Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Earth Scout Chronicles - Season One ❯ A New Scout is Born ( Chapter 7 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chapter 7: A New Scout is Born

Serenity stared up at the Earth again, for what had to be the hundredth time
that day. Something was nagging at her insides and she didn’t know what. For some
reason, Luna wasn’t around as usual and hadn’t been around since the day before
yesterday. All Luna said was that she and Artemis had some very urgent business
that required their attention. When she asked Luna about it, she told her that it
wasn’t anything to worry about and then left.

Confused, she when to ask her mother about what Luna and Artemis was
doing that was so important. Her mother just smiled at her and told her that it wasn’t
anything to worry about and that she shouldn’t worry so much. Serenity wasn’t
content with the answer, but she just let it go at that. As she thanked her mother and
turned to leave, she thought she saw a hint of sadness on her mother’s serene face.
Taking a quick glance back at her mother, she saw that she was mistaken. There
wasn’t any sadness there. Or, was she just hiding it for her daughter’s sake....

Sitting in her bedroom and still staring up at the Earth, she sighed longingly
for her Earth Prince. She hadn’t seen him since the ball the day before yesterday,
either. She began to wonder if the two weren’t connected. ‘Perhaps something is
happening on Earth?’ she thought to herself. ‘If there is, why hasn’t Endymion told
me about it? Oh, I hope nothing has happened to him. I couldn’t bear it if something
has happened.

Wait a minute,’ she thought as a sudden realization came to her. ‘Come to
think of it, I haven’t seen Amy, Rei, Minako, Makoto or Ryoku since the day before
yesterday either. I don’t like to be kept in the dark like this, but if Mother doesn’t
want me to worry about it, then it’s probably for a good reason.’ She sighed again,
wistfully. ‘But, I still can’t help but worry for Endymion....’






“I need to ask all of you a favor,” Sailor Jupiter said to the other Scouts as
they arrived at the Moon Palace. She said it quietly so Ryoku couldn’t hear, but the
others could.

“What is it?” Sailor Venus asked.

“I need you all to help me convince Ryoku that he has to go to the infirmary
first, to treat his wounds, before going to see Queen Serenity,” Jupiter replied as she
glanced worriedly toward her brother. “He’s been wounded badly and he’s probably
in a lot of pain, despite how he must be hiding it. He’s so determined to see Queen
Serenity and give her his report in spite of his appearance, that I don’t think he’ll
listen to me.”

“From the way he’s moving, you wouldn’t suspect that he’s been hurt,” Sailor
Mercury said. “But, if he’s as badly wounded as you say, then we’d better get him
some medical attention quickly.”

“Whether he wants it or not,” Sailor Mars added firmly. The other Scouts
nodded in agreement.

“Ryoku, wait!” Jupiter said as she and the other Scouts caught up to him.

“Yes?” he prompted without stopping.

“Listen, you’ve been wounded and we want you to come with us to the
infirmary,” she began.

“You wouldn’t want to see Queen Serenity looking like a bloody mess, would
you?” Venus asked.

“Doesn’t matter,” he replied without breaking stride. “I have important
information that can’t wait. I need to see Queen Serenity now.”

“Ryoku, we know that you have to see Queen Serenity,” Mars explained. “So
do we, but think about your health. Walking around with your wounds untreated
definitely isn’t a good thing. You could make your injures worse.”

“I don’t care,” Ryoku said flatly.

“Ryoku, please,” Sailor Mercury said entreatingly. “You have to come with us.
You need medical attention. Please, Ryoku, do this for us.... For me?”

That caused him to stop suddenly. The Scouts all looked at him expectantly,
hoping that he would concede.

“I’m sorry,” he said at last. “This is more important than what I want or need.
If it were up to me, I would’ve been in the infirmary already. After I see Queen
Serenity, then I’ll go. All right?” Instead of waiting for an answer, he continued on his
way, leaving the other Scouts behind.

“So much for convincing him,” Sailor Venus said.

“We tried,” Sailor Mercury agreed.

“Plan B?” Sailor Jupiter asked.

“Plan B,” Sailor Mars agreed while the other two nodded their agreement.

The four Scouts caught up with Ryoku again, but this time instead of trying to
convince him, they decided to use a more... forceful approach. Jupiter grabbed his
right arm while Mars grabbed the left and pulled him backwards. That caused him to
lose his balance enough so that Venus could grab his left leg and Mercury could
grab his right leg. Between the four of them, they could very easily carry him to the
infirmary, indignantly protesting all the way.

On the way to the infirmary, Ryoku noticed that some of the castle’s
inhabitants were watching the interesting scene they were displaying – the Prince of
Jupiter being carried, protesting, to the infirmary by the four Sailor Scouts – and
couldn’t help but give a quiet little laugh at his position. He looked up at his captors
and wondered if they were thinking the same thing. ‘If they are,’ Ryoku thought,
‘they’re probably trying not to laugh at my expense. How magnanimous of them.’

Ryoku finally submitted. “All right, you can put me down. I’ll go to the
infirmary. You don’t have to carry me.”

“You promise?” Sailor Venus asked.

“I promise,” Ryoku agreed. “Can you put me down now? That is, unless you
all like carrying me around?” he said in a mocking tone. In response, the Scouts all
let go simultaneously, letting him hit the floor with a thud.

“That’s all right,” Sailor Mars replied. “You’re a little too heavy to carry all the
way there anyways.”

“This is no way to treat a wounded person!” Ryoku exclaimed indignantly as
he got to his feet.

“Don’t worry,” Sailor Mercury told him in a placating voice. “We’ll be sure to
tell Queen Serenity all the important details. When you’re ready, you can give her
your report.”

“Okay, you’d better hurry then,” Ryoku said as he started for the infirmary.
Just before he turned the corner, he could hear the sound of four girls laughing. He
growled to himself and continued on his way.






The only occupants of the throne room were Queen Serenity and the two cat
advisors, Luna and Artemis. Apparently, she was having a private discussion with
her advisors.

As soon as she saw who the new arrivals were, a worried expression crossed
her face. “You’re back so soon?” she asked. Her worry grew when she discovered
that there only the four Scouts. “Endymion and Ryoku aren’t with you? Has
something gone wrong on Earth?”

“Terribly wrong, Your Majesty,” Sailor Mercury replied dauntingly. “Our forces
have been defeated by vast numbers and very powerful creatures. We tried our best,
but despite all the efforts of Prince Endymion, Prince Ryoku and us Scouts, the
Earth is lost to us for now.

“Ryoku has come with us, but he has been badly wounded and is now
receiving medical attention in the palace infirmary. He has brought a report from
Prince Endymion. He is still on Earth, but he is okay. As we speak, he is organizing
a full retreat from Earth to here. He should be here soon. He can give you more
details than I can.”

“I see,” Queen Serenity said, only partially relieved that Endymion and Ryoku
were still alive, but still worried over the defeat on the Earth. “These powerful
creatures you were speaking of, can you describe them to me?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Sailor Venus said. “They are a group of seven dark,
shadow-like creatures that Prince Ryoku has appropriately termed, the ‘Shadow
Warriors’. They are very fast and very powerful. If there was only one I’m sure we
could’ve destroyed it, but we had to fight seven at once.”

“We managed to hold them off from the rest of the battle,” Sailor Jupiter said,
picking up the narrative, “but that took everything we had. As we fought them, some
of Beryl’s soldiers tried to get in our way by attacking us.”

“We wouldn’t have held them off for as long as we did if it wasn’t for Prince
Ryoku,” Sailor Mars added. “He fought off many of Beryl’s troops by himself,
keeping them away from us so we could concentrate on the Shadow Warriors. He
was a great help.”

As if on cue, the door to the throne room opened to admit Ryoku inside. He
was wearing a uniform similar to the one he had been wearing upon his arrival; only
this one was clean and free of rips and tears. Actually, there was little evidence that
he looked like a bloody mess just a moment ago.

“In fact,” Sailor Mars continued, looking at Ryoku, “he saved my life back
there.”

“He saved all our lives at least once,” Sailor Jupiter added. “Beryl’s soldiers
liked to try to sneak up on us whenever they could. Ryoku was injured trying to save
me.”

“Injured? He doesn’t look injured to me,” Artemis said.

“They... persuaded... me to go to the infirmary first,” Ryoku said, looking
intently at the Scouts. “Under this uniform are a lot of bandages. The Scouts thought
that I should at least look presentable when delivering bad news.” The sarcastic and
bitter tone in his voice was unmistakable.

“And bad news it is,” Queen Serenity said sadly. “But despite such grim
events, I must thank you, Ryoku, for all your assistance; with Endymion as well as
with the Sailor Scouts.”

“No thanks are necessary,” Ryoku said, bowing stiffly, since the bandages
were inhibiting his normal movement.

Once again, the door to the throne room opened, but this time it was
Endymion who entered. “I have arrived as soon as I could, Your Majesty,” he said,
bowing deeply.

“It is good to see you, Prince Endymion,” Queen Serenity said. “I’ve heard
you’ve been busy preparing your remaining people to evacuate here. How is your
progress?”

“I have left General Akiyama in charge of preparing the remaining citizens.”
Then his voice became somber. “What was left of the army, I brought with me. I sent
the uninjured to join the palace defenses and the injured and recovering to the
infirmary. It is fortunate that the infirmary is large enough to admit them all.”

Endymion paused to stare out the window towards the Earth. “General
Akiyama should be arriving at any moment. She was almost ready by the time I left.

“It was strange though...,” Endymion said thoughtfully, as if something was
puzzling him. “After our retreat to the Earth Palace, Beryl’s forces just... ignored us.
They didn’t try to interrupt our evacuation or prevent us from leaving Earth. It’s as
if... they had something more important to worry about.

“Your Majesty,” he continued, “I believe that Queen Beryl plans to invade here
very soon. She has already taken over Earth. She must’ve wanted Earth just so she
could have a base to invade the Moon from. Once she is ready, she will invade.”

Queen Serenity nodded calmly. “Yes, Prince Endymion, I’m afraid you may
be absolutely right. I have been preparing for such an event ever since I had first
learned of the invasion,” she said, but then sighed regretfully. “Unfortunately, it
seems that with these Shadow Warriors of theirs, all of our defenses may be
ultimately futile. Even though our chances seem very small, I would ask you to aid us
in defending my kingdom, Prince Endymion.”

“I would be honored to, Your Majesty,” Endymion answered, kneeling in front
of her. “I swear to defend the Moon Kingdom to the end.”

“I know you will, Endymion,” she said, smiling. As Endymion rose and turned
to leave, she said, “Endymion, if you are going to look for Serenity, I believe she is
outside on the balcony above the ballroom.” He turned back to Queen Serenity and
bowed, smiling. Then, he left to search for his beloved.

“Your Majesty,” Ryoku said, kneeling as best he could in front of her, “allow
me to add my oath to Endymion’s to defend the Moon Kingdom to the end. I made a
promise to a friend of mine, who is dead now, that I would do everything and
anything in my power to help in stopping Queen Beryl.” He unsheathed Sakurada’s
sword and displayed it for all to see. “This blade is a reminder of that promise. I must
do whatever it takes to fulfill it.”

Queen Serenity looked at the sword and gasped. “That’s... General
Sakurada’s sword, isn’t it?” Ryoku nodded and sheathed the sword. “I see. I will
gladly accept your oath, Prince Ryoku. We may need all the help we can get in our
upcoming battle against Queen Beryl.”

“Our main problem is with the Shadow Warriors,” Luna said. “According to
the Scouts, those creatures may be a little too much for the four of them.”

“Your Majesty,” Ryoku said suddenly, “I have seen how they fight. Perhaps if I
tried to fight them with the Sailor Scouts, maybe they might be able to beat them.”

“You can’t, Ryoku!” Sailor Jupiter exclaimed worriedly. “The Shadow Warriors
are incredibly strong! You might not stand a chance against them!”

“Besides,” Sailor Mars added, “it took all four of us to just hold them back,
using all of our power. With no power of your own, you may become more of a risk
than a help.”

“I know that!” Ryoku retorted. “Still, I gave my word that I would do whatever it
takes. The four of you may be able to stop the Shadow Warriors, but you don’t have
enough power to defeat them without help. Since we don’t have any more Sailor
Scouts with us, you only have regular soldiers like myself to help you.

“I am one of the best swordsmen of the entire Moon Kingdom,” he stated as a
matter of fact and not a boast. “I’m aware that I may have little chance of succeeding
or surviving without powers like yours, but I have to try.

“If it means that I don’t stand a chance, if it means that I will most likely die in
the attempt... then, so be it.” His voice held no emotion when making that statement.
His gaze was cold and resolute. The four Scouts looked at him as if seeing a whole
different person. They had never seen him so serious before and it was surprising.
Their respect for the Jupiter prince increased dramatically.

“Well,” Sailor Venus said, breaking the silence, “if that’s how you feel,
Ryoku.... But, we really wish you would reconsider. Getting yourself killed won’t help
us; it would only make things worse.”

“Luna, Artemis, you wouldn’t happen to have any more transformation pens,
would you?” Sailor Mercury asked. Everyone turned to look at the blue-haired girl as
they considered what she had just said.

“Of course!” Sailor Mars exclaimed, smacking a fist into her other hand in
realization. “Why didn’t we think of that before? Well, you two? Do you have another
transformation pen for Ryoku?”

“Well...,” Artemis began, “we do have another transformation pen....”

“Great!” Mars said.

“...but, he can’t use it,” he finished. “Or rather, he won’t be able to use it.”

“What?” Venus said.

“Why not?” Ryoku asked.

“Maybe we should start at the beginning,” Luna said. “Do you all remember
the legend of the five Sailor Scouts of the past?”

“You mean the one where the five female warriors battled some ancient evil
being and imprisoned it somewhere?” Ryoku asked.

“The same,” Luna said. “The five warriors were Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars,
Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus, and Sailor Earth.”

“Like us?” Jupiter asked.

“Only, without Sailor Earth,” Ryoku added.

“Yes,” Artemis said.

“So, what you’re saying is that they’re our predecessors and we’re their
successors.” Mercury stated.

“Exactly.”

“So, what does this have to do with me not being able to use the Earth
transformation pen?” Ryoku asked. “I know that traditionally the princess of Earth
would be the one to become Sailor Earth, but Endymion’s an only child. No sister.
There must be someway for someone else to assume the power of a Sailor Scout in
situations like this.”

“First of all,” Luna said, “the power of the Sailor Scouts does not come from
their transformation pens, but from their respective planets. Each Scout draws
power from their planet through their transformation pen, which later serves as a link
to their planet after transformation. However, the pens can only draw so much power
from their respective planets at a time.”

“The reason you can’t use the transformation pen, Ryoku,” Artemis
continued, “is because the pens will only work for the princesses of the Moon
Kingdom’s royal families. In situations like this, another princess would be able to
link herself with the unclaimed transformation pen and assume the role of the
missing Sailor Scout. Unfortunately, there aren’t any other princesses.”

“Wait a minute,” Ryoku interrupted. “What about Serenity? Can’t she use the
transformation pen?”

“Because,” Queen Serenity answered, “Serenity has a power greater than the
transformation pens – the ability to use the Silver Crystal, which only the royal family
of the Moon can use.”

“If it’s so powerful, then why haven’t you used it yet?” Ryoku asked, puzzled.
“Is there something that prevents you or Serenity from using it?”

“The Moon is dependent on the crystal. Without it, life on the Moon would be
impossible. If either I, or Serenity, use the power of the Silver Crystal....”

