Warning: There's no fighting in this chapter, just a lot explaining. So if you get bored, at least I warned you!
The little girl closed her eyes briefly, deep in thought. Now that all her allies were in one place, she could concentrate on an assault plan. But for some reason her mind refused to focus. A sudden wave of grief hit her, as it often did when she was alone, a single tear running down the side of her face. It made her more resolved than ever. There was no time for regrets now. The pain and suffering caused by him had to stop, and she would see to it. No matter what. The fate of her world depended on it.
"Hey." Her solitude was interrupted as a black-haired, blue-eyed young man stepped into her chamber. She turned to him, her large emerald eyes looking at him rather expectantly. Darien, as he called himself, shifted uncomfortably under her intent gaze. "Everyone's awake. I think they're ready to hear you."
"I'll come out in a moment," she said quietly. Darien nodded and walked out, making his way back to the main hall, which at the moment was crowded by a group of people. Everyone was feeling a little battered after their ordeal, but they were recovering. They were also back in the clothes that they had been wearing before they had been transported to this world, which meant the girls were back in their school uniforms. At the moment, the scouts, being in considerably better conditions than the guys, were fussing over their appropriate Ronin.
"You feel okay?" Mina knelt next to Kento. He was on his back, having just woken up and feeling slightly crispy around the edges from all that black electricity. He was in his yellow T-shirt and blue jeans. The shirt complimented his muscular upper build rather nicely, and Mina couldn't help but notice.
Kento sat up unsteadily, holding his head. "I've got a major headache," he complained unhappily, wincing.
"Aw, poor guy." Mina reached over and playfully ruffled his dark blue, almost black hair. She also took a moment to readjust his yellow headband, pushing it higher up on his forehead with her finger. He smiled as his bangs were pulled out of his eyes. What a sweet guy, Mina thought, getting a warm feeling in her chest. He was so fun-loving and carefree, and she liked that.
Kento watched Mina as she picked up her red ribbon and fastened her hair back, expertly tying it into a bow. Man, she's cute, Kento thought. He suddenly felt awkward, an emotion he wasn't accustomed too. His dealings with girls were limited, at best, to being around Mia. Kento decided he would need to ask the others about this topic later.
"It shouldn't be long before Kento is eating everything in sight," Sage commented from his spot on the floor, this time not minding Lita taking care of him. He seemed rather formal in his navy jacket worn over a white shirt and his tan slacks, not like a warrior. But Lita thought he looked very handsome, as she always had. "I just hope whoever owns this place can cover the food expenses."
Kento shot him an irritated look. "Ah, stuff it, Sage." He started to stand with the intention of smacking Sage upside his poofy-haired head. But the blue-haired girl voiced a concern about that.
"You shouldn't get up just yet," Amy warned. She was monitoring Cye's blood pressure, heart rate, and brain waves on her computer, checking for any internal injuries he might have. "These readings indicate that you've all probably suffered the equivalent to an electrical shock."
"Oh, come on, I feel fine." He brushed off her advice and was almost to his feet when a spasm gripped his muscles, causing him to fall back down.
Cye chuckled despite himself at Kento's impatience. "Save your strength, Kento. It's not like we have anywhere to be at the moment." Amy motioned for him to stay still so she could finish her work, which he did. He fingered the string that tightened the hood part of the back of his light blue shirt, a hood that he never really wore. He was actually enjoying this attention from her. He wanted to make sure she was all right, but she refused to let him move until she was sure he wasn't hurt. She always puts others before herself, Cye thought. As it was, Amy showed no signs of being wounded, except for the weary look in her eyes. She had done so much for him and her friends, Cye was determined that he would return her kindness.
Meanwhile, Raye spoke seriously and quietly to Ryo, not wanting to attract everyone's attention. "So it's true. You were the one who killed that huge bug before." She couldn't see his face, only the back of his red sweater that had a white collar as he sat there.
"I figured that you noticed my armor," he affirmed. He hadn't looked up yet, no doubt not wanting to meet her eyes.
Taking a heavy breath, Raye let this verification sink in. Of course she had figured it out by now, but hearing it from him clinched it. She thought of the incredible power she had felt from him in the volcano. Why couldn't she sense whether or not it was evil or good? This bothered her a lot, but not as much as the fact that he hadn't told her in the first place. "I see. So you just lead me on." Raye clenched her fists, feeling hurt and angry. "Why?! So you could use my trust in you to your advantage? Was that it?! Or did you have something else in mind?"
Ryo cringed at her accusations. Man, I blew it, Ryo thought. She'll never trust me again. Damn it! Why did I wait so long? "I saw the look on your face right before you fainted," he said simply. "That's why."
Raye was taken back by this. She hadn't expected that response from him. "I...I don't understand."
Ryo finally glanced up at her, and Raye was stunned to see his blue eyes filled with guilt and shame. "You were terrified, I could tell. So I thought I could wait and tell you later. I didn't want you to be frightened of me, because I really......" He suddenly stopped, and rephrased his words. "I wanted us to be friends."
Raye didn't know what to say. She hadn't known that he was hiding his secret from her because he was worried about what she would think. Wasn't that the same reason she had always tried to conceal her psychic abilities from the people around her? Maybe I judged him too harshly, she thought as she watched him lower his head and stare at the ground. She now felt that it was she who should feel guilty, not him. Raye decided it was time to stop being paranoid and put some trust in her friends, in him. She knelt down next to Ryo and caught his eye, speaking truthfully. "We are friends, Ryo."
Ryo looked at her in surprise, puzzled that she didn't seem to be mad anymore. "Really?"
She nodded. "I guess I should have realized that you had your own reasons for not telling me. After all, there's still some things I need to tell you. I'm sorry for going off like that, and for being such a jerk."
Ryo carefully stood up, his legs trembling a little and smiled appreciatively. "You were never a jerk. I liked being around you."
Once again, Raye was startled by his friendliness. She didn't get Ryo sometimes, but she supposed it didn't really matter. He was just a nice guy, one of the nicest she's ever known. It was just in his nature to be that way. Raye thought back to what he had said when he was in that circle and to the symbol that had appeared on his forehead. Virtue, that's what it was. I wonder if that has something to do with it, she thought curiously.
Reenie and Yuli were busy lavishing attention on the three cats. Luna and Artemis were a bit stand-offish at first, being slightly intimidated by the large tiger. But Whiteblaze showed no animosity toward the house cats, so soon everyone getting along just fine. Whiteblaze was laying on the floor lazily and had allowed Luna and Artemis to lounge on his back. Yuli scratched the back of Luna's ears, causing her to purr. "So," Yuli asked Reenie casually, "can these cats really talk?" The abruptness of his question made Luna and Artemis fall off Whiteblaze's back in shock.
Reenie cast the two cats a confused expression as they thudded to the ground and then nodded. It wasn't like it was a big secret to anyone. Pretty much everyone knew now. "Yeah," she said as she petted Whiteblaze's head, "and they're both really smart."
Artemis was back on his feet in an instant when he heard that comment. "Smart? Well, I wouldn't go that far, but....."
"Oh, come off it, Artemis," Luna interrupted, annoyed at her cat partner. "Don't mind him. Modesty was never one of his strong suits." She hopped back on the tiger's back and settled herself, ignoring Artemis's irritated glare.
"Awesome!" Yuli exclaimed, resuming Luna's ear scratch.
"You're not surprised?" Artemis asked in astonishment. He was suddenly picked up and he found himself being held by a young woman with long brown hair. Mia chuckled as she stroked Artemis's fur.
"Trust me, stranger things have happened."
Rowen slid his blue headband back on, taming his wild hair a little bit. He was dressed again in his jeans and a dark blue shirt with a high green collar that zipped up, though it wasn't because he never wore it that way. Physically, he felt fine despite the previous agony he had been in, except for being slightly tired. But emotionally, he wasn't all right. To put it simply, he was sick of everything. Sick of fighting, sick of risking his life, and sick of seeing his friends get hurt. He knew that he must fight and that because he did, he and the other Ronins had saved the world from Talpa. But now, for some reason he couldn't see what difference it made. What was the point if the evil kept coming back? It didn't seem to do any good, but Rowen knew that he couldn't stop being a warrior just because of that. This fact made him feel frustrated and restless, and even more so because he had no idea how to deal with it. He kept quiet about it though, because he didn't want to take it out on his friends.
