Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Earth Scout Chronicles - Season One ❯ A Promise Made ( Chapter 4 )
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: jasonulloa 
Endymion and Ryoku arrive with reenforcements, but find that it might not be enough to stop the Dark Kingdom....
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 09.18.2003 | Updated On: 09.21.2003 | Pages: 10 | Words: 7.4K | Visits: 266 | Status: Completed
Endymion and Ryoku arrive with reenforcements, but find that it might not be enough to stop the Dark Kingdom....
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 09.18.2003 | Updated On: 09.21.2003 | Pages: 10 | Words: 7.4K | Visits: 266 | Status: Completed
Chapter 4: A Promise Made
It was early the next morning when Endymion arrived on Earth. Ryoku arrived
two hours later, but he brought with him the reinforcements that Queen Serenity had
promised Endymion.
Endymion was meeting with his two remaining generals when Ryoku arrived.
Ryoku was greeted with barely contained relief by the two generals. "Prince Ryoku,
you’re here!" Sakurada exclaimed. "Wonderful! Prince Endymion told us you would
be bringing reinforcements from the Moon."
Ryoku grinned at the sight of the general. During his stay on the Earth, he
had learned a lot about strategy from her. Occasionally, when Endymion was busy
and she wasn’t, he would practice swordplay with her. Although she was a good
friend, he could never get her to stop calling him by his title.
"I’ve brought with me half of the Moon Palace’s defense forces," Ryoku
replied. "Prince Endymion, I now turn these men over to you. I am at your
command," he stated formally and bowed.
Endymion nodded gravely. "There isn’t much time. Queen Beryl’s forces may
attack again very soon." He looked at Ryoku, then at Sakurada, and finally at
Akiyama. "We need a plan."
"We’ve lost a lot of men and one of our best generals," Akiyama reported, her
tone neutral. "The enemy has lost a lot of their numbers as well, although not as
many as we have. They’re very strong and fierce fighters."
"The reinforcements Prince Ryoku has brought with him may be what we
need to tip the odds in our favor," Sakurada added. "Prince Endymion has told us
that Queen Serenity has decided to revive the Sailor Scouts of legend. Is this true,
Prince Ryoku?"
"Yes, Queen Serenity has revived the Sailor Scouts," he answered, nodding.
"I have seen them myself. As we speak, they are learning how to use their new
powers. They should be ready to assist us by tomorrow."
"That’s good to hear, but we still have these three armies to deal with,"
Endymion replied.
"Actually, Prince Endymion," Sakurada interrupted, "as I retreated from
yesterday’s battle with the remainder of both my army and Nagashima’s army, the
two forces we were battling were beginning to fight as one huge force. We can
divide the reinforcements in half instead of dividing it three ways."
He nodded absently, frowning in concentration as he began to form a plan.
"Where are these two armies now?"
"The army Sakurada fought is now to the southwest," Akiyama answered.
"The one I fought is to the northwest."
"They’re pretty close together," Ryoku observed. "It might be possible to try to
force the two armies into one single force and surround them. We should have
enough men."
"That might work as long as they don’t receive too many reinforcements,"
Endymion replied. "We have to assume that they will be getting reinforcements as
well."
"I think it’ll work," Akiyama said. "How about you, Sakurada?"
"Prince Endymion has a point," Sakurada replied, "but unfortunately, we can’t
predict by how much our enemy’s number will rise. Prince Ryoku does have a good
idea, though."
"Yes, I think so, too," Endymion agreed. "General Sakurada’s right. We can’t
predict our enemy’s numbers, so I think we should go with Ryoku’s idea.
"Ryoku," he continued, turning to him, "I want you and General Sakurada to
take half of our men and try to force the southwestern army to the north. General
Akiyama and I will take the rest of the men and try to force the northwestern army to
the south. Make sure to watch for us; we’ll be doing the same. When we’re close
enough, give the order to surround the enemy. If we’re lucky, we should be able to
completely encircle them." He glanced at everyone in turn. "Everyone understand the
plan?" They all nodded their agreement. "Good. Now, let’s get ready. General
Sakurada, Ryoku, good luck to the both of you."
"Thank you, Prince Endymion," Sakurada replied, as she and Ryoku prepared
to leave. "Good luck to you and Akiyama as well."
"Yeah, good luck you two," Ryoku added encouragingly.
"Thanks," Endymion and Akiyama said.
"Let’s go let the men in on our plan," Sakurada said heading towards the
camp.
"I’m with you," Ryoku replied as he followed her. "Let’s hope this plan works."
Back on the Moon Palace, the four Sailor Scouts were pushing themselves
hard to learn how to control their new powers as quickly as possible. They were in a
training room that was primarily used for training the Palace’s defense forces. Now it
was converted for their use.
Sailor Mars put her hands together in front of her. "Fire...," she began, as a
small fireball appeared at her fingertips. "...soul!" The small fireball suddenly grew
into a larger one and shot out straight in front of her. Too late, she realized that her
fireball was heading straight for Sailor Jupiter.
Sailor Jupiter saw the fireball coming and quickly dove out of the way. "Hey,
Mars! Watch where you shoot that thing!" Jupiter shouted as she came to her feet.
"Sorry about that," Mars said apologetically. "I guess I need a little more
practice."
Jupiter smiled reassuringly. "That’s all right. Just try not to roast me again,
okay?" Mars just grimaced sheepishly.
Sailor Jupiter turned to face the giant stone that the Scouts had been using
for target practice. Whenever a stone was destroyed, another would be put in its
place. This stone was the seventh since they had started.
She crossed her arms across her chest. "Supreme...," she began, as a small
lightning rod emerged from her tiara and lightning bolts began to descend from the
sky and gather into her tiara’s lightning rod. "...thunder!" The gathered lightning shot
out from her tiara, hitting the stone target and putting several cracks in it.
Sailor Venus also decided to take a shot at the target. She extended her arm
towards the stone target, her index finger pointing forward. "Crescent...," she began,
as energy began to gather at the point of her finger. "...beam!" A solid yellow beam
shot out from her finger, hitting the target right where Sailor Jupiter first hit it and
putting even more cracks in the target.
"One more time?" Jupiter suggested.
"Sure thing, Jupiter," Venus replied. "Crescent...."
"Supreme...."
"...beam!"
"...thunder!"
Once again, Jupiter and Venus aimed for the same spot. This time, Jupiter’s
lightning bolts combined with Venus’s energy beam. When the combined attack hit
the stone, it exploded instead of crumbling like it usually did. "Hey, that was pretty
cool!" Jupiter said approvingly. "Looks like we’re going to need another one."
Sailor Mercury held her arms out in front of her. "Shabon...," she began, as
several bubbles began to appear between her hands. She moved her hands to
where her wrists were now crossed. "...spray!" She flung her hands apart, sending
the bubbles flying in front of her. Instantly, a thick fog covered the area, making it
near to impossible to see anything within one foot’s distance.
"Neat trick, Mercury," Venus said.
"As long as the enemy can’t see us, it stands to reason that they shouldn’t be
able to hit us, either," Mercury stated.
"Yeah, but we can’t see, either," Mars complained.
"Oh. I guess I still need to work on it a bit," Mercury said, daunted.
"You’re doing a great job so far, girls," Artemis said enthusiastically, "just
keep it up!" He and Luna were watching from a safe distance, offering support and
advise. Mostly, they were just trying to keep out of their line of fire.
"Prince Endymion and Prince Ryoku might need your help soon," Luna said.
"The four of you must be ready before then."
"We’ll so our best, Luna, Artemis," Mars answered. "You can count on that."
The other three Scouts each nodded in agreement and continued their training
exercises.
Artemis looked to Luna with a worried expression on his face. "Well, Luna,
what do you think?" he asked. "Will they be enough to help save the Earth? After all,
they are missing one Scout."
"Yes, that’s true," Luna said in a contemplative tone. "We can only hope that
they’re all we need."
"But, what if they’re not enough? What if they aren’t strong enough?"
Luna was silent for a long time. Finally, she sighed and turned to Artemis.
"Those are good questions, Artemis. Hopefully, we will never have to answer those
questions." Luna paused and shook her head worriedly, before turning back to
Artemis. "I’m not even sure there is an answer."
Meanwhile, back on Earth, Ryoku and Sakurada were preparing to execute
their part of the plan. It was almost noon when they had moved into position to the
enemy’s east. Now they were waiting for the right moment to strike. Fortunately, they
had remained undetected as they slowly marched to the northeast, past them.
Ryoku drew his sword and examined it thoughtfully. "Today will be the first
time I use this thing to kill," he said somberly. "Tell me, General Sakurada... how did
you feel, having to kill another, even though doing so was the only way to save your
home?"
"The truth?" she asked. He nodded. "Even though it was ‘to save my home,’
as you put it, I hated it. Killing’s something you don’t want to ever have to do." She
unconsciously put her hand on her sword’s hilt and sighed. "Sometimes, in cases
like this, you don’t really have a choice."
"I see," he said in an even tone, sheathing his sword.
"Oh, I’m beginning to depress you even more, aren’t I, Prince Ryoku?" she
asked, frowning slightly.
"A little, but I do see your point," he replied quietly and decided that a change
in subject was in order. "You know, you don’t have to keep addressing me as ‘Prince’
Ryoku, General Sakurada. Just Ryoku would be fine. I won’t be offended," he added
with a grin.
"It means that much to you for me just to call you Ryoku?" she asked, raising
an eyebrow.
"Well, you are a friend. Besides, it seems so impersonal to hear people
address me that way. I prefer just... Ryoku."
"All right, but on one condition."
"Which is?"
"That as long as I have to call you Ryoku, you have you call me Haruna," she
said, smiling.
"It’s a deal... Haruna," he agreed, smiling as well.
As he looked out to the northern horizon, he could see that the enemy was
almost in position. He slowly redrew his sword at waited. Sakurada also drew her
sword and waited.
He glanced back at her. "It’s almost time." She simply nodded her agreement.
He glanced at the sword in her hand. "Is that the sword I’ve seen on the wall
in your office back at the palace?"
She glanced down to her sword and nodded. "Yeah, it’s the same one."
"It’s almost exactly like my sword, except for the insignias and the hilts," he
said. "Can I see your sword for a moment?"
"All right," she agreed, handing him her sword. He swung the sword a few
times, to get a feel for the sword. Then, he picked up his sword in his other hand
and began to swing both at once, performing complex moves with both swords. She
just watched in amazement.
"You truly are one of the best swordsmen in the Moon Kingdom," she
murmured as he returned her sword to her.
"Your sword feels just like mine," he said in a contemplative tone. "The weight
and balance are exactly the same."
She just nodded and resumed watching the enemy army. "They should be,"
she said without turning from what she was watching. "Your sword was made from
the same design as my sword."
"It was?" he asked, blinking in surprise.
"Ryoku, they’re in position," she said, cutting short that conversation.
He nodded, then grinned maliciously. "Ready to send them back to Queen
Beryl?"
She grinned as well. "Ready."
"Then, let’s give the order to march."
Ryoku and Sakurada hurried back to where their soldiers were waiting. The
order was given and the army was on the move. They moved as quickly as possible,
so their surprise would last as long as possible. The invading army was slow in
realizing that they were being charged at, but eventually they prepared themselves to
meet the attack. As the first ranks of each side met, chaos quickly ensued as blade
met blade.
It became apparent that Queen Beryl did send some additional men to
replace some of the ones that were killed yesterday, but not all of them. Ryoku began
to wonder why that was, when suddenly, the three remaining beasts charged from
the sides, each one taking down several of his troops.
He found himself separated from Sakurada and confronted by the scorpion-
beast. Since its skin was marred by deep scratching caused by numerous blows
from the swords of the Earth’s forces, he could see where those imperfections in its
armor-like skin could act like weak points where he could strike.
He quickly dived to the left as it thrust its claw towards where his chest had
been. He rolled as he landed, avoiding the strike from the stinger on its tail. When he
came to his feet, he found himself being backed into a nearby tree as he tried to
avoid the swipes of its claws and tail. He noticed that he was now trapped against
the tree with its claws to either side of him and its tail above him. As the tail slowly
rose in preparation to strike him down, he saw that he had only one choice left.
He dived forward, towards the beast.
The beast’s tail struck the tree where his head was only moments ago, with
enough force to break the tree in half. He dived forward, his sword extended in front
of him, and plunged his sword into the back of the scorpion beast, through one of
the deep scratches on its back. It writhed in pain for a few moments and then fell
still. That’s one down, two to go, he thought and went to go find Sakurada.
When Ryoku located Sakurada, she and a small group of their men were
trying to kill the lion-beast. From the amount of mangled corpses that weren’t that far
from them, he could see that they were having at hard time doing so.
He decided to charge the beast, while simultaneously giving the scene a
scrutinizing glance. ‘Haruna and two other soldiers: unhurt. Another soldier: slightly
wounded, but his sword-arm is unhurt. The last two: heavy wounds, but their
fighting doesn’t seem to be affected... too much.’
As Ryoku closed in on the beast, it suddenly leaped forward, causing him to
miss the beast by inches. The beast lunged at one of the heavily wounded soldiers,
tearing at his chest and killing him. It then quickly spun towards to other heavily
wounded soldier, slashing at one of his legs, causing him to fall on his side. Before it
could use its fangs to rip out his throat, the others slashed at it, causing damage, but
not crippling it. It swiftly leaped away from the others towards Ryoku, who was now
rushing towards it.
He quickly jumped to meet the beast midair. It took a swipe at him in passing,
which was deflected by his sword. Before passing the beast completely, he executed
a quick turn midair and sliced off the beast’s left hind paw.
Upon landing, Ryoku quickly darted for the beast, ready to dispatch it. Joined
by Sakurada and the others, he quickly made short work of the beast.
"Now, there’s one more to go," Ryoku said with satisfaction.
"What happened, Ryoku?" Sakurada demanded worriedly, her arms folded.
"One minute you were there and the next minute you’re gone. I thought we were
supposed to guard each other’s backs?"
"I don’t know what happened," he replied, shrugging. "All I know is after
losing sight of you, I was attacked by that scorpion-beast. As soon as I took care of
it, I came looking for you."
One of the soldiers turned to Ryoku in surprise. "You took down that thing by
yourself?"
"Um, yeah... I guess," Ryoku said, nodding.
"I guess you are as good as they say," another soldier added.
"Thanks, I guess," he replied, then jerked back in surprise. "Look out!" he
shouted, shoving a soldier away from a slashing blow to the head by one of Queen
Beryl’s troops. Sakurada promptly stabbed the invader through the chest.
"Thanks, Haruna. I owe you one," Ryoku said gratefully.
"Just watching your back," she replied offhandedly. "Come on. The battle’s
not over yet. Look over there."
Ryoku looked to where she was pointing. In the distance, he could see
another battle taking place. "That must be Endymion’s and General Akiyama’s group
over there."
"Do you think we’re close enough?" she asked.
"I suppose so," he replied, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Let’s go
meet them, shall we?"
It was barely past noon when Endymion and Akiyama were in position to
attack their enemies. A cursory assessment of the enemy’s strength told them that
there wasn’t a major increase in their numbers since Akiyama’s retreat. On the other
hand, the increase wasn’t small either.
Endymion slowly rose to his feet from the spot he had been watching Queen
Beryl’s army from. A small wind blew, gently stirring the cape he usually wore with
his armor. Finally, he broke his gaze away from the advancing army and turned to
Akiyama, who was waiting patiently to one side.
"They aren’t as numerous as I thought they would be," Endymion said.
"There aren’t as many as there was yesterday," Akiyama explained. "With the
additional men that you and Prince Ryoku brought with you, they shouldn’t pose too
much of a problem. Those monsters fight viciously, though. You must be careful."
Endymion glanced at her and grinned politely. "Don’t worry so much. I’m not
about to let them get away with what they have done to my people. I intend to stay
alive so I can make them pay, personally," he said in a menacing tone.
Akiyama drew her sword and looked to Endymion. "We are ready to charge
on your order, my Prince."
Endymion also drew his sword. He glanced at the engraved rose on the hilt of
his sword. Immediately he was reminded of Serenity. ‘I should’ve told her what was
going on down here, but I didn’t have the time. Queen Serenity would be too busy
organizing the Palace’s defenses in case I should fail to stop the invasion. She
wouldn’t have the time to tell her, either. The other princesses were busy learning
their new powers as Sailor Scouts, so they wouldn’t have the time to tell her, either.
I hope when she finds out about what’s happening down here, she’ll understand
why I didn’t have the time to tell her.’
"Prince Endymion, are you all right?" Akiyama asked, concerned.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Endymion asked, glancing up from his sword.
"You were just staring at your sword for a long time," she said.
"Oh. I was just thinking, that’s all," he replied. "Now it’s time to face the
enemy. Are the men prepared?"
"Yes, my Prince."
"Good. Then give the order to charge."
The order was given and the army surged forward, readying themselves to
meet their adversaries head-on.
As the fighting raged on, they slowly pushed to the south as planned.
Endymion had faced several of the monsters, either by himself or with assistance,
and had never taken more than a scratch. Akiyama had also faced her share of the
monsters as well, though she usually had assistance from her soldiers.
A lanky, feline-like monster suddenly confronted Endymion as he turned from
his last opponent. It had a long, thin tail and sharp claws on hand and foot. Its eyes
were completely yellow. It hissed at him, showing long, wickedly sharp fangs.
Without warning, it struck out at him, slashing at his mid-section. Endymion
jumped back, barely dodging the razor sharp claws, and performed a slashing attack
of his own. It leaped out of the way quickly and attacked again.
Its speed and reflexes were very quick. Endymion knew he couldn’t beat it
alone. He turned and ran towards a group of his men, who had just killed a snakelike
creature, and called for assistance. They immediately rushed to his aid, surrounding
the creature and circling it warily.
The creature angrily lashed out at one of the soldiers, who dodged out of the
way. Endymion saw an opening and swung at its head. It saw the attack just
moments before connecting and leaped back. He missed its head, but managed to
take off one of its paws. The others tried to do the same, but most of them missed,
some by wide margins. A few blows actually managed to wound the feline slightly,
slowing it down. The creature still managed to take down a few of its assailants, but
it was beginning to receive more and more wounds as it slowed. After a long, drawn
out battle, Endymion finally delivered the fatal blow, carving a deep wound in its
chest.
Endymion thanked his troops for their help and quickly set off to find
Akiyama. Before she left him, he had told her to see if she could locate Ryoku and
Sakurada’s army.
He didn’t have far to go when he saw Akiyama waving for him to join her. "Did
you see them?" he asked.
"Yes, Prince Endymion. They aren’t very far away. In fact, you should be able
to see them over there," she said, pointing to the south. "They seem to be doing all
right."
Endymion smiled. This might just work after all. "Good. Then lets proceed
with the plan. It’s time to give Queen Beryl’s men a fight they won’t soon forget!"
‘And I always thought that the prince fighting the evil dragon was only fairy
tale stuff...,’ Ryoku thought sardonically as he, Sakurada and a group of soldiers
faced off against the last of the four beasts: the dragon-beast.
The beast’s fire-breath kept them from coming close enough to strike while it
continued to lash out with its tail and claws. It had already incinerated several
soldiers, leaving only charred remains. The remaining soldiers kept a safe distance
away from it, dodging its attacks, and waited for an opportunity to counterattack.
"This is getting us nowhere," Ryoku muttered. "I’m going to distract it.
Everyone else, get ready."
"You sure about this?" Sakurada asked.
"Not really," he replied and ran straight for the giant creature. Immediately, it
swiped at him with its claws. When he leaped out of the way, it shot a blast of flame
from its mouth straight at him. He felt the searing heat come way too close to him as
he rolled to one side.
While he was busy dodging the assault, the others tried to attack the beast
from behind. Before it could turn around, they had managed to do serious damage to
its back and tail, hampering its movements. It couldn’t move as fast as before, but it
still could use its claws and fire-breath as weapons.
"That only crippled it a little," she said, after avoiding a blast of its fire-breath.
"Well then," Endymion said, as he and Akiyama appeared with some more
soldiers, "let’s try it again."
"Prince Endymion!" Sakurada shouted.
"How good of you to join us," Ryoku added, grinning. "Care to help us with
this minor problem?"
"Glad to," Endymion said, as he and the rest of his group joined in the attack.
Now that there were even more targets to fend of, in addition to its crippling wounds,
the beast was having a harder time keeping them away.
As Ryoku continued to serve as decoy, Akiyama managed to sneak up
behind the dragon-beast and finish severing the beast’s tail. As the creature howled
in pain, Endymion took the opportunity to aim for its arms, taking off both of its
claws. As it was about to open its mouth to generate a blast of fire, Ryoku quickly
lunged for the beast and thrust his sword through the beast’s jaw at an angle,
preventing it from opening its mouth. Now that it was stripped of its defenses,
everyone quickly rushed in to finish off the monster.
"Well," Ryoku began, removing his sword from the beast’s jaw when it
stopped moving, "that’s the last one."
"Now that that’s taken care of, we’d better join the rest of our troops."
Endymion added. "We’ve still got a battle to win."
"Maybe you should think again," a voice said behind them. As they turned in
the direction of the voice, Endymion, Ryoku, Sakurada and Akiyama suddenly found
themselves facing four figures, each dressed in the same strange dark gray uniform.
"Who are you?" Endymion demanded.
"Fair enough question," the silver-haired man answered. "As well you should
know the names of the ones who will destroy you."
"I am Jadeite," the one furthest to the left said. He had short, blond hair and a
condescending smirk on his face.
‘Let’s see...,’ Ryoku thought as he scrutinized each opponent. ‘He may be a
good fighter, but he’s arrogant, perhaps even overconfident.’
"I am Nephrite," the next one to the right said. He had long, dark brown hair
and a furious look on his face.’
‘I bet he was the one who was in charge of those beasts. Unfortunately, he
doesn’t seem to be someone who lets his emotions cloud his thinking.’
"I am Zoisite," the female said. She had long, blond hair and wore a malicious
smile.
‘She may be dangerous, perhaps even unpredictable. Definitely someone to
be cautious around.’
"And I am Kunzite," the silver-haired man finished. His silver hair was very
long and his grin was as cold as his eyes.
‘This one is the most dangerous of all. No surprise that he’s the leader. This
guy is someone to be wary of at all times.’
"We are Queen Beryl’s four best Generals," Kunzite continued. "We’ve come
to take over your world. After we have finished with you, then we shall lay waste to
the Moon Palace and the rest of the Moon Kingdom for Queen Beryl!"
"Conquer the Moon Kingdom?" Endymion exclaimed. ‘This is worse than I
thought, Endymion thought, his mind racing. I have to warn Queen Serenity! I have
to warn... Serenity!’ Endymion’s eyes narrowed as he lifted his sword in a defensive
position. "I’m afraid I can’t allow that."
"Do you really think you can stop us, cape-boy?" Zoisite sneered. "Who do
you think you are to even challenge us?"
"I am Endymion, Prince of Earth," Endymion stated defiantly. "You have
invaded my home and attacked my people. For that, you and your Queen Beryl will
be driven back to wherever you came from!" Endymion’s last remark was vehemently
seconded by the other three.
"Is that so?" Jadeite said mockingly, sword appearing in his hand. "It looks
like these foolish humans wish to fight us." One by one, the others also drew their
swords.
"If they want to waste their time trying, let them," Nephrite said
contemptuously.
"We might surprise you," Ryoku said nonchalantly. "You never know." He
then pointed his sword straight at Nephrite. "He’s mine."