“Then, the Moon Kingdom would become more vulnerable than it is now and
would be destroyed,” he concluded. “So, we can’t use it to make Princess Serenity
into Sailor Moon, since that would weaken the Moon Kingdom’s power.”

“That is correct,” Queen Serenity said sadly.

“It’s too bad that there isn’t a way for Ryoku to use the power of Sailor Earth
without having to use the Earth transformation pen,” Mercury said.

Queen Serenity began to nod in agreement when an idea suddenly hit her.
“Maybe there is a way...,” she said thoughtfully.

“What? Really?” Ryoku exclaimed. “What is it Your Majesty? Whatever it is,
I’m willing to do it!”

“Luna, Artemis, would you please bring me the Crescent Moon Wand and the
Earth transformation pen?” she asked. Luna and Artemis nodded and quickly sped
off to retrieve the objects.

“Your Majesty, I would appreciate it if you would let me know what’s going
on,” Ryoku asked, confused. “Why do you need the Crescent Moon Wand?”

“I believe that there may be a way around needing the transformation pen to
transform, but it will be extremely risky, not to mention dangerous. As for why I need
the Crescent Moon Wand, that is part of it.”

“So, what are you going to do?” Venus asked.

“Here’s the Crescent Moon Wand, Your Majesty,” Luna said, after dropping it
in Queen Serenity’s lap.

“And here’s the Earth pen,” Artemis said, depositing the transformation pen
next to the wand.

“Ah, thank you, Luna, Artemis,” Queen Serenity said, picking up the wand
and pen. “Our main problem is that without the aid of a fifth Sailor Scout, you won’t
be able to do more than stop the seven Shadow Warriors. Although we have the
Earth transformation pen and someone willing to assume the role of the Earth Scout,
the two are incompatible. However, there may be a chance – a small chance – that
with the power of the Crescent Moon Wand, I can form a new link between a new
object and the power of the Earth, creating a new transformation object.”

“That’s wonderful!” Mars said.

“There’s a catch though. An especially dangerous one. Forming a new link
between the power of a Sailor Scout and a princess is a perfectly safe and normal
process, but to do the same thing with a prince.... That has never been done before,
since the transformation pens don’t work for males. The process may be
excruciatingly painful... perhaps even fatal.”

“Fatal...,” Ryoku whispered uneasily.

“That’s not so wonderful,” Jupiter remarked.

“But, if I were to withstand the pain and survive the procedure...,” he began,
his voice growing hopeful.

“Then, there’s a good chance that you should receive the power of the Earth
and become a Sailor Scout,” Queen Serenity finished. “Ryoku, since you said you
are willing to do anything to help stop Queen Beryl and defend my kingdom, then I
assume you are willing to go through this linking procedure despite the pain and
possibility of death?”

He nodded determinedly. “Absolutely, Your Majesty.”

“Queen Serenity,” Artemis interrupted, “what are we going to use to link him
with the power?”

“I know,” he said suddenly. Drawing his swords, he placed them in front of
Queen Serenity. “Will these do?” he asked.

“Yes, they will be just fine,” Queen Serenity replied, smiling. She rose from
her throne and walked over to where Ryoku had placed his swords. She absently
noted that he had placed them to look exactly like his sigil: a pair of crossed swords.
She placed the Earth transformation pen next to his swords. After doing so, she
turned to Ryoku and asked, “Are you ready, Ryoku?”

He took in a deep breath and exhaled, making himself completely calm.
“Ready,” he answered.

Queen Serenity nodded and returned to her throne, but didn’t sit back down.
Instead, she turned to face Ryoku with the Crescent Moon Wand in her right hand.

“Good luck, Ryoku,” Mercury said. “We’ll all be hoping for the best.”

“Thank you, Sailor Mercury. And the other Scouts, too.” Ryoku said. “Let’s
begin,” he said confidently as he turned to Queen Serenity.

A white glow enveloped the Crescent Moon Wand. Slowly, it grew larger and
brighter. Two thin white beams shot out from the wand, one covering the Earth
transformation pen, the other covering Ryoku’s swords. Suddenly, a light brown light
flew out of the pen towards the Earth through the window. A second beam returned
from the Earth and covered the swords, joining with the white light from the wand.
Both of the swords began to glow with a silver light, with the swords’ insignia glowing
brightest of all.

Without warning, a pair of thin silver beams shot out from the insignia of the
two swords and struck Ryoku in the middle of his forehead. A sharp, piercing pain
caused him to clench his fists tightly and hiss painfully through his teeth, wincing.
Slowly and steadily, the pain increased from minor discomfort to throbbing to
agonizing. Ryoku remained on his feet, but he was beginning to writhe and groan in
pain.

“How long do you have to do this?” Jupiter asked, concerned for her brother.

“Not much longer,” Queen Serenity replied. “I am halfway done already.
Unfortunately, from this point on, the pain will get much worse. If he survives, then
we shall have a new Sailor Scout ready to join the battle against Queen Beryl. Don’t
worry; he is strong and determined. He will succeed.”

“I hope you’re right,” Mars said. “For Ryoku’s sake.”

As the pain shot up from agonizing to excruciating, Ryoku finally fell to his
knees and let out a scream of pain. Both the cat advisors and the Sailor Scouts
cringed at the sound.

“Ryoku!” Mercury shouted, holding out her arm as if she wanted to go to his
side.

“Come on, Ryoku,” Jupiter said, “you can make it!”

“Just a little longer,” Venus said encouragingly.

“You’ve got to succeed, Ryoku,” Mars said. “We need your help.”

The light from the Crescent Moon Wand slowly dimmed and extinguished. As
the light disappeared from the wand, the white light surrounding the transformation
pen and the pair of swords disappeared as well, along with the light beams
connecting the objects to the Earth. Only the silver glow of the swords and the silver
light beam connecting them to Ryoku remained.

As the silver glow finally disappeared, the two beams connecting Ryoku to his
swords also disappeared. When that happened, his screams of pain were suddenly
cut off and he collapsed to the floor.

“Ryoku!” Mercury exclaimed as she, the other Scouts and the two cats
rushed to the motionless figure.

“Is he all right?” Queen Serenity asked anxiously.

Mercury quickly checked for a pulse. She sighed with relief when she found
it. “He’s alive, but I think he’s going to be unconscious for a while.”

“Did it work?” Venus asked.

“I’m not sure,” Queen Serenity said. “When he comes to, we shall all find out.
Sailor Mercury, can you and Sailor Jupiter take him to the infirmary?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Mercury said, as she and Jupiter picked up and carried
the unconscious figure to the infirmary.

“All we can do now is wait and hope,” Luna said.






Sometime later, Ryoku awoke with a minor headache. It was only a small
discomfort and could be easily ignored. When he slowly opened his eyes, he found
himself, once again, in the infirmary. ‘I wonder if this is the same bed they put me on
last time,’ he thought to himself. ‘Well, unlike last time, I’m lying on it instead of just
sitting on it. At least I got a nice short nap....’

“Ryoku?” asked a familiar voice. He turned his head to look at Sailor Mercury.

“Yes?” he replied, his voice a little hoarse from screaming in pain. He cleared
his throat.

“Oh, good. You’re finally awake,” she said, smiling. “How are you feeling?”

“You mean, besides a sore throat and a small headache?” he asked jokingly,
while sitting up. “Okay, I guess.”

Mercury gave a small laugh at that. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said.

“Don’t be,” he said, grinning. He looked around to see if any of the others
were there as well. They were alone. “Where’s everyone else?” he asked.

“The other Scouts are practicing using their powers for when Queen Beryl
decides to attack. Luna and Artemis went with them. Your sister asked me to watch
you and to let everyone know when you woke up. I didn’t think it would be this soon
though.”

“So is that the only reason you’re here?” Ryoku asked quietly. “Because my
sister asked you to? Or, is there another reason?”

Sailor Mercury blushed a little and looked away. “Well... I was... worried
about you... I mean, we were all worried....”

