An Ancient Evil
Part 8
By Mystic Jade

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any of the characters that I'm using. It's strictly for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy! An Ancient Evil, Part 8

"What's taking them so long," Kento asked. "Maybe we should go and find them."

"No, we've got to stay here just in case Serena comes back," Rowen said. "The best thing we can do for now is wait."

"I'm sure they're fine," Sage commented. "Serena couldn't have gone that far. Besides, the girls are just probably trying to convince her to come back here."

"White Blaze, what's wrong," Ryo asked as a low growl escaped from the tiger. He placed a hand on the tiger's broad head to try to calm him down.

"It must be the Dynasty," Sai suggested. "He wouldn't react like that if it were the girls."

"How astute of you, Ronin," Lady Kayura said. She seemed to come out from nowhere as she appeared several feet away from the five warriors. Behind her stood the four dark Warlords. "If it weren't for that animal, you'd have never known . . ."

"What do you want," Ryo interrupted.

"My, aren't we rude," she replied. "And all I wanted to do is introduce myself." She paused to smirk as the Ronins glared at her. "I am Lady Kayura. Master Talpa sent me to take care of you pests, and return to him what is rightfully his. You should be impressed. I'm one of Master Talpa's best warriors."

"Yeah, you're real impressive all right," Kento said sarcastically. "Changing our surroundings just to fail your mission is such a hard thing to do."

"How dare you mock me," Kayura began. She held her hand out, with her palm facing Kento, and a portal opened up underneath him. He screamed as he fell in and disappeared. The other Ronins gasped in shock in response.

"What did you do to him, Kayura," Sage demanded. "Bring him back now!"

"How touching," she replied. "The little Ronin is worried about his friend." She opened up another portal directly in front of her, and Kento tumbled out and fell down at her feet. "You see, I've mastered this little technique and I've got myself an effective little toy." She opened up another portal underneath Kento as he was beginning to stand up. "Heads up, Ronins," Kayura said before Kento fell down on top of them.

"That's enough Kayura," Anubis said as he stepped forward. "Ronins, our request is a simple one. All you need do is hand over your armor."

"We'll never give in to you or Talpa," Ryo said as he and the others picked themselves up. "Our fight won't end until we defeat you."

"We figured you'd say that," Dais replied with a sneer. "Don't be foolish. Without the help of that monk, you can not defeat us."

"Join us, Ronins," Kale began. "You all have such great potential. Align yourselves with our Master. Under his guidance, the world will be yours to control."

"You're wasting your time," Rowen said. He smiled as White Blaze growled again. "I think that you've outstayed your welcome, not that you were welcome in the first place."

"I see," Kayura stated. She turned to the Warlords. "You heard him, boys." They were hesitant, but yielded and disappeared. Kayura was about to do the same, however she stopped. "Tell me one thing, Ronins," she began. "What were you doing before this friendly little encounter?"

"We were looking for something, not that it's any of your business," Kento spat. Kayura tsked and shook her head as if she were scolding a small child.

"My, such rude manners. Perhaps you were looking for a way home," she stated. "No matter. I'm sure that animal of yours will help you search for whomever, or whatever, you were looking for." She flashed them a secretive smile as she disappeared, and realization dawned upon the Ronins immediately.

Sai looked at his friends. "You don't think that . . ."

"They've got the girls," Rowen finished.

"Then there's no time to waste," Sage began.

Ryo looked down at his pet. "Are you up for a little search, boy," he asked the tiger. "See if you can pick up the Warlords' scent." White Blaze sniffed the surroundings in several directions before picking a way to go. As the white tiger ran off, the Ronins followed closely behind him.

Meanwhile . . .

"Ancient," Mia said quietly as she joined the monk on the balcony, "I'm really beginning to worry about the Ronins. They've been gone for nearly a week, and I'm running out of things to tell Yuli."

"Patience, child," he replied calmly. "The Ronin Warriors have only been gone for a few days. They have time on their side."

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean," she stated. "How can they have time on their side when they don't know where they are, or even how they're going to get back here?" Mia uttered a disappointed sigh when the Ancient made no attempt to acknowledge her comment. "Listen, Yuli has these nightmares where the Ronins don't ever come back, and that makes me wonder if he's not right. Just how are the Ronins supposed to get back here?"

"The power of the ancients will bring them back here," he replied after a long, silent pause. He raised his hand to silence Mia as she opened her mouth to speak. "All in due time, Mia. They'll find their way here when the time is right."

"I suppose you're right. However I do wish that you hadn't stopped us from following them. Your place is out there, protecting other cities from a fate like ours," she said. "There's nothing out there for you to protect us from." The monk hid a smile behind his hat at her last statement. There were hundreds of Dynasty soldiers blended in with the trees that surrounded the house, waiting for the chance to strike as soon as the Ancient lowered his guard.

"My place is here with you and Yuli, Mia," the monk replied quietly.