"I'm glad you're okay." Serena's voice broke into Rowen's thoughts. He glanced up and gave her a weak smile, but his heart wasn't in it right then. He hoped she wouldn't notice.
"Yeah, thanks to you guys."
She blinked in surprise, then shook her head. "No way! If you and your friends hadn't risked your lives to shield us, we never would have had time to power up." Serena's face became thoughtful as she then commented, "But I'm still not sure how we managed to transport everyone. We didn't have enough energy to do it."
"Yeah, how did we do that?" Lita asked.
Amy finished with Cye and he gave her warm smile. "So, am I going to live?" he asked jokingly.
Laughing lightly, she helped him up. "You should. Just don't operate any heavy machinery for a while, okay?" She then turned to her friends, thinking of something. "You know, I remember an intense power increase right before we teleported. I think it was that energy boost that allowed us to get away safely."
"Hey, that's right!" Mina exclaimed. "But where did it come from?"
"I know!" Everyone looked at Yuli as he jumped up excitedly. "It was the Jewel of Life! It shot this beam of light at the scouts and then we teleported!"
"Jewel of Life?" Lita said, confused.
Yuli pulled the stone out from under his shirt and held it up, the gem sparkling in the light. "This thing."
Amy immediately stepped up and began analyzing the jewel. "Amazing!" she said, her eyes widening. "This stone has energy readings similar to the Silver Crystal!"
"And I bet it's really powerful," Raye added, sensing the strong aura emanating from the stone.
"But the Jewel of Life doesn't work unless someone wants it to," Rowen countered. "And even then it's hard to control." Suddenly a light bulb clicked on in his brain. "Which means...."
"Which means...." Ryo walked over to Yuli and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "You saved us, Yuli!"
Yuli stared at him in surprise. "I did?"
"Of course!" Mia said as she figured it out. "Yuli was wearing the jewel, so he must have caused it to activate somehow."
"Way to go!" Kento cheered enthusiastically. "You really saved the day, kid!"
Reenie had an expression of awe on her face. "Wow, thanks Yuli!"
Yuli looked around at all the Ronins and Scouts congratulating and thanking him, feeling a little overwhelmed. Then a broad grin spread across his face. "Aw," he said sheepishly, "it was nothing!"
Darien entered the room, causing the group to glance over. "Darien!" Serena hurried over to him and hugged him happily, resting her cheek on the front of his shirt.
"Who's that?" Kento asked Mina. She smiled at the couple.
"Darien. He's Serena's boyfriend."
So, that's the guy, Rowen thought, having a slight sense of satisfaction. He was glad to see Serena was out of her previous funk. He glanced around the room momentarily, looking at his friends. Kento and Mina, Ryo and Raye, Lita and Sage, and Amy and Cye. Even Yuli had a confident in that pink haired girl, Reenie. Rowen sighed heavily, feeling a little jealous. It seemed like everyone had someone, save him and Mia. Well, he definitely wasn't going to go after her. She had five years on his fifth-teen, and he had never thought of her that way anyhow.
I'm just a regular Lonely Heart's Club, he thought, a tinge of loneliness hitting him.
Darien returned Serena's embrace, then Reenie squeezed herself between the two, giving Serena a shove out of the way. Darien smiled at the pink haired version of Serena and hoisted her up into his arms.
"Hey, squirt! How are you?"
Reenie laughed joyfully, throwing her small arms around his neck. "I'm fine! But I missed you a lot!"
Darien chuckled. "Same here."
Serena, however, was fuming at Reenie for hogging Darien. "Can't you see we're busy?" she said, irritated. Reenie responded by sticking her tongue out at Serena. One could actually see steam rising from Serena's ears.
"Whoa, have you guys noticed that kid looks almost exactly like Serena?" Sage commented, mystified by the resemblance.
The other Ronins saw this as well, and all gave Serena and Reenie questioning looks. Serena and Reenie both turned red.
"We're, uh, sisters!" Serena said quickly.
"She's just my cousin!" Reenie blurted out.
Darien smacked his forehead with his hand as they both contradicted each other. Oh brother, he thought, exasperated.
