong and tasted
rather like some sort of sweet berry. "This is a rather unusual drink."
	"My people make it, many people buy it for weddings and fancy parties. In
fact we are on our way to deliver some to the king of Corinal." said Itora
proudly. 
	"What were you fools doing in the desert alone that way? You should have
caught a caravan in Disku valley. No one should travel through land like this
alone." said the old man looking at them distastefully. Jun frowned slightly
mostly because he realized the man was right. 
	"Don't scold them, I have a feeling that they must be very strong warriors to
make such a journey. Another day and they would have made it without help."
said Itora with a strange smile.
	"Well, I don't like to brag." said Victor with a smirk. He flexed his arm and
to everyone's, including his, surprise his shirt tore at the bisep. He stared
at it for a moment just smiled. 
every one noticed that their clothes had been growing tighter or looser with
each day of the travel, apparently they all were getting in better shape. It
wasn't surprising considering the difficult terrain they had been traveling
on; but this was more than even he had expected.
	"Sit down Mr. Chip n' Dale." said Jenn as she laughed crudely and pulled him
back to his seat roughly.
	"Unhand me you!!" cried Victor as he pulled away from the almost hysterical
Jenn.
	"Quite impressive." noted Itora as she gazed at Jun calmly.
	"He'd better be with a mouth like that." muttered the boy oblivious to her
stares.
	Victor combed back his hair to calm himself down and growled at Jenn as her
fit of laughter died down.
	"So tell me why you are headed to Corinal?" asked Itora.
	The group all turned towards Jun again. "Say, why are we headed for this
place anyway?" asked Victor smugly.
	"It was a destination, that's all." replied Jun with a shrug.
	"You mean to tell me you crossed a desert because you didn't have anywhere to
go?!" screamed the old man in shock.
	"Yea, why else would I?" asked Jun calmly.
	"It just occurred to me how stupid that sounds." said Itazura with a small
frown. 
	"As a whole, the experience was not been all that bad." said Ryoken calmly.
He had been dozing off just out side the group for most of the conversation.
	"Not all that bad?! I demand a reasonable explanation for this! A leader
should be competent enough to explain when he does stupid things!" growled
Victor.
	"A leader does not have to explain actions to his subordinate." said Itora
with a dangerous tone to her voice.
	Victor was unimpressed and simply snorted distastefully. "He isn't my
leader."
	"Then why are you following us?" asked Itazura bitterly.
	"I cannot, in good conscience, leave you poor defenseless women alone with
this incompetent fool." said Victor arrogantly.
	"Defenseless?! I kicked your butt every day when we were little!" snarled
Achika.
	This got a decided reaction from the crowd. Victor blushed and scowled at
her. "I only let you win because you were a girl!" he retorted.
	Jun interjected quickly. "He is with us because I won't let him go off on his
own. He is not trustworthy, when he proves that he can get along with normal
society on his own I'll let him go. Not before then."
	"I am not your prisoner!" snarled Victor angrily as he stared Jun down.
	"Call it what you like." replied the boy simply as he took a drink from the
cup that had been given to him.
	"I won't stand for this!" said Victor bitterly as he walked over to Jun and
stood directly in his face.
	"So do something about it." said Jun.
	Victor glared at him and looked at his hand for a moment. He turned away and
sat quietly a small distance away glaring at Jun angrily.
	"Spoken like a true leader." said Itora approvingly.
	"He just knows he isn't ready for that fight yet. He's dangerous, warn your
men to leave him alone or they'll be hurt." said Jun as calmly as ever. 
	"My men are not fools, he won't be bothered. Although I doubt if he would do
much damage to these brutes. Merchants are a hardy race of men." said the old
man calmly.
	"Think what you like, I won't be responsible for him if something happens,
he's more than he seems. It's not all just talk, trust me." said Jun looking
directly at him.
	Itora smiled and said nothing.

