CHAPTER I Early Beginnings

"Oh, c'mon guys, be serious," said a young girl at around 17 years of age. "We have to find a job before our next paycheck arrive."

The girl had long black hair but the length is unsure since it's always tied in a ponytail and wore t-shirts that were three sizes bigger than her athletic form. Her backpack slung behind her back as she biked between her two friends. Her gray eyes darted from one boy to another waiting for their answer. The taller of the two boys had looked at the girl and smiled.

They were known to everyone as "The Three Orphans". Charles Stevens, Jason Seaver and Jenny Simon have been friends ever since they were in diapers. They're parents used to own one of the biggest malls in Sta. Monica, California. But a plane crash left these three friends alone with their parents' fortune and their trust funds stuck in a bank until they come to age. Now, after selling their family homes and some valuables, and with whatever's left of the money outside the bank, they were now living at their family's beach house - an investment by their parents - where they used to spend summers together. They had been living together for two years now since their parents' death with a yearly check coming from their family fortune until they turn 21.

Since this morning at breakfast, Jenny has been convincing her two best friends to look for a job that would add to their finances. They haven't agreed on anything as they were biking their way to school that day.

"C'mon, Jen," said Charles, combing his dark brown hair with his hands. "There are a lot more things to worry about. Look, there's school, homework and projects, and don't forget soccer practices. What makes you think we'll have time for a job?"

"Well," Jason replied, looking at Charles with his light brown eyes that matches his hair. He was only an inch shorter than Charles 6'1" frame. "Maybe Jenny's right, Carl. I mean, we are losing money very fast and our next check will be on December and it's only the second week of September now."

He stopped, making the others stop as well. He looked up in the sky as if the answer he was looking for is up there. He then added, "Maybe we could get a job at the Powell's store. I've heard Mr. P's looking for some 'hands' that could help him there."

The Powell's Store was a small bookstore located in the commercial area of the town. It was the most popular bookstores in Sta. Monica. And there was a sign just a couple of days ago that said, IMMEDIATE HIRING. So far, no one had been accepted for the job.

"Great!" Charles exclaimed, rolling his blue eyes unenthusiastically. "I have this sinking feeling that the two of you already worked everything out. Okay, we'll go there after school."

"Cool," said Jenny, gray eyes sparkled with anticipation. "So that settles it then. We'll meet at the oak tree after class."
"So the three of you want the job." Mr. Powell said to them that afternoon. He was a man in his early sixties, with an air that surely came from a man who served as a soldier during the war. He was still well built; the only sign of his age was the graying color of his hair. "Well, let's see what you can do. Always be here at three thirty sharp. Your class ends at three, right? On weekends you get in at noon. Close the store at six o'clock sharp. Lock all doors and gates before you leave. Customers are always right, no questions about what they say or do. Prices are on the items. I'll leave the duplicate keys with you. Two dollars a day for each of you but payday will always be the last day of the month. Are there any questions? Good."

For the first hour, he taught them what they needed to know when they are working in the bookstore. He taught them how the cashier was operated and shown where the supplies were kept. He taught them how to stack the supplies and how to put the price tags properly.

"Now I'll leave everything to you three," he said. "So if you want to keep this job, you'll do your best and don't be late, okay?"

After last minute rounds and checking whether everything is all right, he left.

After a few moments of silence, Jenny asked her two companions. "Did you guys got what he said earlier?"

The other two nodded and Jason asked, "how about you? Do you want explanations about some things that he said earlier?"

"I got what he said," she answered. "Well, kind-of. But let's get started. I'll handle the cashier."

"I'll take the tapes and disks."

"Then I'll have the reading materials and supplies for school and office."

Customers come and go and that afternoon were very busy for them 'til the time when they will close the shop.
"What an exhausting day." Jenny said while watching her friends close the store. She leaned her back on the wall and gave a heavy sigh. She needed sleep and her body was aching for bed.

"I didn't think our day wasn't going to end at all," said Charles while putting the last padlock to its place. "Those people thought this place would be out of service for at least a century."

"Charles," Jason said. "Are you giving me a headache?"

"No."

"Well," replied Jason. "Let's just get out of here."

"Well," said Jenny. "At least it's over. For now."

They proceeded to the beach house at the outskirt of Sta. Monica. Their beach was just right beside the public beach with only a picket fence blocking anyone who would try to trespass. The house was relatively small - a two-story house that has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, kitchen and dining room, and a garage - compared to the mansion the three were used to when they were young but after two years, they finally began to call it their home. They parked their bikes at the garage and went inside. They did their home works while they ate their dinner and went to bed, exhausted. There was nothing in their minds but peace and satisfying rest for a couple of hours. They didn't even know what was yet to come.
Peace reined in Sta. Monica. With all the technological advances one surely will not believe what will be happening in the coming days. No one will even swallow the fact that there is a threat to the peace that has been there after the Cold War. But peace has not stayed long in their mist. A flash of green struck the sky and landed in ocean where the boundary of Sta. Monica and Sto. Domingo was. But with the marvel that was seen in the sky, terror was its equivalent. Upon landing on the ocean floor, a castle grew. Protected by magic so the seawater cannot go in, this castle has air circulating around it well enough for its inhabitants to breathe in.

Inside was a typical throne room. The room like everything in the castle has an oriental scheme but a dark aura surrounds everything. In this area, there was a gathering. Soldiers looking alike dressed in an ancient kimono used by samurais of old. At the center of the throne room is their leader. His aura was the strongest of them all. His name was Senjuko.

"At last," said Senjuko. As everyone else, he looked like a Japanese samurai, with long black hair tied into a into a neat top knot, his age undetermined through his built but he was surely a man with so many experiences in battles of the old. But his aura was evil and it was felt by everyone present. "Since that dreadful day the Ninja Queen, put us in the time glass. Now we are finally free." He paused for a moment of reflection, his slanted gray eyes - his only determinant of his old age - were reminiscing the time before their imprisonment, and then added, "Check where we are and what will we be dealing with."

Shin and Jin, the Warrior Twins, twin samurai warriors who you cannot be told one from the other were among Senjuko's loyal subjects. Clad with red kimonos, their well shaven faces look exactly the same. Both eyes showed greed and mercilessness especially to their adversaries. The only difference in the twins is that Shin was right-handed and Jin was left- handed. They were the masters of time and space.

The Warrior Twins obeyed his command. Closing both their eyes, they concentrated in bringing their power to life. Both men started to glow a pale blue aura and immediately vanished when they opened their eyes.

"Master," started Shin. "We are in a different dimension. A place called Sta. Monica. The time is the same but the place is so different from our own dimension."

"You are right, brother." His twin brother, Jin added. "Our magic has not failed us before. This place is so different from the dimension we come from."

"A different dimension," said Megumi amusingly. The only female member of their group, she has a samurai's heart and have no mercy for her enemies. So much like the rest of Senjuko's men, her kimono was for a samurai and not for a shugensia but revealed the curves of her body that was the only difference from the rest of Senjuko's subjects. Her hair like the rest of them was tied into a topknot, revealing a beautiful and seductive face, an added asset to her skills as a samurai. Her dark slanted eyes show no emotion whatsoever, only her thirst for blood. "Then our old enemy, the Ninja Queen is already dead. We will have this world in our palm."

"That is right, Megumi," said Senjuko. "At last we will now get what this empire wanted for a long time."