"I’ll take care of that one," Sakurada said, gesturing to Jadeite.
"She’s mine," Akiyama said determinedly.
"And the leader’s mine," Endymion said, gripping the hilt of his sword very
tightly.
As they faced off against Beryl’s four generals, Ryoku quickly glanced back
at the battle being fought behind them. Their troops were still managing against
Beryl’s troops, but they were still losing more men than the enemy. He hoped that
they wouldn’t suddenly become overwhelmed within the next few hours, or else they
wouldn’t have much of a chance, even with the Sailor Scouts.
A sword coming straight for his head quickly brought his attention back to
where it belonged. With the ease only frequent practice could result, Ryoku quickly
parried the attacked and countered with an attack of his own. Nephrite blocked the
attack and responded with a second assault, which Ryoku dodged easily. "Not as
easy as you thought, huh?" he taunted.
"We’ll see about that!" Nephrite challenged and began a series of attacks to
Ryoku’s head, chest, mid-section, and legs. Ryoku blocked each attack and tried to
counterattack. He found it hard to land a blow on his opponent. He was quick with
his sword... almost as fast as he was.
Akiyama wasn’t faring any better with Zoisite. The two women seemed to be
evenly matched. Akiyama blocked a blow to the head and countered by trying to
sweep Zoisite’s legs out from under her. Zoisite leaped over her attack and landed
behind her. "Is that the best you can do?" Zoisite asked derisively, turning to face
Akiyama.
As an answer, Akiyama rushed at her, quickly slashing at Zoisite’s sides,
inflicting minor wounds. "You haven’t seen anything yet!" she said smugly.
Endymion was slowly driving Kunzite back, although he had sustained a few
minor cuts on his left arm and side. Kunzite had a long slice across his left leg and a
few scratches across his chest.
Endymion lunged at Kunzite, hoping to inflict a major, if not fatal, wound.
Kunzite jumped out of the way, dodging the attack, and executed a lunge of his own.
Caught off guard, Endymion leaped forward, somersaulted out of the way, and
quickly got to his feet, ready to face Kunzite again.
"Impressive, Endymion," Kunzite said. "I have underestimated your abilities,
but now I will correct that mistake. Die, human!" Kunzite leaped at Endymion, sword
over his head, and struck at Endymion’s head. Endymion blocked the blow and
countered by slashing at his side, inflicting another wound.
"Not today!" Endymion retorted.
Sakurada had managed to stay uninjured throughout her battle with Jadeite,
while he had only a few minor injuries. She quickly swung her sword at his side,
which he easily blocked. Jadeite tried to slash at her legs, but missed when she
leaped away. "I thought this was going to be a challenge," she said, laughing. "You’re
not even half as skilled as I thought."
She lunged at Jadeite, hoping to kill him. Instead, he dodged to one side,
allowing her to run past him. When she did run past, Jadeite thrust his sword
through her unprotected back. Her eyes widened in surprise as she fell to her knees,
staring at the bloody point of the sword protruding from her chest.
Ryoku was looking in Sakurada’s direction when he saw Jadeite run his
sword through her back. "Haruna!" he shouted and ran past Nephrite to her side.
"You’re right, you know," Jadeite sneered, removing his sword. "I’m not half
as skilled as you thought. I’m twice as skilled!"
Ryoku leaped at Jadeite with a powerful swing that forced him to leap away
from Sakurada. "Haruna?"
"Ryoku...," she said weakly, her eyes struggling to focus, "Ryoku... my
sword."
"Your sword?" he asked, picking up her sword and handing it to her. "What
do you need your sword for? You’re in no condition to continue fighting."
"No...," she replied, pushing her sword weakly into Ryoku’s hands, "my
sword... Ryoku, please... take up my sword. Don’t let... don’t let them win. You
must... help Prince Endymion... save Earth... and... Moon Kingdom...." She closed
her eyes and breathed one last time. She was gone.
"That’s one dead," Jadeite said smugly, after watching her die. "How about
you? Do you wish to go next?"
"Haruna...," Ryoku whispered, clutching her sword tightly, "I promise you that
I will do anything and everything that I can to stop these evil monsters from taking
over the Earth and the Moon, just like you wanted. I promise you that you will not
have died in vain. Rest in peace, my friend."
Ryoku slowly rose to his feet, a sword in each hand, and turned to face a
waiting Jadeite. "For what you have done," he said in a cold, furious tone, "you will
pay!" He rushed at Jadeite and swung at him with both swords. Jadeite blocked one
sword and quickly jumped out of the other’s path.
"So, you’ve decided to give up fighting me and picked a fight with Jadeite
instead," Nephrite said. "I guess you realized you had no chance to win against me."
"You think so?" Ryoku shouted. "Then why don’t you both come at me and
see who has no chance of beating whom?" As soon as he said it, he knew he was
going to regret it. ‘Since I’ve already gone this far, I might as well go all the way.’ He
took up a defensive stance with both swords in front of him. "Well, what are you
waiting for? I, Prince Ryoku of Jupiter, challenge you!" ‘Well, I’m in for it now....’
"If this fool wants to fight us both," Nephrite said, an amused grin forming on
his face, "then we shall make him regret it." At that, Jadeite and Nephrite charged at
him simultaneously.
Ryoku stood his ground and blocked both of their charges, each with one
sword. After that, he was kept busy trying to deal with two opponents at once. He
blocked Jadeite’s sword while lashing out at Nephrite. He ducked under Nephrite’s
slash to the head while attacking Jadeite’s mid-section.
Although he was holding out okay, he had never fought against two
opponents before. He was rapidly becoming exhausted and he was beginning to
wish that he had never opened his big mouth. ‘Looks like we were all right. I do
regret it....’
Endymion was so busy fighting Kunzite that he almost hadn’t noticed that
Queen Beryl’s forces had broken through his ring of troops. He made a quick
estimate of the enemy’s strength and his army’s own strength while dodging Kunzite
continued assault.
‘This isn’t good. They have several hundred more men than we have. Now
that they have broken through the ring....’ Endymion’s thought was interrupted when
a voice suddenly boomed out, "Jadeite! Nephrite! Zoisite! Kunzite! Return at once!"
"But Queen Beryl, we haven’t finished...," Kunzite began.
"You question my orders?" Queen Beryl’s voice asked angrily.
"No, my Queen," Kunzite replied submissively. "This isn’t over yet, Prince
Endymion. We shall finish what we started."
Almost at once, all of the enemy’s army was gone. Only the dead were left
behind. A cheer rose from the remaining soldiers. Despite their staggering losses,
they had won. Endymion immediately went to find the others.
He found Akiyama first, or rather she found him. Endymion noticed her sad
expression and was about to ask her what happened when she gestured for him to
follow her. As soon as he saw Ryoku’s expression and Sakurada’s body lying
motionless on the ground, he realized what had happened.
"We’ve won for now," Endymion said quietly, "but I have a feeling they’ll
return. With stronger forces." He looked towards the Moon, which was still low in the
sky, but easily visible. "We need the Sailor Scouts. Now."
Ryoku sat in the room he had used during his stay on Earth. It seemed like a
lifetime ago, when he had begun his training here. The sword he wore during that
time was laying next to him on the bed, but that wasn’t the sword he was interested
in.
He had been staring at Sakurada’s sword for a long time. He remembered
how well she had handled it. He also remembered how well he had handled it,
afterwards.
The sword was his now. She had given it to him before she had died. He
could still remember her last words very clearly: ‘My sword... Ryoku, please... take
up my sword. Don’t let... don’t let them win. You must... help Prince Endymion...
save Earth... and... Moon Kingdom.’ He also remembered the promise he had
made to his deceased friend. No matter what, he would keep his promise to her.
‘I swear to you, Haruna, I will keep my promise or die trying!’
Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective owners. Sailor Moon belongs
to Naoko Takeuchi and is also Copyright © Kodansha, Toei Animation, TV Asahi, Bandai, DIC,
Cloverway, Pioneer, etc. No copyright infringement is intended. This story belongs me, so I
would appreciate it very much if you would ask for permission before posting it anywhere else.
Thank you.
Earth Scout Chronicles, Kino Ryoku:
Copyright © 1999-2003 Jason C. Ulloa.
All Rights Reserved.
It was early the next morning when Endymion arrived on Earth. Ryoku arrived
two hours later, but he brought with him the reinforcements that Queen Serenity had
promised Endymion.
Endymion was meeting with his two remaining generals when Ryoku arrived.
Ryoku was greeted with barely contained relief by the two generals. "Prince Ryoku,
you’re here!" Sakurada exclaimed. "Wonderful! Prince Endymion told us you would
be bringing reinforcements from the Moon."
Ryoku grinned at the sight of the general. During his stay on the Earth, he
had learned a lot about strategy from her. Occasionally, when Endymion was busy
and she wasn’t, he would practice swordplay with her. Although she was a good
friend, he could never get her to stop calling him by his title.
"I’ve brought with me half of the Moon Palace’s defense forces," Ryoku
replied. "Prince Endymion, I now turn these men over to you. I am at your
command," he stated formally and bowed.
Endymion nodded gravely. "There isn’t much time. Queen Beryl’s forces may
attack again very soon." He looked at Ryoku, then at Sakurada, and finally at
Akiyama. "We need a plan."
"We’ve lost a lot of men and one of our best generals," Akiyama reported, her
tone neutral. "The enemy has lost a lot of their numbers as well, although not as
many as we have. They’re very strong and fierce fighters."
"The reinforcements Prince Ryoku has brought with him may be what we
need to tip the odds in our favor," Sakurada added. "Prince Endymion has told us
that Queen Serenity has decided to revive the Sailor Scouts of legend. Is this true,
Prince Ryoku?"
"Yes, Queen Serenity has revived the Sailor Scouts," he answered, nodding.
"I have seen them myself. As we speak, they are learning how to use their new
powers. They should be ready to assist us by tomorrow."
"That’s good to hear, but we still have these three armies to deal with,"
Endymion replied.
"Actually, Prince Endymion," Sakurada interrupted, "as I retreated from
yesterday’s battle with the remainder of both my army and Nagashima’s army, the
two forces we were battling were beginning to fight as one huge force. We can
divide the reinforcements in half instead of dividing it three ways."
He nodded absently, frowning in concentration as he began to form a plan.
"Where are these two armies now?"
"The army Sakurada fought is now to the southwest," Akiyama answered.
"The one I fought is to the northwest."
"They’re pretty close together," Ryoku observed. "It might be possible to try to
force the two armies into one single force and surround them. We should have
enough men."
"That might work as long as they don’t receive too many reinforcements,"
Endymion replied. "We have to assume that they will be getting reinforcements as
well."
"I think it’ll work," Akiyama said. "How about you, Sakurada?"
"Prince Endymion has a point," Sakurada replied, "but unfortunately, we can’t
predict by how much our enemy’s number will rise. Prince Ryoku does have a good
idea, though."
"Yes, I think so, too," Endymion agreed. "General Sakurada’s right. We can’t
predict our enemy’s numbers, so I think we should go with Ryoku’s idea.
"Ryoku," he continued, turning to him, "I want you and General Sakurada to
take half of our men and try to force the southwestern army to the north. General
Akiyama and I will take the rest of the men and try to force the northwestern army to
the south. Make sure to watch for us; we’ll be doing the same. When we’re close
enough, give the order to surround the enemy. If we’re lucky, we should be able to
completely encircle them." He glanced at everyone in turn. "Everyone understand the
plan?" They all nodded their agreement. "Good. Now, let’s get ready. General
Sakurada, Ryoku, good luck to the both of you."
"Thank you, Prince Endymion," Sakurada replied, as she and Ryoku prepared
to leave. "Good luck to you and Akiyama as well."
"Yeah, good luck you two," Ryoku added encouragingly.
"Thanks," Endymion and Akiyama said.
"Let’s go let the men in on our plan," Sakurada said heading towards the
camp.
"I’m with you," Ryoku replied as he followed her. "Let’s hope this plan works."
Back on the Moon Palace, the four Sailor Scouts were pushing themselves
hard to learn how to control their new powers as quickly as possible. They were in a
training room that was primarily used for training the Palace’s defense forces. Now it
was converted for their use.
Sailor Mars put her hands together in front of her. "Fire...," she began, as a
small fireball appeared at her fingertips. "...soul!" The small fireball suddenly grew
into a larger one and shot out straight in front of her. Too late, she realized that her
fireball was heading straight for Sailor Jupiter.
Sailor Jupiter saw the fireball coming and quickly dove out of the way. "Hey,
Mars! Watch where you shoot that thing!" Jupiter shouted as she came to her feet.
"Sorry about that," Mars said apologetically. "I guess I need a little more
practice."
Jupiter smiled reassuringly. "That’s all right. Just try not to roast me again,
okay?" Mars just grimaced sheepishly.
Sailor Jupiter turned to face the giant stone that the Scouts had been using
for target practice. Whenever a stone was destroyed, another would be put in its
place. This stone was the seventh since they had started.
She crossed her arms across her chest. "Supreme...," she began, as a small
lightning rod emerged from her tiara and lightning bolts began to descend from the
sky and gather into her tiara’s lightning rod. "...thunder!" The gathered lightning shot
out from her tiara, hitting the stone target and putting several cracks in it.
Sailor Venus also decided to take a shot at the target. She extended her arm
towards the stone target, her index finger pointing forward. "Crescent...," she began,
as energy began to gather at the point of her finger. "...beam!" A solid yellow beam
shot out from her finger, hitting the target right where Sailor Jupiter first hit it and
putting even more cracks in the target.
"One more time?" Jupiter suggested.
"Sure thing, Jupiter," Venus replied. "Crescent...."
"Supreme...."
"...beam!"
"...thunder!"
Once again, Jupiter and Venus aimed for the same spot. This time, Jupiter’s
lightning bolts combined with Venus’s energy beam. When the combined attack hit
the stone, it exploded instead of crumbling like it usually did. "Hey, that was pretty
cool!" Jupiter said approvingly. "Looks like we’re going to need another one."
Sailor Mercury held her arms out in front of her. "Shabon...," she began, as
several bubbles began to appear between her hands. She moved her hands to
where her wrists were now crossed. "...spray!" She flung her hands apart, sending
the bubbles flying in front of her. Instantly, a thick fog covered the area, making it
near to impossible to see anything within one foot’s distance.
"Neat trick, Mercury," Venus said.
"As long as the enemy can’t see us, it stands to reason that they shouldn’t be
able to hit us, either," Mercury stated.
"Yeah, but we can’t see, either," Mars complained.
"Oh. I guess I still need to work on it a bit," Mercury said, daunted.
"You’re doing a great job so far, girls," Artemis said enthusiastically, "just
keep it up!" He and Luna were watching from a safe distance, offering support and
advise. Mostly, they were just trying to keep out of their line of fire.
"Prince Endymion and Prince Ryoku might need your help soon," Luna said.
"The four of you must be ready before then."
"We’ll so our best, Luna, Artemis," Mars answered. "You can count on that."
The other three Scouts each nodded in agreement and continued their training
exercises.
Artemis looked to Luna with a worried expression on his face. "Well, Luna,
what do you think?" he asked. "Will they be enough to help save the Earth? After all,
they are missing one Scout."
"Yes, that’s true," Luna said in a contemplative tone. "We can only hope that
they’re all we need."
"But, what if they’re not enough? What if they aren’t strong enough?"
Luna was silent for a long time. Finally, she sighed and turned to Artemis.
"Those are good questions, Artemis. Hopefully, we will never have to answer those
questions." Luna paused and shook her head worriedly, before turning back to
Artemis. "I’m not even sure there is an answer."
Meanwhile, back on Earth, Ryoku and Sakurada were preparing to execute
their part of the plan. It was almost noon when they had moved into position to the
enemy’s east. Now they were waiting for the right moment to strike. Fortunately, they
had remained undetected as they slowly marched to the northeast, past them.
Ryoku drew his sword and examined it thoughtfully. "Today will be the first
time I use this thing to kill," he said somberly. "Tell me, General Sakurada... how did
you feel, having to kill another, even though doing so was the only way to save your
home?"
"The truth?" she asked. He nodded. "Even though it was ‘to save my home,’
as you put it, I hated it. Killing’s something you don’t want to ever have to do." She
unconsciously put her hand on her sword’s hilt and sighed. "Sometimes, in cases
like this, you don’t really have a choice."
"I see," he said in an even tone, sheathing his sword.
"Oh, I’m beginning to depress you even more, aren’t I, Prince Ryoku?" she
asked, frowning slightly.
"A little, but I do see your point," he replied quietly and decided that a change
in subject was in order. "You know, you don’t have to keep addressing me as ‘Prince’
Ryoku, General Sakurada. Just Ryoku would be fine. I won’t be offended," he added
with a grin.
"It means that much to you for me just to call you Ryoku?" she asked, raising
an eyebrow.
"Well, you are a friend. Besides, it seems so impersonal to hear people
address me that way. I prefer just... Ryoku."
"All right, but on one condition."
"Which is?"
"That as long as I have to call you Ryoku, you have you call me Haruna," she
said, smiling.
"It’s a deal... Haruna," he agreed, smiling as well.
As he looked out to the northern horizon, he could see that the enemy was
almost in position. He slowly redrew his sword at waited. Sakurada also drew her
sword and waited.
He glanced back at her. "It’s almost time." She simply nodded her agreement.
He glanced at the sword in her hand. "Is that the sword I’ve seen on the wall
in your office back at the palace?"
She glanced down to her sword and nodded. "Yeah, it’s the same one."
"It’s almost exactly like my sword, except for the insignias and the hilts," he
said. "Can I see your sword for a moment?"
"All right," she agreed, handing him her sword. He swung the sword a few
times, to get a feel for the sword. Then, he picked up his sword in his other hand
and began to swing both at once, performing complex moves with both swords. She
just watched in amazement.
"You truly are one of the best swordsmen in the Moon Kingdom," she
murmured as he returned her sword to her.
"Your sword feels just like mine," he said in a contemplative tone. "The weight
and balance are exactly the same."
She just nodded and resumed watching the enemy army. "They should be,"
she said without turning from what she was watching. "Your sword was made from
the same design as my sword."
"It was?" he asked, blinking in surprise.
"Ryoku, they’re in position," she said, cutting short that conversation.
He nodded, then grinned maliciously. "Ready to send them back to Queen
Beryl?"
She grinned as well. "Ready."
"Then, let’s give the order to march."
Ryoku and Sakurada hurried back to where their soldiers were waiting. The
order was given and the army was on the move. They moved as quickly as possible,
so their surprise would last as long as possible. The invading army was slow in
realizing that they were being charged at, but eventually they prepared themselves to
meet the attack. As the first ranks of each side met, chaos quickly ensued as blade
met blade.
It became apparent that Queen Beryl did send some additional men to
replace some of the ones that were killed yesterday, but not all of them. Ryoku began
to wonder why that was, when suddenly, the three remaining beasts charged from
the sides, each one taking down several of his troops.
He found himself separated from Sakurada and confronted by the scorpion-
beast. Since its skin was marred by deep scratching caused by numerous blows
from the swords of the Earth’s forces, he could see where those imperfections in its
armor-like skin could act like weak points where he could strike.
He quickly dived to the left as it thrust its claw towards where his chest had
been. He rolled as he landed, avoiding the strike from the stinger on its tail. When he
came to his feet, he found himself being backed into a nearby tree as he tried to
avoid the swipes of its claws and tail. He noticed that he was now trapped against
the tree with its claws to either side of him and its tail above him. As the tail slowly
rose in preparation to strike him down, he saw that he had only one choice left.
He dived forward, towards the beast.
The beast’s tail struck the tree where his head was only moments ago, with
enough force to break the tree in half. He dived forward, his sword extended in front
of him, and plunged his sword into the back of the scorpion beast, through one of
the deep scratches on its back. It writhed in pain for a few moments and then fell
still. That’s one down, two to go, he thought and went to go find Sakurada.
When Ryoku located Sakurada, she and a small group of their men were
trying to kill the lion-beast. From the amount of mangled corpses that weren’t that far
from them, he could see that they were having at hard time doing so.
He decided to charge the beast, while simultaneously giving the scene a
scrutinizing glance. ‘Haruna and two other soldiers: unhurt. Another soldier: slightly
wounded, but his sword-arm is unhurt. The last two: heavy wounds, but their
fighting doesn’t seem to be affected... too much.’
As Ryoku closed in on the beast, it suddenly leaped forward, causing him to
miss the beast by inches. The beast lunged at one of the heavily wounded soldiers,
tearing at his chest and killing him. It then quickly spun towards to other heavily
wounded soldier, slashing at one of his legs, causing him to fall on his side. Before it
could use its fangs to rip out his throat, the others slashed at it, causing damage, but
not crippling it. It swiftly leaped away from the others towards Ryoku, who was now
rushing towards it.
He quickly jumped to meet the beast midair. It took a swipe at him in passing,
which was deflected by his sword. Before passing the beast completely, he executed
a quick turn midair and sliced off the beast’s left hind paw.
Upon landing, Ryoku quickly darted for the beast, ready to dispatch it. Joined
by Sakurada and the others, he quickly made short work of the beast.
"Now, there’s one more to go," Ryoku said with satisfaction.
"What happened, Ryoku?" Sakurada demanded worriedly, her arms folded.
"One minute you were there and the next minute you’re gone. I thought we were
supposed to guard each other’s backs?"
"I don’t know what happened," he replied, shrugging. "All I know is after
losing sight of you, I was attacked by that scorpion-beast. As soon as I took care of
it, I came looking for you."
One of the soldiers turned to Ryoku in surprise. "You took down that thing by
yourself?"
"Um, yeah... I guess," Ryoku said, nodding.
"I guess you are as good as they say," another soldier added.
"Thanks, I guess," he replied, then jerked back in surprise. "Look out!" he
shouted, shoving a soldier away from a slashing blow to the head by one of Queen
Beryl’s troops. Sakurada promptly stabbed the invader through the chest.
"Thanks, Haruna. I owe you one," Ryoku said gratefully.
"Just watching your back," she replied offhandedly. "Come on. The battle’s
not over yet. Look over there."
Ryoku looked to where she was pointing. In the distance, he could see
another battle taking place. "That must be Endymion’s and General Akiyama’s group
over there."
"Do you think we’re close enough?" she asked.
"I suppose so," he replied, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Let’s go
meet them, shall we?"
It was barely past noon when Endymion and Akiyama were in position to
attack their enemies. A cursory assessment of the enemy’s strength told them that
there wasn’t a major increase in their numbers since Akiyama’s retreat. On the other
hand, the increase wasn’t small either.
Endymion slowly rose to his feet from the spot he had been watching Queen
Beryl’s army from. A small wind blew, gently stirring the cape he usually wore with
his armor. Finally, he broke his gaze away from the advancing army and turned to
Akiyama, who was waiting patiently to one side.
"They aren’t as numerous as I thought they would be," Endymion said.
"There aren’t as many as there was yesterday," Akiyama explained. "With the
additional men that you and Prince Ryoku brought with you, they shouldn’t pose too
much of a problem. Those monsters fight viciously, though. You must be careful."
Endymion glanced at her and grinned politely. "Don’t worry so much. I’m not
about to let them get away with what they have done to my people. I intend to stay
alive so I can make them pay, personally," he said in a menacing tone.
Akiyama drew her sword and looked to Endymion. "We are ready to charge
on your order, my Prince."
