Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ New Friends and New Enemies ❯ Uninvited Guest ( Chapter 1 )

New Friends and New Enemies

A Sailor Moon and Ronin Warrior Crossover

Part 1: An Uninvited Guest

Disclaimer: I do not own Ronin Warriors nor do I own Sailor Moon.

Timeline: This takes place after the Ronin warriors defeat Sun Devil and before the second showdown with Talpa. The Sailor Scouts are on their way to fight Beryl.

In her lovely home of the Negaverse, Queen Beryl knelt down to converse with the Negaforce about their progress. Beryl was sure that everything was going according to plan. She had Prince Darien to do her bidding and an army of Negaverse soldiers. She was growing impatient to face off with the Sailor Scouts.

"Those Sailor Brats will come soon for their friend," said Beryl, "but they do not know that Darien is mine to control forever! Soon the crystal will be mine!"

"Do not celebrate just yet, Beryl," the Negaforce said.

"Oh?"

An image of Emperor Talpa appeared in front of her. Beryl watched closely.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"Emperor Talpa of the Netherrealm."

"Netherrealm, master?"

"Yes," the Negaverse continued, "Talpa is an emperor of great power and darkness. He rules the Dark Dynasty of Doom."

"Dark Dynasty of Doom, you say?" Beryl inquired with a grin, "I like the sound of that."

"You are to join forces with him, Beryl. With your combined powers you can rule the universe together. He has great power."

"Leave the Negaverse?" Beryl inquired. "When we are so close to winning?"

"Do not question me!" the Negaforce shouted loudly.

"Forgive me, master," Beryl lowered her head, "I just don't understand. We want the Negaverse to prevail and we are so close to our victory I can already taste it. Why side with a stranger I know nothing about? How will we know this Talpa will agree?"

"He is weak," the Negaforce answered shortly. "He had just suffered a battle with the Ronin Warriors."

"Ronin Warriors, master?"

"The Ronin Warriors are Talpa's enemies. They fought with him recently and slowed him down."

"I see," said Beryl, "and if he joins forces with me, we will both get what we want?"

"Precisely, Beryl. You are catching on." The Negaforce replied. "You do not have enough power to rule the universe alone. You should have learned that a millennium ago."

"That was not my fault, Great Negaforce," Beryl said angrily, clutching her fist, "Queen Serenity had to interfere with that crystal of hers! We could have won!"

"You will do now what you should have done a thousand years ago, Beryl," said the Negaforce.

"How do you mean?" she asked.

"You had a chance, Beryl, to become victorious," the Negaforce explained, "also a thousand years ago, while you were attacking the Moon Kingdom, Talpa attacked the mortal world. He too, was stopped. A warrior-monk living on Earth opposed him and won. If you join forces with Talpa, you will both win. You cannot follow out your plans on your own. He will need the aid of the Negaverse-you the Dynasty of Doom."

"Very well, Master," she sighed with a nod. "Where is this Dynasty? How will I get there?"

"I will take you and your minions there," The Negaforce answered.

"Excellent!" Queen Beryl exclaimed, rising to her feet. "I will do as you ask, master!"

"Now go."

Beryl nodded and went to her throne, where Prince Darien and the rest of her minions were waiting for her.

"What did the Great Negaverse say, my queen?" Prince Darien asked, kneeling in front of her out of respect.

"We are to go on a little trip," she answered, turning to her army. "Pack your bags, everyone. We are going to the Netherrealm!"

"Netherrealm?" Darien asked. "Why are we leaving the Negaverse?"

"There is someone there I want you all to meet," she explained, walking toward them. "Emperor Talpa of the Dark Dynasty of Doom! He has great power and if we side with him, then our plan to rule the Universe will be fulfilled!"

"What about the Negaverse?" asked a demon in the front line.

"I am sorry to say that we must leave our home," said Beryl, "but the Negaverse does not have enough resources alone. Do not fret, my followers, we will make a new home in the dynasty. I do hope Talpa is the welcoming kind…"

--

Talpa slammed his fist on the arm of his throne. "Curses! I came so close! I had all the armors in my possession," he cursed. "How could I lose? How is it that Wildfire was able to stop me?"

His three remaining warlords, Kale the warlord of Corruption, Dais the warlord of Illusion and Sekhmet the warlord of Venom appeared in front of their master, bowing with their arms crossed at their chests.