"MIA," Yuli yelled from the interior of the house. "MIA!" The young woman looked towards the house and sighed wearily. Although Yuli was not her child, or even related to her for that matter, she took care of him because his parents had been enslaved by the Dynasty Empire. She flashed the Ancient an apologetic smile, and then turned to leave. The monk watched as she disappeared inside of the house. When she was gone, he sat back down to continue his meditation. His eyes fluttered open as the rings on the staff began to clink together.

"What is it," he asked as the staff began to float in the air. He looked out over the balcony into the distance. "Be careful, my Ronins," he whispered, "and trust what is in your hearts."

~ Back in the Scouts' world ~

"I can't believe this is happening," Kento said as he and the other Ronins were running. The five boys followed closely behind White Blaze.

"This is all my fault," Sage stated. "I shouldn't have said what I did. Now the Dynasty has the girls, and they're probably scared."

"Well, we can't worry about that now," Rowen said. "We have to focus on finding them."

The five boys slowed down and stopped as White Blaze came to a stop. He sat down on the ground and seemed to look at the Ronins expectantly. They looked around their surrounding and noticed that it was very similar to the warehouse where they had first found the tiger and the Sailor Scouts.

"Keep your guard up everybody," Ryo cautioned. "We've probably just walked right into a trap." The Ronins all called for their armor and fell into defensive stances as they heard the sound of footsteps. However, they automatically relaxed as the figure came into view. "Serena," Ryo gasped.

"Oh you guys," Serena exclaimed. She ran up to them and was scooped up into a bear hug by Kento as she reached them.

"Serena, are you okay," Kento asked as he released her. "Where are the others?"

"It's all my fault," Serena replied angrily. "If I hadn't run off like that, none of this would have happened."

"You can't blame yourself," Sai said. "The Warlords would have tried to get you whether or not you had run off."

"Sai's right," Rowen added. "They would have used you as bait sooner or later, just like they're doing now. They did this sort of thing back on our world all the time."

"Serena," Sage said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "we'll get them back. I swear it." She looked at him and smiled.

"I know we will, Sage," she replied as she grasped her locket. "One way or another." The six friends looked at White Blaze as he began to growl.

"Looks like they put that animal to good use after all," Kale said as he emerged from a shadow, alongside Kayura.

"Glad you could join us," Anubis said as he, Sekhmet, and Dais appeared.

"Where are my friends," Serena demanded as she balled her fists at her side. Suddenly, four Dynasty soldiers came out from one of Kayura's portals. Each soldier held one of the four girls by her arm. Serena began to step forward, but Ryo held her back.

"Your fight is with us," he began. "Release them now."

"I'm a woman who likes to gamble, Ryo of Wildfire," Kayura replied. "The odds are against you, therefore you are in no position to make demands."

"Just hand over your armor, Ronins, and the girls shall be released," Dais coaxed.

"No harm has come to them . . . yet," Sekhmet added with a sneer.

Sage looked at the girls and each had a look of fear and uncertainty on her face. He sighed in defeat. "Ryo, we have no other choice," he began. "We have to do as they say."

"We do have other options, Sage," Kento yelled. "We can't give up now! We have to fight."

"We can't risk hurting the girls," Rowen said sadly.

"This is the only way, Kento," Sage said as he willed his armor away. Kento, realizing that each of the other Ronins were doing the same thing, sighed and followed suit.

"You're smart boys, Ronins," Kayura said. "Don't think of this as a defeat. Think of it as a release from your responsibility. You no longer have to serve an unappreciative world. Now, hand over your armor and . . ."

"No," Serena interrupted. "It's not going to end this way. An evil person such as you doesn't know what it means to be a hero. It's not about being recognized for what you do!"

"It's the feeling you get when you save someone's life, or help someone in need," Amy began as she, Rei, Mina, and Lita shook loose from the soldier's grip on them.

"It's about honor," Rei said.

"And friendship," Mina continued.

"And strength," Lita added.

"But most of all, it's about not letting those you care for down," Serena finished, taking a bold step towards the Warlords.

"What a touching speech," Sekhmet said sarcastically. "What could you girls possibly do to stop us, hmm? Humor me."

"You Warlords came into our world looking for trouble, and trouble is what you're going to get," Lita exclaimed. The four girls pulled out their transformation sticks and raised them into the air.

"Mercury Star Power!"

"Mars Star Power!"

"Jupiter Star Power!"

"Venus Star Power!"

The sudden burst of energy emitted from the girls instantly destroyed the four Dynasty soldiers. As their transformation was complete, the Sailor Scouts jumped into the air and landed in front of Serena. They formed a half-circle around her, however she pushed her way in front of them.

"No one messes with my friends and gets away with it," Serena told the Warlords. "Moon Crystal Power!" As her transformation was completed, Sailor Moon stood there with her arms crossed and a frown upon her face. "I am Sailor Moon, Champion of love and justice," she began. "Me and my Scouts are the protectors of this world, and your evil has no place here. In the name of the moon, we will punish you!"

The Warlords stepped back in surprise. "How . . . how is this possible," Sekhmet stammered. "It's impossible! How did they do that?"