Endymion also drew his sword. He glanced at the engraved rose on the hilt of
his sword. Immediately he was reminded of Serenity. ‘I should’ve told her what was
going on down here, but I didn’t have the time. Queen Serenity would be too busy
organizing the Palace’s defenses in case I should fail to stop the invasion. She
wouldn’t have the time to tell her, either. The other princesses were busy learning
their new powers as Sailor Scouts, so they wouldn’t have the time to tell her, either.
I hope when she finds out about what’s happening down here, she’ll understand
why I didn’t have the time to tell her.’
"Prince Endymion, are you all right?" Akiyama asked, concerned.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Endymion asked, glancing up from his sword.
"You were just staring at your sword for a long time," she said.
"Oh. I was just thinking, that’s all," he replied. "Now it’s time to face the
enemy. Are the men prepared?"
"Yes, my Prince."
"Good. Then give the order to charge."
The order was given and the army surged forward, readying themselves to
meet their adversaries head-on.
As the fighting raged on, they slowly pushed to the south as planned.
Endymion had faced several of the monsters, either by himself or with assistance,
and had never taken more than a scratch. Akiyama had also faced her share of the
monsters as well, though she usually had assistance from her soldiers.
A lanky, feline-like monster suddenly confronted Endymion as he turned from
his last opponent. It had a long, thin tail and sharp claws on hand and foot. Its eyes
were completely yellow. It hissed at him, showing long, wickedly sharp fangs.
Without warning, it struck out at him, slashing at his mid-section. Endymion
jumped back, barely dodging the razor sharp claws, and performed a slashing attack
of his own. It leaped out of the way quickly and attacked again.
Its speed and reflexes were very quick. Endymion knew he couldn’t beat it
alone. He turned and ran towards a group of his men, who had just killed a snakelike
creature, and called for assistance. They immediately rushed to his aid, surrounding
the creature and circling it warily.
The creature angrily lashed out at one of the soldiers, who dodged out of the
way. Endymion saw an opening and swung at its head. It saw the attack just
moments before connecting and leaped back. He missed its head, but managed to
take off one of its paws. The others tried to do the same, but most of them missed,
some by wide margins. A few blows actually managed to wound the feline slightly,
slowing it down. The creature still managed to take down a few of its assailants, but
it was beginning to receive more and more wounds as it slowed. After a long, drawn
out battle, Endymion finally delivered the fatal blow, carving a deep wound in its
chest.
Endymion thanked his troops for their help and quickly set off to find
Akiyama. Before she left him, he had told her to see if she could locate Ryoku and
Sakurada’s army.
He didn’t have far to go when he saw Akiyama waving for him to join her. "Did
you see them?" he asked.
"Yes, Prince Endymion. They aren’t very far away. In fact, you should be able
to see them over there," she said, pointing to the south. "They seem to be doing all
right."
Endymion smiled. This might just work after all. "Good. Then lets proceed
with the plan. It’s time to give Queen Beryl’s men a fight they won’t soon forget!"
‘And I always thought that the prince fighting the evil dragon was only fairy
tale stuff...,’ Ryoku thought sardonically as he, Sakurada and a group of soldiers
faced off against the last of the four beasts: the dragon-beast.
The beast’s fire-breath kept them from coming close enough to strike while it
continued to lash out with its tail and claws. It had already incinerated several
soldiers, leaving only charred remains. The remaining soldiers kept a safe distance
away from it, dodging its attacks, and waited for an opportunity to counterattack.
"This is getting us nowhere," Ryoku muttered. "I’m going to distract it.
Everyone else, get ready."
"You sure about this?" Sakurada asked.
"Not really," he replied and ran straight for the giant creature. Immediately, it
swiped at him with its claws. When he leaped out of the way, it shot a blast of flame
from its mouth straight at him. He felt the searing heat come way too close to him as
he rolled to one side.
While he was busy dodging the assault, the others tried to attack the beast
from behind. Before it could turn around, they had managed to do serious damage to
its back and tail, hampering its movements. It couldn’t move as fast as before, but it
still could use its claws and fire-breath as weapons.
"That only crippled it a little," she said, after avoiding a blast of its fire-breath.
"Well then," Endymion said, as he and Akiyama appeared with some more
soldiers, "let’s try it again."
"Prince Endymion!" Sakurada shouted.
"How good of you to join us," Ryoku added, grinning. "Care to help us with
this minor problem?"
"Glad to," Endymion said, as he and the rest of his group joined in the attack.
Now that there were even more targets to fend of, in addition to its crippling wounds,
the beast was having a harder time keeping them away.
As Ryoku continued to serve as decoy, Akiyama managed to sneak up
behind the dragon-beast and finish severing the beast’s tail. As the creature howled
in pain, Endymion took the opportunity to aim for its arms, taking off both of its
claws. As it was about to open its mouth to generate a blast of fire, Ryoku quickly
lunged for the beast and thrust his sword through the beast’s jaw at an angle,
preventing it from opening its mouth. Now that it was stripped of its defenses,
everyone quickly rushed in to finish off the monster.
"Well," Ryoku began, removing his sword from the beast’s jaw when it
stopped moving, "that’s the last one."
"Now that that’s taken care of, we’d better join the rest of our troops."
Endymion added. "We’ve still got a battle to win."
"Maybe you should think again," a voice said behind them. As they turned in
the direction of the voice, Endymion, Ryoku, Sakurada and Akiyama suddenly found
themselves facing four figures, each dressed in the same strange dark gray uniform.
"Who are you?" Endymion demanded.
"Fair enough question," the silver-haired man answered. "As well you should
know the names of the ones who will destroy you."
"I am Jadeite," the one furthest to the left said. He had short, blond hair and a
condescending smirk on his face.
‘Let’s see...,’ Ryoku thought as he scrutinized each opponent. ‘He may be a
good fighter, but he’s arrogant, perhaps even overconfident.’
"I am Nephrite," the next one to the right said. He had long, dark brown hair
and a furious look on his face.’
‘I bet he was the one who was in charge of those beasts. Unfortunately, he
doesn’t seem to be someone who lets his emotions cloud his thinking.’
"I am Zoisite," the female said. She had long, blond hair and wore a malicious
smile.
‘She may be dangerous, perhaps even unpredictable. Definitely someone to
be cautious around.’
"And I am Kunzite," the silver-haired man finished. His silver hair was very
long and his grin was as cold as his eyes.
‘This one is the most dangerous of all. No surprise that he’s the leader. This
guy is someone to be wary of at all times.’
"We are Queen Beryl’s four best Generals," Kunzite continued. "We’ve come
to take over your world. After we have finished with you, then we shall lay waste to
the Moon Palace and the rest of the Moon Kingdom for Queen Beryl!"
"Conquer the Moon Kingdom?" Endymion exclaimed. ‘This is worse than I
thought, Endymion thought, his mind racing. I have to warn Queen Serenity! I have
to warn... Serenity!’ Endymion’s eyes narrowed as he lifted his sword in a defensive
position. "I’m afraid I can’t allow that."
"Do you really think you can stop us, cape-boy?" Zoisite sneered. "Who do
you think you are to even challenge us?"
"I am Endymion, Prince of Earth," Endymion stated defiantly. "You have
invaded my home and attacked my people. For that, you and your Queen Beryl will
be driven back to wherever you came from!" Endymion’s last remark was vehemently
seconded by the other three.
"Is that so?" Jadeite said mockingly, sword appearing in his hand. "It looks
like these foolish humans wish to fight us." One by one, the others also drew their
swords.
"If they want to waste their time trying, let them," Nephrite said
contemptuously.
"We might surprise you," Ryoku said nonchalantly. "You never know." He
then pointed his sword straight at Nephrite. "He’s mine."
"I’ll take care of that one," Sakurada said, gesturing to Jadeite.
"She’s mine," Akiyama said determinedly.
"And the leader’s mine," Endymion said, gripping the hilt of his sword very
tightly.