	An hour later Jun sat alone by the fire. Itazura and Achika were both on
either side of him. He looked at them and smiled to himself as he watched the
embers burn down. Jenn on the other hand was sprawled out across a blanket
snoring loudly opposite him. Phil was next to her with his face covered by her
hand and a foot planted firmly in his stomach. The others had opted to sleep
in a different group nearby. Jun frowned slightly, he didn't like it when
Victor wasn't directly in sight. Ryoken would keep him in line for a while,
but he wasn't sure how long it would last.
	"Oh, you are still awake?" said a voice from behind him.
	"I have allot to think about." replied Jun as he turned to face Itora.
	"Walk with me then, I always make rounds to check on the guards this time of
night." she said quietly. Jun could hear the smile in her voice.
	A few moments later they were relatively alone among the sleeping heard of
pack animals. "So you gonna tell me what you want?" he asked suddenly.
	"Ah, I am impressed again. Most men would think I was simply trying to seduce
them." she said with a small twinkle in her eyes from the moonlight. She
really was beautiful, Jun had almost hoped she was trying to get in his pants
despite the age difference. "I am impressed by you, that is not easily done.
You have the qualities of a true leader." 
	"Thanks, I think." said Jun more to himself than her.
	"It's true, I was wondering if you would consider staying with us. I could
use a good man. I won't make you my second right away of course..." said the
woman as she faced him. Her face was completely serious and she had the
smallest smile on her lips. He imagined this was her most professional face.
	"I wouldn�t expect it, we just met, you don't know if you can really trust
me." replied Jun with a smug and comprehending look.
	"I can promise you that you'll be my first choice, if you are the man you
seem to be." she said calmly. "Kinton is getting old, he won't last much
longer the men are losing respect for him, with your help he could regain a
year or two and retire with you in his place." she turned away and looked off
at the camp as she said this.
	"He doesn't trust me. I can tell that much already." said Jun quietly.
	"But he was impressed, even if he doesn't trust you he'll grow to like you
quickly." 
	"I'll consider your offer, I'll have to discus it with my comrades." said Jun
after a moment of thought.
	"Excellent, I will await your answer." said Itora with a triumphant grin. At
that moment she reminded him so much of himself it was scary.  
	"I guess we should head back." said Jun as he turned away towards the camp.
	"I wonder just how strong a man you are?" said Itora as she spun him around
and kissed him roughly. He looked surprised for a moment and jerked back
momentarily; but then he felt her tongue gently probing his mouth and relaxed
in her arms. She broke off after a moment and he blinked in mild surprise. 
	"I thought you said you weren't trying to seduce me?" he said with a sly grin
as he regained his senses quickly.
	"All I said was that I was impressed you didn't assume I was here for this; I
never said you were right." she purred as her top slid down her torso. Jun
swallowed hard and backed away slightly. He was not used to this sort of
treatment, not that it bothered him much...
	The moment was quickly forgotten however when a scream came from the  far
side of the camp. The pair of them sprinted towards the sound with Itora
placing her top back on skillfully as she ran. More screams came and Itora
realized that she was alone. "Where did??" she said out loud as she looked and
saw Jun was already there. She bolted around one of the carriages and stopped
cold at what she saw. Jun was standing in the middle of a large pool of blood
looking around with an angry stare. Pieces of bodies littered the ground
around him and he turned to face her. "Get off the ground! Now!"
	She jumped onto the carriage and a blurry white and red object flew in front
of her. She screamed as she was knocked to the ground by the blow. Desperately
groping for cover she watched in horror as her second in command Kinton was
shaken in the air by two large hook like claws. His chest was pierced on
either side and he screamed in agony as the flesh along the puncture wounds
was torn by the violent movement. The screaming stopped when the man was
slammed into the ground and disappeared under the sand in an instant. She
gasped and turned away quickly. Then she felt the sand pulling her down from
below. She struggled and began to scream angrily as she pounded at the ground
and groped for the nearby carriage.

	Jun heard the woman scream and turned to see Itora sinking into the ground
slowly. He dove and grasped at her hand as it vanished beneath the earth. He
glanced around desperately and saw thirteen gigantic mounds of sand gliding
around the camp silently among the panicked travelers; occasionally a pair of
hooks would emerge and drag someone down after a bloody and violent struggle.
He could not find his friends anywhere and Itora's head was disappearing fast
muffling her screams. Two black hooks appeared from the ground beside him and
he felt her hand begin to slide away. 
	"NOOO!"

	TBC.....


	Ah yes, the evil that is the cliff hanger. Dare you not read the next
chapter? Where is everyone else? What will happen? Who will live? OOh, I love
that this is anime/fiction so I can ask that last one and have you not know
the answer!!
	Well, don't get your hopes up. Ryo has to get his little story in too, Next
time he finds that Training his newly acquired student is the least of his
troubles, he has a price on his head and almost everyone is aiming to collect;
it seems that he is now the most wanted man in Josei, bounty hunters, an army,
and one commander Alek Hunter have all been given the task of eliminating the
newest threat to the throne. Who will reach him first and how the hell is he
gonna get out of it? 
	Our friends are about to find out that the people of this strange new world
are not as weak as they think.
	Next time: