An Ancient Evil
Part 5
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: A little of my information may be wrong, and I'll most likely make it up as I go! So if you think it's inaccurate, it probably is. *wink* Well, on to the story.

An Ancient Evil, Part 5

In the Ronin Warriors dimension, Mia, Yuli, and the Ancient were at Mia's house. The old monk sat on the roof in vigilant meditation. However in the rec room, Mia sat at her computer while Yuli was playing with his skateboard, and making a lot of noise at that. Finally, Mia was not able to stand it any longer.

"Yuli," Mia began, "I can't concentrate with you making all that noise. Must you do it in the house?" She looked at the tiny boy and smiled. "But I could use a break. How about some lunch."

"Sure," he exclaimed enthusiastically. He ran towards the kitchen, and Mia shook her head in amusement. "Hurry up Mia," he yelled. She got up and followed to where the boy disappeared.

She walked over to the pantry and opened it. Then she turned towards Yuli and took a deep bow. "Today, sir, you have the choice of noodles with soup, or rice with beef."

Yuli giggled. "Can't I just have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"

"Sure thing," Mia replied. She took out everything she needed, and then walked over to the table Yuli was sitting at. He watched her with a smile on his face. However, a frown quickly replaced it.

"Mia, I'm worried about the guys," he said in a quiet voice. "When will they be back? What if they don't get back, or if they get hurt and the Dynasty gets them?"

"Don't worry, Yuli," Mia assured him. "They'll be fine. Ryo promised that they would be careful, so I'm sure that's what they're doing. As a matter of fact, I bet you they've already found an ally to help them out."

"Do you mean like me and you," he asked.

"That's right. An ally, just like me and you," she replied.

~ Back in the Scout's world ~

Serena and Kento, and Mina and Rowen stood talking on a path, which went through a park. The path split into two directions that each girl took to get home. Above the four, eight Dynasty soldiers crouched in the trees. Their green armor blended in with the leaves, so they went unnoticed.

"Well Mina, Rowen, I guess we'll see you tomorrow," Serena said to her friends. "I just hope that we . . ."

"Wait a sec," Rowen interrupted. "Listen. It's too quiet."

"He's right," Mina replied after listening. "There are no sounds at all. The crickets aren't chirping, and even the roosting birds are too quiet."

Suddenly, the Dynasty soldiers jumped down from the tree. They would have landed on top of the four teenagers, however Rowen and Kento heard the noise above them. They grabbed the girls and jumped out of the way. The soldiers landed on the ground with a thud, their weapons in hand.

"I knew you creeps wouldn't leave us alone for too long," Rowen said.

"Oh yeah! It's time to rumble," Kento exclaimed. "Justice."

"Life force," Rowen shouted at the same time. As Serena and Mina looked on, a ball of orange light appeared in Kento's hand while a dark blue light appeared in Rowen's hand. The lights spread over their bodies, and when the glowing stopped they were wearing their sub-armor.

"You girls get somewhere safe," Rowen ordered. "We'll take care of them." Serena and Mina nodded their heads, and then ducked behind some trees.

"I guess they were telling the truth," Mina whispered. "But they might get hurt. The soldiers are using weapons."

"Uh huh," Serena replied. "We'll have to be ready to transform just in case they need our help."

They watched in silence as the two Ronin Warriors fought the soldiers. At first, Rowen and Kento worked together, and four of the eight soldiers were destroyed within minutes. The remaining soldiers were able to separate the boys from each other, and then it was two against one.

"Be careful, Kento," Rowen warned. He ducked as a soldier swung his sword at him. Rowen then jumped up, and kicked the soldier in his head, destroying him. He picked up the sword, and then ran the other soldier through.

"That's amazing," Mina exclaimed.

"Sure is," Serena replied. She turned her attention towards Kento. "Oh no! Kento, watch out!" Her warning distracted him, and one of the soldiers landed their hit. He fell to the ground, and grabbed his chest. Serena gasped. "That's it!" She grabbed her locket, however Mina stopped her.

"Don't, Serena," she said. "He's got Rowen to help him. We don't want to blow our cover just yet."

Kento growled, and then rushed at the soldier that had hit him. He tackled the soldier into a tree and destroyed him. Kento punched the other soldier in the face. He smiled as the now lifeless armor dropped to the ground. Rowen joined Kento at his side, and they looked at their handy-work. "Well, that was easy," Kento said.

"Yeah, too easy. They must have just been a warning," Rowen replied. "It's safe to come out now, girls." They ran out from their hiding place towards the Ronins. As they reached them, Kento and Rowen's armor began to glow again, and the armor disappeared.

"Thanks for protecting us you guys," Mina said.

"Yeah, we owe you one," Serena added.

Meanwhile, Sai was fighting his own battle. The four soldiers that were following him had made a surprise attack, and he didn't have time to call for his armor. Finally, after being knocked around, he was able to destroy one of the soldiers. He jumped up into the air. "Trust," he yelled. A light blue light appeared in his hand, and the glowing spread over his body. When he landed back on the ground, Sai was wearing his sub-armor. Two of the three soldiers advanced at him. One soldier stood on either side of him, and each had a spear in his hand. They attacked at the same time, however Sai jumped up into the air, and the two soldiers impaled each other on their weapons. He flipped in the air a couple of times, and landed in front of Amy.

Amy looked around the deserted streets and was glad that no one was out that night. Several of the lights in the lampposts had been broken in Sai's battle. However a few were still functioning, including the one they were standing under. "Are you alright," she asked.

"Yes," he replied. "However, there should be one more soldier around here. There were four of them." He scanned the area, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the glint of a weapon. Gasping in surprise, Sai brought his arm up just as a shower of arrows flew in his direction. He was able to block most of them, however a few hit his arm, and struck his side. Sai dropped to his knees in pain.

"Sai," Amy yelled. She jumped back in horror as the last remaining soldier emerged from the dark. He stood over Sai with a spear in his hand. It was obvious that the soldier had picked the weapon up from one of other fallen soldiers. 'He's going to kill Sai,' she thought frantically. She rummaged through her little handbag, until she found what she was looking for, and prayed that her plan would work. As the soldier raised the spear to strike Sai down, Amy swung her bag at the soldier, bringing his attention away from Sai. When he looked at her, Amy sprayed pepper spray into his eyes. He brought his hands up to his face, and dropped the weapon. "Sai, the spear," she exclaimed. Sai understood her plan, and picked up the spear. He thrust it through the torso of the soldier, and watched as smoke escaped. Exhausted, Sai sat down on the ground as his armor began to disappear.

"Thanks Amy," he said. "You saved my life."

She knelt down next to Sai. Wrapping her arm around his waist, she helped him stand up. "No, thank you. I better get you home and address your wounds. Here, let me help you support your weight."

Sai put his arm around her shoulder, however he tried to support as much of his weight as he could. "It shouldn't be too bad. My armor took the brunt of the attack, and only a few of the arrows actually hit me. It's nothing a good night's sleep couldn't cure."

"Well, we'll see," she replied with a smile. The two began to walk once again, making their way slowly towards Amy's home.

"That was fun," Lita said to Sage as she looked at the soldiers that littered the ground around them. She glanced over at Sage and smiled.

"Well, thanks for your help," he replied. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"I don't know. I've always just been able to fight. It comes in handy," she answered with a shrug. "So, that's part of your armor, huh," she asked as Sage's sub-armor began to glow green and disappeared.

"Yeah. All of us have an attribute that taps into some of our armor's powers," he replied. "Mine is wisdom. When we have to fight off Dynasty soldiers, we usually only have to fight in the form that you saw. It makes us a little stronger, and we can withstand the attacks a little better. We only use our full power when fighting the Warlords."

"Well, do they always send such a low amount to fight the five of you," she asked. "That was a little easy."

"There usually are a lot more to fight than just three," Sage agreed. "Maybe it was just a warning."

Lita thought that she saw movement, and glanced over Sage's shoulder. Standing behind Sage, the last remaining Dynasty soldier had his weapon raised. Lita saw him and gasped. "Sage, duck," she yelled. Sage dropped to the ground just as the soldier swing his weapon. Taking the opportunity as the soldier missed his target, Lita grabbed the soldier's arm, flipped him over her shoulder, and slammed him into the ground. Sage stood slowly with a shocked look on his face.

"Uh, thanks," he said.

"No problem. Maybe we should go now," she suggested. Sage nodded in agreement and the two continued on their way.

"Um, Lita," Sage began, "I hope I'm not prying, but why do you live by yourself?" He noticed as a look of sorrow crossed Lita's features. "I'm sorry, I hope I didn't overstep my boundaries."

"No, it's ok," she replied slowly. "My parents died in a plane crash. That's why I live by myself."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sage said.

"Don't be," she reassured him. "I've been living alone for a while. The pain is still there, but I've learned to live with it. I don't let it run my life."

"You're such a strong person, Lita, both inside and out," Sage replied. "That's a very respectable trait to have." She smiled at him, and the two continued to make their way towards Lita's apartment.

"So Rei, tell me something," Ryo said as the two were walking along, "what's the real story behind you girls and Darien? There seemed to be something a little more . . . deep between him and Serena." He stopped when he noticed that Rei had stopped walking. He noticed a flash of what looked like anger cross Rei's face. "I'm sorry," he began, "I shouldn't be so noisy."

"It's not that," she replied. "I just realized that Serena will probably be moping all day tomorrow. It's not really my place to say anything, but before Darien's . . . memory loss, he and Serena were just beginning a relationship. They were really meant for each other. Now that Darien has amnesia, he doesn't really remember anything about the relationship."

"Oh, I see," Ryo said. "That's so sad. Poor Serena, she must really be going through a rough time."

Rei shrugged her shoulders. "Serena is a survivor. She's a little flaky at times, but she's one of the strongest people I know." She paused before continuing. "And she's so brave. Serena would do anything for the people she loves and cares about." Rei was having a flashback of their final fight with Queen Beryl, and she had let the last part slip out.

"Rei," Ryo asked cautiously.

"Uh, what I mean is that she's a tough person," she said as she was jolted out of her thoughts. Rei looked at Ryo and blushed at her slip-up. She began to walk again, and Ryo followed. They were close to the warehouse, because they could hear the water gently crashing against the pier. As they passed the docks Rei stopped abruptly, and Ryo bumped into her.

"Rei, what's wrong," he asked with concern.

"Something's not right," she said. Her brow wrinkled into a frown. "There's a dark presence somewhere close by. Something evil." As she finished her sentence, several figures jumped out of the water and landed in front of the duo. Ryo pulled Rei behind him protectively as he realized that they were Dynasty soldiers.

"We have been following you for quite some time, Ryo of the Wildfire," the Commander said. Two soldiers stood at the left and right of him.

"Well, this is disappointing," Ryo said sarcastically. "The Warlords are sending out lowly soldiers to do their dirty work, eh?" An oval shaped object appeared in his hand. "Virtue!" The object began to emit a red glow. The light spread over Ryo's body as it formed his sub-armor.

"Prepare for the final battle of your life, Wildfire," the Commander growled. He motioned for the soldiers to attack. Three of the soldiers attacked Ryo, while the last one attacked Rei. With a series of kicks and punches, Ryo had destroyed the three soldiers. He turned his attention towards Rei, who was easily dodging the attacks of the soldier. The soldier swung his weapon at her, however Rei side stepped away from the attack and threw a thin piece of paper at his forehead. As it stuck in place, the soldier froze as if he were paralyzed. Rei sneered at him, and began to speak an incantation. As she finished, smoke escaped from the soldier, and the armor fell to the ground lifeless. Rei smiled at Ryo, and he returned the gesture. They looked to where the Commander had been standing, and he was gone.

"Well, that figures," Ryo muttered. "You did great back there, Rei."

"Thanks," she replied. "It comes in handy to be a priestess at my Grandfather's temple. I wonder where that other soldier went off to?"

"He probably went off to report to the Warlords," Ryo answered. "Which reminds me, we really need to get in contact with the Sailor Scouts. They said something about showing us likely places the Warlords would hide out. But first things first. We need to get to your place." Ryo put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. Within minutes, White Blaze could be seen bounding towards the duo. As the tiger stopped in front of them, Ryo hopped onto White Blaze's back, and stretched out a hand towards Rei. "Come on. We can get to your temple faster if we ride on White Blaze's back."

Rei looked at him skeptically. "But . . ."

"Don't worry about it. White Blaze won't hurt you, and he can easily support both of our weights," Ryo interrupted. Rei cautiously got onto the tiger, and as soon as she was in place, he took off running full speed. She gasped, and grabbed a hold of Ryo's waist. After a few minutes, she began to relax.

"Oh wow! This is great," she exclaimed with a laugh. As the three ran along, Rei loosened up, and began to enjoy her once in a lifetime opportunity.

To Be Continued . . .