Raye shook her head, giving Serena a pat on the shoulder. "Smooth, Serena," she said sarcastically, "real smooth."
"I think we need to fill each other in on some things," Luna said in a businesslike tone.
"Yeah, a lot of things!" Kento spoke insistently. "How did you guys get those powers? Why does that kid look like Serena? And how come you cats can talk?"
Luna sighed. "Well, I guess I should start at the beginning then." She sat down on the floor and, after making sure she had everyone's attention, proceeded with her story.
"As you know, we came from a different dimension then this one, just like you. Our world is no doubt quite similar to yours in many ways. But in our dimension, we had one significant difference. You see, a thousand years ago, our moon was home to a great civilization. The Moon Kingdom governed over all the planets in the solar system and everyone was at peace. Together, the Moon and all the planets made up the Silver Millennium. We were ruled by Queen Serenity and lived happy lives. But then, our peace was shattered. An evil being known as Queen Beryl attacked the moon, unleashing the terrible power of the Nega-force. She and her minions destroyed the Moon Kingdom."
"But wait," Ryo suddenly interrupted. "Didn't you have any defenses?"
Artemis shuddered at the tragic memory, his hair standing on end. "We had many fighters, though they didn't last long. Our main defense was the four female warriors that protected Queen Serenity's daughter and the Moon Kingdom. But even they were killed."
"Who were these warriors?" Cye asked.
"They were all princesses of their respective planets. Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus. They fought to save our kingdom."
"Wow, you were a princess?" Kento stared at Mina in amazement. She shrugged modestly.
Sage threw an admiring look at Lita. "Well, that makes sense." She smiled at the compliment.
"Not much of a surprise." Ryo said sincerely, speaking specifically about Raye.
Cye glanced shyly at Amy, a little awed by this new information. "I believe it," he said quietly, causing Amy to promptly go into blush mode.
"But didn't you just say they were killed?" Yuli interjected abruptly.
Luna nodded. "Yes, but let me finish. There was also one other warrior on our side, a prince from earth. He fought valiantly on our behalf, but then he and the princess both died at the hands of Beryl. Our queen was so grieved that she used the Silver Crystal to send Queen Beryl and her minions back to the Nega-verse. But this was fatal to her, because the Silver Crystal takes a heavy toll on the user when at its maximum power. With her last bit of strength, she used the crystal to send Princess Serena, Prince Darien, the Sailor Scouts, and the other children of the moon to be reborn on earth. They would have no memory of their previous lives so that they could live peaceful existence. But Artemis and I were also sent, so that if the evil returned, we could awaken the Sailor Scouts to defend the earth once more and to protect the princess of the moon. Unfortunately, it did, and we had the items necessary to help the scouts. We've had many battles and although we have long since defeated Beryl, new enemies
have come." Luna completed her tale and asked the Ronins, "Do you have any questions?"
"Did you say Princess Serena and Prince Darien?" Rowen asked disbelieving. He and the other boys stared at Serena and Darien. "Does that mean......?"
"Yes," Luna confirmed, "Serena, Sailor Moon, is also the moon princess. And Darien was the prince from earth. Also, he is the guardian of his planet, Earth, like the other scouts are guardians of their planets."
"What powers do you have?" Mia inquired.
Darien thought for a moment. He certainly wasn't going to say he ran around throwing roses in battle with a tuxedo on; that would be embarrassing. "I'm good at hand-to-hand combat. I also have an ability called psychometrics. I can sense things about people and objects when I touch them, and can use this to heal others or myself. I can also this energy as an attack."
"But that still doesn't explain about the kid," Sage pointed out.
Luna, Artemis, Darien, and all the scouts looked at each other, then at Serena and Darien. The two teens had uncomfortable expressions on their faces. Luna cleared her throat rather loudly. "Well, you see, in the future, Serena and Darien are going be King and Queen of what is now the current city of Tokyo. In the future, they had a daughter." The cat paused, then finally dropped the bombshell. "Her name is Reenie."
"WHAT????!!!!!!" Yuli, Mia, and all the Ronins exclaimed in unison. Serena and Darien both turned bright red. This was a very embarrassing topic for them to discuss in front of people.