As they faced off against Beryl’s four generals, Ryoku quickly glanced back
at the battle being fought behind them. Their troops were still managing against
Beryl’s troops, but they were still losing more men than the enemy. He hoped that
they wouldn’t suddenly become overwhelmed within the next few hours, or else they
wouldn’t have much of a chance, even with the Sailor Scouts.
A sword coming straight for his head quickly brought his attention back to
where it belonged. With the ease only frequent practice could result, Ryoku quickly
parried the attacked and countered with an attack of his own. Nephrite blocked the
attack and responded with a second assault, which Ryoku dodged easily. "Not as
easy as you thought, huh?" he taunted.
"We’ll see about that!" Nephrite challenged and began a series of attacks to
Ryoku’s head, chest, mid-section, and legs. Ryoku blocked each attack and tried to
counterattack. He found it hard to land a blow on his opponent. He was quick with
his sword... almost as fast as he was.
Akiyama wasn’t faring any better with Zoisite. The two women seemed to be
evenly matched. Akiyama blocked a blow to the head and countered by trying to
sweep Zoisite’s legs out from under her. Zoisite leaped over her attack and landed
behind her. "Is that the best you can do?" Zoisite asked derisively, turning to face
Akiyama.
As an answer, Akiyama rushed at her, quickly slashing at Zoisite’s sides,
inflicting minor wounds. "You haven’t seen anything yet!" she said smugly.
Endymion was slowly driving Kunzite back, although he had sustained a few
minor cuts on his left arm and side. Kunzite had a long slice across his left leg and a
few scratches across his chest.
Endymion lunged at Kunzite, hoping to inflict a major, if not fatal, wound.
Kunzite jumped out of the way, dodging the attack, and executed a lunge of his own.
Caught off guard, Endymion leaped forward, somersaulted out of the way, and
quickly got to his feet, ready to face Kunzite again.
"Impressive, Endymion," Kunzite said. "I have underestimated your abilities,
but now I will correct that mistake. Die, human!" Kunzite leaped at Endymion, sword
over his head, and struck at Endymion’s head. Endymion blocked the blow and
countered by slashing at his side, inflicting another wound.
"Not today!" Endymion retorted.
Sakurada had managed to stay uninjured throughout her battle with Jadeite,
while he had only a few minor injuries. She quickly swung her sword at his side,
which he easily blocked. Jadeite tried to slash at her legs, but missed when she
leaped away. "I thought this was going to be a challenge," she said, laughing. "You’re
not even half as skilled as I thought."
She lunged at Jadeite, hoping to kill him. Instead, he dodged to one side,
allowing her to run past him. When she did run past, Jadeite thrust his sword
through her unprotected back. Her eyes widened in surprise as she fell to her knees,
staring at the bloody point of the sword protruding from her chest.
Ryoku was looking in Sakurada’s direction when he saw Jadeite run his
sword through her back. "Haruna!" he shouted and ran past Nephrite to her side.
"You’re right, you know," Jadeite sneered, removing his sword. "I’m not half
as skilled as you thought. I’m twice as skilled!"
Ryoku leaped at Jadeite with a powerful swing that forced him to leap away
from Sakurada. "Haruna?"
"Ryoku...," she said weakly, her eyes struggling to focus, "Ryoku... my
sword."
"Your sword?" he asked, picking up her sword and handing it to her. "What
do you need your sword for? You’re in no condition to continue fighting."
"No...," she replied, pushing her sword weakly into Ryoku’s hands, "my
sword... Ryoku, please... take up my sword. Don’t let... don’t let them win. You
must... help Prince Endymion... save Earth... and... Moon Kingdom...." She closed
her eyes and breathed one last time. She was gone.
"That’s one dead," Jadeite said smugly, after watching her die. "How about
you? Do you wish to go next?"
"Haruna...," Ryoku whispered, clutching her sword tightly, "I promise you that
I will do anything and everything that I can to stop these evil monsters from taking
over the Earth and the Moon, just like you wanted. I promise you that you will not
have died in vain. Rest in peace, my friend."
Ryoku slowly rose to his feet, a sword in each hand, and turned to face a
waiting Jadeite. "For what you have done," he said in a cold, furious tone, "you will
pay!" He rushed at Jadeite and swung at him with both swords. Jadeite blocked one
sword and quickly jumped out of the other’s path.
"So, you’ve decided to give up fighting me and picked a fight with Jadeite
instead," Nephrite said. "I guess you realized you had no chance to win against me."
"You think so?" Ryoku shouted. "Then why don’t you both come at me and
see who has no chance of beating whom?" As soon as he said it, he knew he was
going to regret it. ‘Since I’ve already gone this far, I might as well go all the way.’ He
took up a defensive stance with both swords in front of him. "Well, what are you
waiting for? I, Prince Ryoku of Jupiter, challenge you!" ‘Well, I’m in for it now....’
"If this fool wants to fight us both," Nephrite said, an amused grin forming on
his face, "then we shall make him regret it." At that, Jadeite and Nephrite charged at
him simultaneously.
Ryoku stood his ground and blocked both of their charges, each with one
sword. After that, he was kept busy trying to deal with two opponents at once. He
blocked Jadeite’s sword while lashing out at Nephrite. He ducked under Nephrite’s
slash to the head while attacking Jadeite’s mid-section.
Although he was holding out okay, he had never fought against two
opponents before. He was rapidly becoming exhausted and he was beginning to
wish that he had never opened his big mouth. ‘Looks like we were all right. I do
regret it....’
Endymion was so busy fighting Kunzite that he almost hadn’t noticed that
Queen Beryl’s forces had broken through his ring of troops. He made a quick
estimate of the enemy’s strength and his army’s own strength while dodging Kunzite
continued assault.
‘This isn’t good. They have several hundred more men than we have. Now
that they have broken through the ring....’ Endymion’s thought was interrupted when
a voice suddenly boomed out, "Jadeite! Nephrite! Zoisite! Kunzite! Return at once!"
"But Queen Beryl, we haven’t finished...," Kunzite began.
"You question my orders?" Queen Beryl’s voice asked angrily.
"No, my Queen," Kunzite replied submissively. "This isn’t over yet, Prince
Endymion. We shall finish what we started."
Almost at once, all of the enemy’s army was gone. Only the dead were left
behind. A cheer rose from the remaining soldiers. Despite their staggering losses,
they had won. Endymion immediately went to find the others.
He found Akiyama first, or rather she found him. Endymion noticed her sad
expression and was about to ask her what happened when she gestured for him to
follow her. As soon as he saw Ryoku’s expression and Sakurada’s body lying
motionless on the ground, he realized what had happened.
"We’ve won for now," Endymion said quietly, "but I have a feeling they’ll
return. With stronger forces." He looked towards the Moon, which was still low in the
sky, but easily visible. "We need the Sailor Scouts. Now."
Ryoku sat in the room he had used during his stay on Earth. It seemed like a
lifetime ago, when he had begun his training here. The sword he wore during that
time was laying next to him on the bed, but that wasn’t the sword he was interested
in.
He had been staring at Sakurada’s sword for a long time. He remembered
how well she had handled it. He also remembered how well he had handled it,
afterwards.
The sword was his now. She had given it to him before she had died. He
could still remember her last words very clearly: ‘My sword... Ryoku, please... take
up my sword. Don’t let... don’t let them win. You must... help Prince Endymion...
save Earth... and... Moon Kingdom.’ He also remembered the promise he had
made to his deceased friend. No matter what, he would keep his promise to her.
‘I swear to you, Haruna, I will keep my promise or die trying!’
Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective owners. Sailor Moon belongs
to Naoko Takeuchi and is also Copyright © Kodansha, Toei Animation, TV Asahi, Bandai, DIC,
Cloverway, Pioneer, etc. No copyright infringement is intended. This story belongs me, so I
would appreciate it very much if you would ask for permission before posting it anywhere else.
Thank you.
Earth Scout Chronicles, Kino Ryoku:
Copyright © 1999-2003 Jason C. Ulloa.
All Rights Reserved.