An Ancient Evil
Part 2
By Mystic Jade

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to any of the characters in this story. All other disclaimers apply. Enjoy! Author's Note: If you're not too familiar with the Ronin Warriors, they have 2 different suits of armor: sub-armor (which they usually wear instead of regular clothes) and battle armor (when they call for it). Well, on to the story.

An Ancient Evil, Part 2

"Ugh," Sage mumbled, slowly opening his eyes. "Where am I?" He remembered what had happened and quickly sat up. "Ronins, where are you," Sage yelled out. He sighed in relief when he spotted the others. "Ryo, Sai, Kento, Rowen," he said, shaking each one as he said their name. Slowly everyone had been woken up and brought to his senses. The five warriors stood and took in their surroundings. Just as the Warlords, the Ronin Warriors found themselves on the roof of a building.

"Where are we," Kento asked.

"It looks like Tokyo, but very, very different," Ryo answered.

"Do you think Mia, Yuli, and White Blaze are here somewhere," Rowen wondered out loud.

"I doubt that the Ancient would allow them to follow us," Sai commented. "I'm sure he knows that those two would be in our way."

"Yes, and I'm sure that White Blaze is here somewhere," Ryo said, stretching out his sore muscles. He chuckled a little. "Not even an army could stop that cat." His demeanor grew serious once again. "But first things first. Where are we and why are we here?"

"I vaguely remember the Warlords mentioning a fair fight and taking us somewhere that the Ancient can't follow," Sage replied. "And when I woke up, we were all here."

"Yeah, but something else happened first," Sai thought out loud. "Oh yeah, I remember now. That woman who was with Anubis, Sekhmet, Kale, and Dais made the portal, and we were thrown in."

"Just who was she," Kento asked.

"Whoever she was, she's obviously in charge," Rowen said.

Ryo nodded in agreement. "We should first establish where we are. I suggest we take off our armor and find a way to get down from here."

"Good idea," Sage reasoned, "then we should be able to blend in with no problems."

After their sub-armor had been taken off, the five friends, dressed in normal clothing, jumped to an adjacent building. They then climbed down the fire escape ladder and found themselves in an alley leading to the street. They all took deep breaths, and stepped out into the busy nightlife.

---

Serena, Rei, Amy, Mina, and Lita stood together, ready to go around the corner of an abandoned warehouse in eastern Tokyo. The friends stood listening to what sounded like metal clinking together. However, the strangest thing of all was that they thought they heard growls from some sort of animal. The reason they were there was because earlier that night, at a weekly fire reading at Rei's Temple, the five girls were alerted to some sort of disturbance in the city. It would appear that the fire was correct.

"What do you think that is," Serena asked. They others only shrugged their shoulders in response. "I guess there's only one way to find out, then," she said. Although her words seemed brave, she was terrified. However, her fear did not come from the sounds she heard. She was more scared of the possibility that the Negaverse had returned. Serena squared her shoulders and motioned for the Scouts to follow. The girls went around the corner, and what they saw made their blood run cold.

"Oh my God," they all gasped. A short distance away from where they stood were six of the twelve Dynasty soldiers that Kayura sent. They were twice as tall as any of the Scouts and held a variety of different weapons.

"What are those things," Lita asked in a horrified whisper.

'Even the bravest of us is scared,' Serena thought sadly. Then she said, "They look like some sort of soldiers."

"Well that's pretty obvious Serena," Rei said nastily.

"There's no need to be so bitchy, Rei," Mina snapped. "We're all scared."

"Well, I typed in some info into my computer," Amy stated. "They're definitely not of this world. And you know what that may mean."

"Look," Lita said, regaining her composure. "Those things are attacking something. It looks like . . . a tiger," she finished, sounding as confused as she looked.

"Well, then we have no time to sit here talking," Serena said, posing in a fighting stance. "Sailor Scouts . . . TRANSFORM!"

"Mercury Star Power!"

"Mars Star Power!"

"Jupiter Star Power!"

"Venus Star Power!"

"Moon Crystal Power!"

Luna and Artemis heard the girls calling for their powers. They looked at each other and ran off in the direction the Scouts had gone. The cats reached the girls just as they finished transforming. "Ser-er, Sailor Moon, what's going on," Luna asked.

"There's no time to explain, Luna," Sailor Moon answered. "Let's go, Scouts," she shouted, running in the direction of the soldiers. The other Scouts followed without hesitation.

"So," the lead Dynasty soldier said, "it would appear that the Ronins' animal followed us here. Destroy it, men."

White Blaze began to back away from the advancing soldiers and uttered a low growl. They charged at the tiger, swinging their weapons. White Blaze dodged most of the attacks, but one of the soldiers landed a hit, slicing open one side of the tiger wide open. Blood trickled down from the cut and stained the ground red.

"This was almost too easy," the lead soldier said, raising his weapon to finish off the animal.

"Hold it right there, Nega-trash!"

All six of the Dynasty soldiers turned towards the voice. "And who are you," the leader demanded.

"I am Sailor Moon! I protect all that is pure and good," she said angrily. "How dare you harm that animal? In the name of the moon, I will punish you!"

"I am Sailor Mercury. In the name of Mercury, I will punish you!"

"I am Sailor Mars. In the name of Mars, I will punish you!"

"I am Sailor Jupiter. In the name of Jupiter, I will punish you!"

"I am Sailor Venus. In the name of Venus, I will punish you!"

"We are the Sailor Scouts," they all shouted.

"I don't know what Nega-trash is. We are of the Dynasty," the leader replied. "Weaklings do not concern us. Kill them."

"I've got the leader," Sailor Moon said. "You guys get the rest," she ordered, running towards the lead soldier. She jumped into the air to attempt kicking the leader in his head from above. When she was about to land her attack, he swung his scythe-like weapon, striking Sailor Moon with the flat side. She fell to the ground almost instantly, bouncing a couple of times. She struggled to her feet, but fell to her knees and grasped her side in pain.

"Finish her off," the lead soldier said to one of his men, backing away from the battle to watch. "I don't think that I'll waste any of my time to kill her."

Sailor Moon looked up at the soldier who now towered over her more than before. He raised the sword that he held, ready to strike her down. As the soldier brought his arm down, White Blaze grabbed the soldier's forearm and flung him to the side. Sailor Moon got to her feet as quickly as she could manage and put her hand up to her forehead. "Moon . . . Tiara . . . Magic," she yelled out, sending the disc flying towards the soldier. The disc hit him directly in the chest, and instead of turning to dust, smoke escaped from the helmet and torso of the armor as it fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, the other Scouts were fighting the remaining four soldiers. Jupiter roundhouse kicked one of the soldiers and destroyed it while Mercury and Venus ganged up on another. Mars, on the other hand, destroyed one by using Mars Fire Ignite. Then the four girls surrounded the remaining soldier and the one that Mercury and Venus had ganged up on, since they were unable to destroy it on their own. As the two soldiers stood back to back, Jupiter and Mars jumped up at the same time and kicked them into each other. As the smoke from the destroyed soldiers cleared, the four Scouts joined Sailor Moon and faced the leader of the Dynasty's soldiers.

'I've got to report this to Lady Kayura,' he thought. "Very impressive," he said sarcastically. "But not nearly enough to destroy me." He turned and began to run from the girls.

"I don't think so Dynasty-trash," Sailor Moon said, changing her phrase. "Moon Tiara Magic!" As the disc flew towards the fleeing soldier, Jupiter used her Thunderclap Zap. The ball of electricity joined the tiara, and when the supercharged disc hit the soldier, there was a huge, bright explosion. Once the last of the soldiers was destroyed, the girls turned their attention to the injured tiger.

---

"We're never going to find out why we're here," Kento growled. "The people in this city are rude and . . ."

"Don't worry Kento," Ryo said. "We'll figure this all out. The Warlords wouldn't just leave us here."

"They need us destroyed so that they can obtain our armors," Rowen added. "That's what Talpa is after."

"Where do you suppose they are anyway," Sai asked.

"I don't know, but if I don't get some action soon, I'll go crazy," Kento replied. "This whole situation is lame."

"Well, if you're looking for action, I think we just found it," Sage commented, pointing towards a bright flash of light. "Unless I'm mistaken, that wasn't a normal light."