"It's true," Artemis said. "Reenie came from the future to train as a sailor scout."
Yuli couldn't believe it. "They're your parents?!"
"Future parents," Reenie insisted indignantly. "Though I can hardly believe a ditz like Serena could be my mother."
"Why you little...!" Serena was outraged, but Darien quickly stepped between the two feuding parties.
"Not now, you guys," he said sternly.
Kento let out a whistle. "Whoa, that's heavy stuff!"
"No kidding." Ryo was still absorbing all this incredible information.
Lita tapped her foot impatiently. "Okay, okay. You guys know about us now, so how about telling us how you got your powers?"
"That's fair," Ryo said. "Mia, you know the most about the legend of the armors. Why don't you explain it?"
"Sure, no problem." Mia didn't usually talk about the Dynasty anymore. It brought back bad memories. But she would make an exception this time. "Oddly enough, this also started a thousand years ago. Our world was being overrun by an evil force known as the Dynasty. Lead by Lord Talpa, these demonic forces had one mission: to take over earth. All resistance against them was quickly demolished, but then when things looked their darkest, a lone warrior appeared. He was a powerful monk who was the protector of our world, whom we called the Ancient. With his magic staff, he was able to defeat Talpa and drive him and his minions back to the Nega-realm. But even though the Ancient won, Talpa's empty armor remained in our realm as link that Talpa could use to come back. Knowing this risk, the Ancient used his powers to break Talpa's armor into nine separate armors. Each armor had connected to it a specific human emotion, or kanji. They also each had certain elemental powers that came with them. Unfortunately, Talpa was able to call back four of the armors and he gave them to four men who gave up their souls to serve him, making them his dark warlords. The Ancient sent the other armors and their weapons to seek out five worthy humans who would fight the Dynasty. The armor of justice, Hardrock, went to Kento. The armor of trust, Torrent, went to Cye. The armor of life, Strata, went to Rowen. The armor of wisdom, Halo, went to Sage. And the armor of virtue, Wildfire, went to Ryo. It was a hard battle with the Dynasty and Talpa almost put the guys under his control. But they managed to destroy Talpa and free the dark warlords from his influence. And that's pretty much it." Mia fell silent, having nothing more to say.
"But how could this Talpa put the Ronins under his control?" Amy asked.
The guys had been quiet while Mia had been talking. They remembered all too well what it had been like for them. Being absorbed by Talpa, being forced to fight each other, having to strike down their leader in order kill Talpa, and vice versa. It was too horrible to think about. Rowen was the first one to speak up. "The armors came from the body of Talpa. He tried to turn us against each other and join him at first, but we figured out that the armors can be good or evil, depending on the soul of the wearer. As long as we kept justice in our hearts, the armors would defend our world."
"Oh, I get it now!" Raye finally understood the power she had sensed. She was very relieved that Ryo wasn't evil. She figured she hadn't been able to read Ryo's energy correctly because part of that being's aura, Talpa or whoever he was, was still on the armor. It just a marker or something, like when the scent of perfume stays on you for a while. But the aura was harmless; Ryo's soul was the one who controlled the armor.
"Well, now that we've gotten that straightened out, maybe we find out why we're here." Sage said.
"Yeah." Lita agreed. She turned to Darien with a questioning look on her face. "When we were fighting those shadows, you and Mia said that the person who brought us here was allowing you communicate with us."
"That is correct." A voice said. Everyone turned to the doorway Darien had just come out. The little girl who had appeared in the orbs' viewing screen stood before them. She only looked to be about Reenie and Yuli's age, but maybe a few years older. But Rowen noticed that she seemed much older that she appeared. She didn't have the simple eyes of a child. Her eyes seemed to reflect more knowledge and wisdom then children have. She also had many painful memories hidden behind that calm, gentle expression. At least that what Rowen could tell. Well, they would soon find out for themselves, but in the back of his mind, Rowen knew that getting home would be no simple task.
Boy, I hope this chapter wasn't too boring. I just needed to get all that explaining stuff out of the way so I can move onto other stuff. Bear with me, you'll find out why they're there. By the way, that stuff about Darien's powers, I got that from the Sailor Moon manga. He does it in the show too, but they never really defined it. So anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter!
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