"Master, we only underestimated the ronins," said Sekhmet. "All we need to do is try again."

"They think they've won," Kale added, "send us now and we will cut their celebration short!"

"We have the resources, Master Talpa," Dais said.

"Recourses, Dais?" Talpa questioned. He laughed. The warlords looked on in surprise.

"If we had the resources we would have won by now!" Talpa shouted furiously.

They heard laughter outside the castle and a soldier's voice filled the room. "Master Talpa, an army has entered the Netherrealm!"

"What army?" gasped Dais.

"The ronins?" demanded Kale.

"No, there is a woman with them, she calls herself Beryl of the Negaverse, master!"

"Seems like Beryl thinks she can take us over now, is it?" Talpa inquired. "Dais! Kale! Sekhmet! You three go and give this woman a dynasty welcome!"

"Yes, master!" the three exclaimed and they disappeared from the room and appeared outside the castle to see a large army of Negaverse demons. The warlords charged them with their weapons and Beryl watched on.

"Ah, impressive," she said. "Step down, my minions!"

"But Queen Beryl," said one of the Negaverse monsters.

"Silence!"

"So you would be Queen Beryl," Kale muttered. "How did you get past the gates?"

"It was no trouble at all," she answered. "I am here to see Talpa. Why don't you three be good and escort me to him?"

"Come to over throw us, have you?" Sekhmet demanded, pulling out his swords. "Feel the venom of my snake fang swords!" He charged her and Queen Beryl created an ice crystal and threw it at him. Sekhmet cut the crystal.

"You have no manners," Beryl said with a frown, "I did not come here for a fight. I'm here to make a deal with your master."

"What kind of deal?" Dais demanded.

"Take me to your master and I'll tell you," she answered. "You can either do as I ask or my army will defeat yours. Trust me, gentlemen, if you do as I say, the rewards will be great!"

"How do we know you are not toying with us?" Kale demanded.

"I told my followers to stop attacking, didn't I?" she retorted. "Take me to Talpa, little man."

"Bring her to me," said Talpa.

"Master," the warlords turned to the castle.

"What if she causes trouble?" Kale asked.

"She would have done that already," Talpa said. "Bring her to me."

"Well, be a group of gentlemen and take me to your master," said Beryl. "I assure you there will be much in it for the Dynasty!"

"Come," said Kale at once. "But leave your army out here."

"Very well," said Queen Beryl and she turned to Darien. "Darien, stay here with the army. Don't get too comfortable."

"Yes, my queen," he put his arm in front of him and nodded. Queen Beryl followed the Dark Warlords inside the castle.

"Ah, very, very nice indeed," Queen Beryl smiled as the Dark Warlords took her through the castle where Talpa was waiting. "Thank you."

Giving each other concerning looks as they led the strange woman, the three warlords continued until they reached their master.

"Queen Beryl of the Negaverse, Master Talpa," said Kale.

"Emperor Talpa," Queen Beryl walked up to him and bowed respectfully, "I have heard much about you and your Dark Dynasty of Doom. I know of your untimely demise of what happened a thousand years ago. Now you seek revenge, I see?"

"How did you know that?" Talpa demanded.

"The Negaverse knows many things, great emperor," she replied with a smile.

"I should kill you for coming to my dynasty uninvited."

"Oh, but you have invited me, Talpa," she said.

"Our master has done no such thing!" Sekhmet exclaimed.

"Maybe not verbally," Queen Beryl said quickly, "but you invited me when the warrior-monk defeated you those many years ago. You invited me again when the Ronin Warriors stopped you from gaining glory. I know the anger you must be feeling now, Emperor of Doom, for I also have enemies that stop me from filling my plans. The Sailor Scouts-five little foolish girls-they stopped me once a thousand years ago and if we join forces, Talpa, neither of us will lose!"

"What?" Talpa questioned. .

"As powerful as you are, Talpa," Queen Beryl explained, "you cannot defeat these Ronin warriors. You cannot reign over this city. I cannot rule Earth with my resources alone. Allow me to join you, Talpa and let me rule by your side. You have no other choice, Talpa. Together, we are invincible!"

"What makes you think we need your help?" Kale demanded.

"If you let me help you," Queen Beryl said, rising to her feet and turning to Kale, "then you shall win! Nothing will stand in our way. You wish to rule the city, Talpa? The mortal world? We can do much more than that, Talpa. You join forces with me and then we will rule the universe! Only our two worlds will remain!"

"You have powerful resources, Beryl?" Talpa inquired.

"Oh yes, Talpa," she answered with a grin. "They are standing right outside waiting to join the Dynasty. One of them, Prince Darien, used to be on the scouts' side. Now he is their enemy. I can get more resources, more minions for you. The Dynasty is not enough on its own. You will need the Negaverse to aid you!"

"How do we know we can trust you?" Sekhmet demanded.

"Just watch me, men," Beryl smiled. "Joining forces with me will be the smartest thing you ever did!"

Talpa got to his feet, "the three of you, leave."

"What?" Kale inquired.

"Allow me to speak with her."

The three warlords disappeared. Beryl walked closer to Talpa.

"So, do we have a deal?" she asked. "I promise you, Talpa. We will win."

"If your Negaverse sides with my Dynasty of Doom," he asked, "I will get my armors back and rule the world?"

"Oh, absolutely, Talpa," Beryl grinned. "And not just the world, mind you, the universe as well. I will need the silver crystal first. It is in the hands of the moon princess, but the pitiful little girl won't have it for long."

"Crystal?" Talpa inquired. "What crystal?"

"The Silver Imperial Crystal, of course," she held up her staff to the crystal glowing inside the orb.

"This little thing is what you are after?" Talpa asked incredulously.

"Don't let its size fool you, Talpa," Beryl explained, "Things of great power don't always have to be big. It was this crystal that stopped me from taking over the universe after I took control of the Moon Kingdom a thousand years ago. Queen Serenity send her bratty daughter along with the rest of the imbeciles of the moon kingdom to this time while I was thrown back to the Negaverse. I lost all my strength and it took a million years for me to become stronger and continue what I had started. If the crystal could do all that, imagine what I can do once I get my hands on it!"

"You must want it as badly as I want my armors," Talpa said. "The monk who defeated me divided my armor into nine separate suits. I had four of them in my possession but one turned against me. The Ronin Warriors have the other five."

"I see," said Beryl, "so the three warlords serving you now are the only armors you have?"

"I will get all my armors back soon," Talpa said. "I had them all for a short time and I would have finished the world if Wildfire hadn't stopped me. The Ronin Warriors-these stupid little boys-I will get back what is mine. I'll show them."

"These Ronin Warriors are only boys, you say?" Queen Beryl smiled. "They are probably not much older than the sailor scouts." She chuckled. "This will be easier than I thought! Well, then, Talpa, are we agreed?"

He paused. "Very well. Let's see what our combined powers can do."

"Excellent!" She lifted her hand and touched his masked face. "You will not be disappointed, Talpa. No one can stop us. Not the Ronin Warriors, not the Sailor Scouts, no one!"

"What if they were to join forces too?" Talpa inquired.

"Let them," she said. "They will be no match for us. With the Dynasty and the Negaforce, there will be no way we can lose."

"Good," Talpa said.

"Why do you wear a mask, Lord Talpa?" she asked with a smile. "Why don't you show yourself to me?"

"I am not a man," he replied.

"I can change that, Talpa," Beryl insisted. "For a short time, I can turn you into a man. When I get the crystal, I can make it permanent. Remove your mask, Talpa."

Talpa lifted his helmet and pulled off his red mask. If Beryl weren't already evil, she would turn back now. Talpa's face was hideous and most grotesque. He had no real face. He wasn't human--that was for sure. His face looked like a human skull but it wasn't shaped like a normal skull at all. Beryl could've thrown up from the sickening site but she raised her staff and began to chant words no human could translate.

Talpa felt his face pinch as skin grew over his skull and human body parts grew and formed underneath his armor. He put his arms around his stomach and grasped his face, wincing and grunting in pain. Any moment, the warlords would hear this and come to rescue their master after hearing his shrieks. Then the pain suddenly stopped Talpa pulled his hands away from his new face.

"Did it work?" he inquired in a much more flattering voice.

"Oh, I'd say it did," Queen Beryl replied, beaming. "You look quite handsome Talpa. You should look at yourself." She snapped her fingers and a mirror appeared in front of Talpa. Talpa walked closer to examine himself.

He looked much handsome indeed. His eyes that once had been dark and sallow now were triangular shaped having bright glowing red pupils and the whites of his eyes were yellow. He had very thin white eyebrows and his white hair was gleaming to almost match his new pale skin. He had a bold face with high cheekbones. His lips curled into a sinister smile and he laughed.

"I'm impressed," he said.

"I aim to please, Talpa."

"How long will I look like this?" he asked.

"Not long, I'm afraid," she answered sadly. "Perhaps an hour."

"Hmm, long enough," he said.

Beryl furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Long enough for what?"

"To thank you, of course," Talpa answered, grinning as he turned to her. He embraced the Queen of the Negaverse and kissed her avidly on the mouth.

Beryl gasped in surprise and her eyes went wide. She closed her eyes and put her arms around his neck, kissing him back. She giggled in excitement and called him by name. Talpa thanked her the best way he knew how and a bit more.

--

The Sailor Scouts met up at Cherry Hill to teleport to the Negaverse save Prince Darien and stop the evil Queen Beryl.

"Ready scouts?" Serena inquired. "Let's do it!"

"You don't have to tell me twice," Lita said, slamming her fist into her hand.

"Yeah, Darien is waiting for us," added Raye.

"He's come through for us loads of times," said Amy. "We've got to help him."

"I just hope we're not too late," Venus sighed.

"MOON PRISM POWER!"

"MERCURY POWER!"

"MARS POWER!"

"JUPITER POWER!"

"VENUS POWER!"

As the Sailor Scouts began to transform, Artemis and Luna talked.

"Oh, Artemis, do you think they're ready for this?" Luna asked.

"Sure," he replied, "except for Serena."

"But she's the Moon Princess," Luna said, "She's got to be ready."

"Well, maybe she'll have a klutz attack and trip Queen Beryl," Artemis suggested.

Luna sighed. "I feel that something is going to go wrong. Something we don't know about."

"We don't know much about the Negaverse, Luna," Artemis insisted, "except that it's evil. But we've got to believe in the sailor scouts."

"I do, Artemis," she said. "I'm surprised that Serena has come all this way but I still unprepared about something."

After transforming into the soldiers that fight for love and justice, the sailor scouts joined hands.

"Good luck, sailors!" Luna exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Luna," Sailor Moon said, winking. "We'll be fine."

"SAILOR POWER!"

Concentrating on their combined power, the sailor scouts vanished to the unknown. Luna jumped to the spot they were just standing.

"Do be careful, Sailor Moon," Luna said hopefully.

--

Ryo and the other ronins fought Sun Devil and Ryo had to use the armor Inferno to get rid of him. Exhausted from using the Inferno armor again, Ryo collapsed in his armor of Wildfire. The other ronins were tired from giving their power up to form the armor Inferno.

"Ryo!" Mia shouted. "Are you all right?"

"I wonder if this white armor is worth it," Ryo mumbled, out of breath. "It takes so much out of me, and everyone else."

"I don't think you would've gotten it if you couldn't handle it, Ryo," said Rowen as he and Sage helped him to his feet.

"Yeah," Sage added, "don't worry, Ryo. It doesn't drain us too bad."

"We'll find a way," Rowen insisted.

"I think the inferno armor is cool!" Yuli beamed. "You look so awesome wearing the armor, Ryo."

"T-thanks, Yuli," Ryo said with a weak smile.

"Guys, look!" Mia cried.

Around the corner, a band of dynasty soldiers came charging with their weapons.

"These guys never know when to quit!" Kento exclaimed.

"This must mean that Talpa is still alive," Rowen said. "He probably sent them knowing we use our power to create the inferno armor."

"He knows we're weak!" Cye gasped.

"Well, let's take him after these bunch of tin heads," Kento muttered.

The ronins-though tired from their battle with Sun Devil-held their ground and fought the soldiers. At that time just a couple of blocks away, the sailor teleport brought the scouts to a new dimension.

"Hey, where are we?" Sailor Venus asked. "Is this the Negaverse?"

"Are we still in Tokyo?" Sailor Moon inquired. "It sure looks like it-or another city of Japan. I don't recognize this part. Hmm." She looked closer at the buildings. "I'm sure I've never been here before."

"Me neither," added Sailor Mars. "You think we didn't enough power to teleport to the right location, Sailor Mercury?"

"Hmm, I don't know," Sailor Mercury turned on her Virtual Reality visor, pulled out her miniature computer and began to scan the city. "I'm positive we had enough sailor power to get to the artic. That's where Luna and Artemis told us about the Negaverse vibes."

"But how did we end up here?" Jupiter queried. "Think that old bat Beryl interfered?"

"I wouldn't doubt it," Sailor Moon muttered. "She's trying to keep us from getting to Darien. I won't let this keep me from getting to him."

"Right," Sailor Mars agreed. "We're going to save Darien. We just have to find him first."

As Sailor Mercury scanned the city and computed the coordinates, Sailor Mars closed her eyes as some vibe swept over her. She gasped and hurried down the street, stopped and closed her eyes again.

"Mars, wait up!" Jupiter shouted.

"Guys, I feel something!" Sailor Mars cried and the other scouts came toward her.

"What, Sailor Mars?" Sailor Venus inquired. "Is it the Negaverse?"

"Nah," Sailor Mars shook her head. "I'm not getting any Nega-vibes-but I'm definitely sensing something bad-I've never felt these kind of vibes before."

"Where?" Sailor Jupiter asked, clenching her fists and looking just as ready to battle as ever.

"Down this block," Sailor Mars answered. "I feel evil spirits. They're so strong. My skin is starting to crawl!"

"And I'm getting strange readings on my computer," Sailor Mercury said, "We're not alone. Something is over there."

"Let's go check it out," Sailor Moon said. "Be careful scouts."

Mars leading the way, the sailor soldiers ran over to the place where Mars sensed the evil presence. They heard the sound of a battle.

"Hey, you hear that?" Jupiter demanded as they ran. "Sounds like a fight!"

"Yeah," Sailor Moon added. "We're getting close."

"Some innocent people may be in danger!" Sailor Venus exclaimed. "We'd better hurry!"

When they turned the corner to see the many unknown dynasty soldiers fighting with the Ronin Warriors, they all stopped dead in their tracks.

"Huh-what the heck?" Sailor Moon gasped. "What are those?"

"Sailor Moon, are you blind?" Mars demanded, annoyed, "they're---they're samurai warriors-wearing armor-fighting." Sailor Mars explained the scene as if she didn't know all too well herself

"That's what they look like," Sailor Mercury said, scanning the many dynasty soldiers, "but get this-no one is wearing that armor! They're all empty!"

"You mean, all those armors are moving by themselves?" Jupiter asked, confused.

"No, they're demon spirits," Mercury replied. "But those five they're fighting against are real people!"

"Demon spirits-that's what felt!" Sailor Mars gasped.

"Ahh! Help!" Yuli shouted. A dynasty soldier was advancing on him and the Ronins were unable to get him.

"Yuli!" Ryo gasped, pushing through the five dynasty soldiers around him.

"Don't worry, buddy!" Kento pledged as he tried to fight off the dynasty soldiers surrounding him, "I gotcha-out of my way!"
"That little boy is in trouble!" Sailor Venus exclaimed, jumping forward. "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!"

As Yuli shielded himself and prepared for the dynasty soldier to harm him and he saw a bright orange beam of light hit him in the middle of his chest. Smoke lifted out of the armor and fell down.

"Huh?" said Yuli.

Venus bent down at Yuli and picked him up. "I'll get you out of here! Get 'em, scouts!" she shouted at the others and she ran off with Yuli in her arms.

"Hey, that girl just kidnapped Yuli!" Kento cried.

"No she didn't," Cye insisted. "She saved him-I think."
Kento pushed through the soldiers surrounding him and chased Sailor Venus. "Hey, come back here!"

"Hold up there, you bad remains of a welding class project!" Sailor Moon shouted, moving her arms in her, 'I shall punish you' pose, "You will no longer pollute the Earth with your evil! I am Sailor Moon and I will reduce, reuse and recycle you!"
"Let's make scrap metal out of these tin heads!" Sailor Jupiter shouted, grabbing a dynasty soldier by the arm and tossing it into five others. Once they hit, the smoke lifted out of their armor. The Ronins stopped for a minute to watch the sailors fight.

"Who are those girls?" Rowen inquired.

"I have no idea," Ryo said.

"The one in the green is pretty tough," Sage commented, sounding impressed.

"MARS FIRE IGNITE!"

The Ronins ducked as Sailor Mars sent her fire attack on the soldiers. Ryo was awestruck.

"She uses fire!" he exclaimed.

Mia stepped forward to get a closer look at the girls. However, it almost gave her a new haircut and the soldiers attacked her.

"Mia!" Sage shouted.

"Don't worry, girlfriend, I've gotcha!" Sailor Jupiter shouted. "JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!"

When Sage saw that the girl could use electricity, he was even more impressed and confused than before. "These girls-they've got powers!"

"They're helping us," Cye said.

Sailor Jupiter turned to Mia. "You'd better get out of here! Let us take care of this."

"Who are you?" Mia inquired.

"No time for that." Jupiter replied, "Just run for it!"

As Sailor Venus was running with Yuli in her arms, Yuli kept asking her whom she was.

"Hey, I'm all right," Yuli said, "I'm not scared of those Dynasty Soldiers. I know the Ronin Warriors can handle them. You can stop now."

"Really?" Sailor Venus inquired, slowing down. "You know what those things are?"

"Yeah. They're Talpa's soldiers from the evil Dynasty."

"Where are your parents?" Sailor Venus asked. "What are you doing out here?"

"My parents were taken by the Dynasty," he explained. "The Ronin Warriors are my friends."

"You're right there, Yuli," said Kento. "And a good friend is always there. All right, lady, put my little friend down!"

"What?" Sailor Venus inquired, still holding Yuli.

"There's a rule against kidnapping, you know!" he shouted. "Justice will be served!"

"I didn't kidnap him!" she shouted back, "I saved him!"

"Yeah, it's all right, Kento," Yuli said quickly. "Don't attack her. She's on our side!"

"Is that right?" Kento asked.

"Of course." Venus replied.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Sailor Venus. Funny of you to mention justice because it's what the sailor scouts fight for."

"Really?" Kento raised an eyebrow and set his weapon down.

"See, Kento?" laughed Yuli, "I told you she was on our side!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Kento sheepishly. "I thought that-that you-"

"That's all right," said Sailor Venus and she set Yuli back down. "I was just trying to get him away from the battle over there. It's not safe for a little kid."

"Yuli!" Mia shouted, turning the corner. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Mia," he called. "Sailor Venus saved me!"

Mia took him by the hand. "Good. We should stay here and wait until the battle is over."

"But Mia--,"

"Battle," said Venus, "It's still going on? Are my friends okay?"

"I'm sure they are," Mia answered. "One of them saved me."

"We're missing the battle?" Kento muttered. "We'd getter get back!"

Sailor Venus ran passed Kento back to the battle.

"Hey, wait for me!" Kento cried, running after her.

"MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!"

The fog from Mercury's bubbles made it hard for the Ronins to see the Sailor Scouts fight. They continued to fight the battle with the dynasty soldiers closer to them. Sailor Venus joined the scouts.

"The boy is all right," she said.

"Good," said Sailor Moon. "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" Sailor Moon chucked her tiara at the demon-armored warriors circling around her. A dynasty soldier threw his spear at her and she fell down to avoid it.

"Sailor Moon!" the others gasped. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah-that was close!" she replied, trying to get up. "Oh no!" The dynasty soldier advanced on her. She screamed and White Blaze jumped over her head and knocked it down. Sailor Moon focused on him as he stepped over her legs protectively. "A white tiger."

Ryo tried to squint through the fog from Mercury's bubbles, "White Blaze is protecting that girl!"

"Sailor Mars, finish them off!" Sailor Moon commanded.

"You got it!" Sailor Mars acknowledged, taking her charms out. "Evil spirits-DISPERSE! Yah!" She tossed her charms on their heads and they stopped moving.

"That takes care of them," said Sailor Mercury.

"And that is why you should always recycle," Sailor Venus chuckled.

"Good work, sailors," said Sailor Moon as she tried to get to her feet. "Ugh…"

White Blaze came closer to Sailor Moon and pushed his head under her stomach, helping her to stand. The sailor scouts watched in surprise. The ronins were also speechless.

"Wow, it's a white tiger," said Sailor Mercury. "Where did it come from?"

"I'm surprised Sailor Moon isn't running from it," Sailor Mars snickered.

"Hey, it did save her life," Sailor Jupiter insisted.

When Sailor Moon was able to stand up straight, she looked into the deep brown eyes of the white tiger that saved her. She smiled and scratched him behind the ears as if they were old friends.

"Thank you," she said and she joined the other scouts.

When the fog, smoke and dust finally cleared and the ronins could see the sailor scouts they found themselves unable to stop staring. The sailors stared back at them.

"Who are they?" Sailor Mars inquired.

"The boy I saved said they're the Ronin Warriors," said Sailor Venus.

"Who are you?" Ryo demanded.

Before Sailor Moon could answer him, a dynasty gate opened up and a wind gusted through. Both the Sailor Soldiers and Ronin Warriors cried out as they shielded themselves. There was an evil, deep laughter coming from the gate.

"Impressive, Ronin Warriors," said a voice the Ronin warriors recognized.

"Talpa!" Ryo growled. "I thought you were dead!"

"You thought wrong, Ryo of Wildfire!" Talpa said. "Your efforts were futile. You may have slowed me down but you haven't stopped me yet. You are lucky the sailor soldiers came to your aid or you would not have lived. Soon your armors will be in my possession once again! It is foolish to resist me!"

"No way!" Rowen shouted.

"Listen to him, Ronin Warriors," said another voice. "You will need to face your fate eventually!"

"Huh, who are you?" Kento demanded.

The Sailor Soldiers gasped and Sailor Moon stepped toward the gate. "Queen Beryl! I knew you were behind this! It was you who brought us here, wasn't it?"

"I did not bring you here," Queen Beryl insisted. "But now that you are here, Sailor Soldiers, I can tell you that is useless for you to try to stop us now. You think fighting the Negaverse was difficult? Now the Negaverse has joined forces with the Netherrealm and there is no way you can stop us now!"

"Negaverse?" the ronins asked of each other.

"Netherrealm?" the sailors echoed.

"Yes, even if you were to side with each other now," Talpa continued, "you cannot stop us. We are invincible!"

"I don't think so," Kento snarled.

"The Silver Imperium Crystal is as good as mine!" Queen Beryl laughed.

"Think again, Queen Beryl!" Sailor Moon shouted. "I'm not giving up the crystal!"

"Foolish girl," Queen Beryl scoffed, "do you still think you can defeat me? You think what your mother did back in the Moon Kingdom would actually keep me from coming back to rule the universe? You are a fool! Now that our forces have joined together, there is no way you can stop us!"

"You're wrong!" Sailor Mars exclaimed.

"We will stop you, Beryl!" Sailor Jupiter. "You can bet on it!"

Talpa and Beryl joined in an evil cackle. "So it begins!" the gate closed and their evil laughs continued to echo through the dark.

Mia stood around the corner, staring up at the gate. "Moon Kingdom? Sailor Scouts? Queen Beryl?" she whispered. "Why does that sound so familiar?"

"So, you're the Sailor Scouts?" Ryo asked. "Who is this Beryl Talpa has sided with?"

"Yeah, we're the Sailor Scouts," Sailor Moon replied. "Queen Beryl is an evil witch planning to take over the whole universe. That's all you need to know."

"We can't get you involved," Sailor Mars added.

"Hey, wait a second," Rowen said.

"But we're already involved!" Kento exclaimed. "Come back! Fight with us, ladies! Don't be shy!"

"Come on, Sailor Scouts," Sailor Moon said. "We've got to make a plan."

The Sailor Scouts walked away and Ryo tried to go after them. Sage held his hand out in front of them.

"Sage, what are you doing?" he demanded.

"We don't know who they are, Ryo," Sage explained. "They don't know who Talpa is and we don't know who Beryl is. I think they don't want us fighting their enemy."

"But didn't you hear what Talpa said?" Ryo questioned. "He joined forces with another evil being."

"Well, what do you want us to do, Ryo?" Rowen asked. "Join forces with them too?"

"It seems like the natural thing to do," said Cye, "but maybe they just don't trust us. They're not ready to be our allies just yet. Maybe we should wait."

"It was weird watching them fight, wasn't it?" said Sage. "Those five girls could fight almost as well as us and they had no armors or weapons. Just magical powers."

"I hope we see them again," said Yuli. "Maybe they will fight with us."

"Let's get out of here," Mia told them. "We can talk about this later."

White Blaze, however, was kind of hesitant to leave. He stayed where Sailor Moon had been standing and he let out a long, loud cry.

"Weird," said Ryo, "I've never seen White Blaze like that before."

"Yeah," Rowen added, "it's almost as if he lost a friend."

--

The Sailor Soldiers found a spot in the forest to build a fire and plan what they should do next.

"So that's why we were brought here," said Sailor Jupiter, lying on her back and looking at the stars. "Queen Beryl joined forces with this Talpa dude."

"And the Ronin Warriors knew who he was," said Sailor Venus. "He's their enemy-what they're fighting against right now."

"Well, what should we do now?" Sailor Mars inquired. "Did Talpa come to the Negaverse or did Beryl come to the Netherrealm?"

"Those boys recognized the gate," Sailor Mercury. "I think Queen Beryl is in Talpa's Netherrealm."

"Then let's hurry and teleport," Sailor Jupiter said, slamming her fist into her open palm.

"No, Jupiter," said Mars. "We don't know who this Talpa is."

"You think we should side with the Ronin Warriors since Talpa sided with Queen Beryl?" Sailor Venus inquired. "They could help us."

"But we don't know them either," Sailor Mars insisted.

"Mars, we just saved them from those-those metal heads!" Sailor Venus exclaimed.

"What do you think we should do, Sailor Moon?" Sailor Mercury inquired. "Huh?"

Sailor Moon was sitting away from the group with her arms around her knees. She looked as if she was in deep thought.

"Sailor Moon, what's the matter?" Sailor Venus asked.

'That white tiger seemed to know me,' Sailor Moon thought. 'It was strange. I felt like I knew it too.'

"Hey, Sailor Moon," Sailor Venus shook her shoulder. "Where'd you go?"

"What?" Sailor Moon said.

"What's up, Sailor Moon?"

"Huh?"

"What were you thinking about just now?" Sailor Mars asked.

"Oh, I," she said, "I was just thinking about Darien. I hope he's okay."

"Me too," Sailor Mars added. "Sailor Moon, what do you think we should do? Should we go into the Netherrealm ourselves to stop Queen Beryl or should we side with the Ronin Warriors?"

"It's kind of dangerous of us to go to a place we know nothing about," Sailor Moon replied.

"See, Mars, I told you," Venus said. "We can't just teleport to this Netherrealm. We should side forces with the Ronin Warriors. They can help us."

"And joining forces with people we don't know isn't a good idea ether," Sailor Moon added.

"What?" Venus inquired.

"We don't know who the Ronin Warriors are," Sailor Moon insisted.

"But we just saved them," Sailor Jupiter said, sitting up. "They're good guys just like us and I think the one in the green armor was pretty cute! He reminded me of my old boyfriend!"

"How could he, Jupiter?" Sailor Mercury asked, "he was wearing armor and a helmet-you sure you got a good enough look at him?"

"Well, he had a nice sword," Sailor Jupiter grumbled. "Let's join forces with these guys. They're in the dark with Queen Beryl. We can tell them about her."

"But we don't know them," Sailor Moon said.

"So we get to know them, that's all," Sailor Venus shrugged.

"I'd hate to get them involved in this," Sailor Moon sighed. "Oh-I just don't know what to do!"

"Don't worry, Sailor Moon, we'll think of something," Sailor Mercury suggested.

"I just want to go back home," Sailor Moon cried. "I wished none of this ever happened!"

As Sailor Moon put on the waterworks, the fire got hotter and higher. The Sailors turned their attention to it.

"Hey, did someone just put more wood into the fire?" Sailor Venus asked.

"No," said Mars.

They came closer as a man's upper body holding a golden staff and wearing a hat that covered his eyes appeared in the flames. The sailor scouts gasped.

"Sailor Scouts," the man began. "Listen closely to my words."

Sailor Moon stopped crying and looked closely at the man and his staff. 'That staff,' she said, 'I've seen it before.'

What Sailor Moon did not know, this man was her father.

To Be Continued