"I was right," Kale exclaimed. "These girls and the Scouts . . . are one and the same!"

"It appears the Ronins are just as shocked as we are," Anubis observed. The Warlords looked towards the Ronins, and sure enough, all five had a look of disbelief on their face.

"Well then," Kayura began, "let's use this to our advantage. Let them fight amongst themselves. Dais?"

"Right," he replied. The Warlord of Illusion closed his eyes in concentration, and dark energy began to emit from him. The purple and black energy engulfed everything it touched, and for a few seconds, it appeared that there was a blanket of fog covering the ground. Then, as fast as it had appeared, the energy was gone, and so were the Warlords.

"Hey, where'd they go," Jupiter asked, looking around the area. "I can't believe that cheap trick they pulled!"

"I wouldn't put it past them," Mars said. "After all, they went through the trouble of capturing us back at my temple."

"Well, why did they just run," Venus asked. "They didn't even leave any soldiers for us to fight us."

"Yes, that is strange," Mercury said. The Scouts spun around suddenly when they heard the sound of metal against metal.

"Oh, it's just you guys," Sailor Moon commented with a smile. The Ronins once again had on their armor. "Well, the Warlords are gone, so you didn't have to equip your armor. They didn't even leave any soldiers for us to . . ."

"Just shut up," Kento growled. The sudden harshness of his voice caused the Scouts to step back in shock.

"I know you're upset that we didn't tell you the whole truth, but that's no reason to be so mean," Sailor Moon said. "We can explain why we didn't tell you everything." Suddenly, Kento grabbed Sailor Moon, pinned arm behind her back and pushed her to the ground.

"Hey, what's your problem Kento," Jupiter said as she pushed Kento away from Sailor Moon. "If you ever put a hand on her again, I'll . . ."

"Watch out, Jupiter," Venus screamed. However, her warning came too late as Sage tackled Jupiter to the ground.

"Sage, get off of me," Jupiter yelled, as she pushed him off of her. She quickly stood up and faced him. The two weren't staring each other down for long before they began exchanging punches. Sailor Moon slowly picked herself off the ground, and took in her surroundings.

'What has gotten into them,' she asked herself. She watched in horror as Mercury, Mars, and Venus were each fighting off Sai, Kento, and Sage respectively. "Ryo," she began as she turned towards the Ronin leader, "call them off now! Someone's going to get hurt."

"Fat chance of that happening, Kayura," Ryo said. "Why don't you call off your Warlords if you're that concerned?"

"Ryo, what are you talking about," Sailor Moon asked. "It's me, Serena." She reached out to him, but he slapped her hand away. He jumped back and pulled his swords out of their sheath.

"We finish this now, Lady Kayura," Ryo said as he advanced towards her.

"Ryo, please stop," Sailor Moon said as she began backing away in fear. "Ryo, stop," she screamed once again, smacking him across the face as hard as she could.

"Is that all you've got," he challenged. He backed away from her and put the butts of his swords together. "Flare Up Now," he screamed as he jumped up into the air. As he swung his swords to send the attack towards her, White Blaze jumped on Ryo and pinned him to the ground. "White Blaze, what are you doing," Ryo demanded. "Let me up now!" Slowly, the tiger backed up off of him and then went over to Sailor Moon and stood next to her.

"Ryo, I don't know what's wrong with you, but you've got to stop," Sailor Moon told him.

"I don't know how you turned my tiger against me, but I'll still defeat you and the Warlords, Kayura," Ryo said in a low voice. He looked towards the other Ronins, but they were knocked out.

"Sailor Moon," Mercury said as she and the other Scouts limped towards their leader, "it's all an illusion. I checked my visor, and the fog that Dais created before the Warlords disappeared is one of his mind tricks. The Ronins think we're the Warlords."

'It all makes sense now,' Sailor Moon thought to herself. "Ryo of Wildfire, we've got you beaten. Surrender now, or the Ronins will pay for your stubbornness." The Scouts looked at Sailor Moon with confused looks on their faces, but she just ignored them. Ryo sighed and slowly replaced his swords to their sheath. He joined the fallen Ronins, and then willed his armor away.

"Do whatever you want to me, Warlords, but leave the others alone," Ryo stated.

"Trust me, Ryo, I didn't want to have to do this, but it will make you normal again," Sailor Moon said. She stood in front of the five Ronins and pulled out her wand. "Moon Healing Activation!" The attack surrounded the five Ronins and engulfed them all. There was a bright flash, and when it was gone, Ryo was knocked out alongside his teammates.

"Did it work," Mars asked as she gingerly touched the bruise that was beginning to form on her arm.

"I hope so," Venus commented. "I really don't want to fight them again."

"We would lose the second time around," Jupiter said as she slowly rotated her shoulder. "I'm glad that they're really on our side."

"Let's just get them back to the temple," Mercury suggested. "We're going to have a lot to talk about once they regain consciousness."

To Be Continued . . .