"Alright! Finally, something to do," Kento exclaimed, running off towards the light that was disappearing.

"Kento, wait," Ryo shouted, running after his friend, and motioning for the other Ronin Warriors to follow. "We don't know this city or its dangers."

Kento stopped running to wait for the others to catch up. "Come on, man! Where's your sense of adventure? Could we at least check it out? It couldn't possibly be that bad."

Ryo looked at the others. "Well, maybe we should check it out," he finally concluded. "After all, we don't want the Warlords running loose in this city." As Kento turned to leave, Ryo grabbed him by the arm. "But we will not rush into any battle. I promised Yuli that we'd be careful." After Ryo was sure Kento understood what actions were to be taken, he released his arm. The Ronins then began to once again run in the direction from which they had seen the light. Five minutes later, they slowed their pace as some abandoned buildings came into view. They came to a stop and took in their surroundings.

"Man! I guess that it was just a false alarm," Kento said with a lot of disappointment in his voice. "Looks like we're back to where we started."

"I don't know," Sage replied. "I know what I saw and I . . ."

"Quiet," Ryo hissed. He motioned for the Ronins to come closer to him. "I think that I hear some voices."

They listened in silence for a few seconds. "Yes, I think I can hear them, too," Sai said.

Ryo pointed in the direction from which the voices were coming and the five warriors silently walked in that direction. As they got closer, they could hear the voices more clearly.

"I think we should just call the proper authorities and leave it here," said one of the voices.

"I don't think so, Sailor Mercury," came another voice.

"Get off it, Sailor Moon. For once use your brain," came a third voice.

"Mars, she has a point," said a fourth voice.

"Jupiter, you're always taking her side," Sailor Mars said.

"And you're always putting her down," said a fifth voice.

"Venus," Sailor Mars began, "don't you start, too. This thing could be dangerous. We don't know where it came from."

"That 'thing' just saved my life," Sailor Moon said angrily. "And while we're sitting here arguing, he's bleeding to death."

"It seems like there's five people," Ryo said. "But what are they talking about?" He peeked around the side of the building. "White Blaze," he screamed, running towards the startled girls. The other Ronins followed from their hiding place.

Sailor Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus formed a semi-circle around Sailor Moon and the injured tiger. They each got into defensive stances. "Who are you," Mars demanded. "And who is White Blaze?"

"What did you do to my tiger," Ryo asked almost hysterically. Ryo looked at White Blaze and saw that his eyes were closed and that there was a large pool of blood underneath him. "If he's dead I'll . . ."

"Ryo," Sage said calmly. "Please, settle down."

"Who are you girls, and what happened here," Rowen asked.

"We're the Sailor Scouts," Mars began, "and . . ."

"AND WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR ANY OF THIS RIGHT NOW," Sailor Moon yelled. Tears had formed in her eyes and began to roll down her cheeks. "If we don't do something really soon, he'll die," she whimpered as she stroked the tiger's head.

"Sailor Moon," Mercury began. "Don't cry. We'll figure out something."

"There is one way," Luna suddenly said as she and Artemis jumped down from one of the empty boxes that lay nearby. She ignored the shocked looks on the faces of the Ronins as she continued, "You girls form a circle around the tiger and hold hands. Now, say Sailor Scout Healing Power." As the girls did what they were told, two beams of light came down from the sky; each one going directly to the crescent moon on Luna's and Artemis' forehead. As the crescents began to glow, the beams shot out and joined together. "Now Sailor Moon, take the Silver Emperial Crystal and place it on the tiger's forehead." As soon as she did what she was told, the beam shot through the crystal and White Blaze began to glow a variety of colors: blue, red, green, yellow, and finally white. When the glowing stopped, White Blaze opened his eyes. Luna and Artemis sighed in relief.

"White Blaze," Ryo screamed as he rushed towards his tiger. The Scouts parted so that Ryo could reach his pet. He dropped to his knees to further inspect White Blaze for anymore injuries. "Thank God you're alright," he said in a hoarse voice. The four other Ronins joined their leaders' side.

Meanwhile, Luna and Artemis moved closer to Sailor Moon. "Oh Luna," Sailor Moon cried, picking up her cat and hugging her. "Thank you. Thank you so very much."

To Be Continued . . .