Ryoku silently considered the blue-haired girl sitting next to him. He thought
she looked cute blushing like that. He placed his hand on top of hers to get her
attention. When he did so, she stopped talking and just looked at him.

Sailor Mercury gazed into his gray eyes. She had always thought that his gray
eyes were fascinating, along with his long brown hair. The fact that his hair was
longer than hers never failed to amuse her.

“Well,” Ryoku said, after a long period of silence, “I can’t just lie around here
when there are more important things that need to be done. Speaking of which,” he
added while getting to his feet, “do you know if the linking was successful?”

“We aren’t sure yet.”

“Oh.”

“I have to go tell everyone you’re awake now. You should go to the throne
room. Queen Serenity is waiting for you,” she said and left.

“I hope it worked,” he said quietly to himself. “I don’t think I can survive
another attempt.”

He was about to leave when he realized something. His headache was gone
and his voice wasn’t hoarse anymore. ‘Strange, after screaming like I did, my throat
should still be sore. How did it heal so quickly?’

Another thought occurred to him. He quickly removed his shirt and started to
peel off one of his bandages; one of the ones that was covering a minor wound. To
his complete surprise, the wound was gone, completely healed. ‘What? Impossible!
That wound should’ve taken at least another day to heal.’ He went on to remove all
the bandages, except the one covering the large wound across his back. Somehow
he doubted that even with this miraculous recovery of his, that wound would still
need time to heal. As he suspected, each of the wounds were healed. ‘I wonder if
this means what I think it means....’

Wasting no time thinking about it, he quickly pulled his shirt back on and
hurried to the throne room.






Queen Serenity and the Sailor Scouts were waiting for waiting for him, when
Ryoku finally arrived at the throne room. “How are you feeling, Ryoku?” Queen
Serenity asked him as soon as he entered the room.

“I’m fine, Your Majesty. Thank you for asking,” he replied. “In fact, I recovered
faster than I thought I would. Almost all of my wounds are already gone.”

“That is good to hear. Your rapid recovery is a good sign.”

“So, the linking worked?” he asked excitedly.

“We shall soon find out. Since everyone is here, Ryoku, please retrieve your
swords. They are right here,” Queen Serenity said, gesturing towards his swords,
which had been placed leaning against her throne.

He walked over and picked up his swords, one in each hand, and strode over
to the middle of the room. “Now what do I do, Your Majesty?” he asked.

“I’ve keyed your swords so they would activate through a different phrase,”
Queen Serenity explained. “Raise both of your swords above your head, cross them,
and instead of ‘Earth power, make up!’, shout ‘Knight swords power!’”

He nodded and raised his swords and crossed them over his head. “I’m glad
you changed the transformation phrase. It would’ve been embarrassing if I had to
shout something like ‘make up’ every time I needed to transform. Guys aren’t
expected to run around shouting things like that, you know,” he said jokingly.

“I’d be more worried about transforming and ending up wearing something
like this, Ryoku!” Jupiter said laughingly as she pointed down at her skirt. “However,
I think you’d look cute in a skirt!” Everyone began to laugh while Ryoku merely
glowered at his sister.

“Very funny,” he muttered as the others slowly stopped laughing. “At any rate,
it’s time to see if this works.” All of the Scouts gave him a thumbs-up signal for
encouragement. “Well, here it goes!” he said confidently. “Knight swords power!”

A silver light started glowing from the swords in his hands. It then began to
completely envelope Ryoku. Suddenly, the silver light flashed brightly, then
disappeared, revealing Ryoku clothed in a silver and white uniform, partially similar to
the uniform the other Scouts were wearing.

The upper half of his uniform was very similar to the other Scouts’ uniforms,
except there was no bow in the back and the bow on the front was replaced by a
hanging knot with a midnight blue stone on top. His gloves went to his wrists instead
of his elbows. As for the lower half, he was relieved to find that he was wearing
silver-gray trousers and boots instead of what the others were wearing. Around his
neck was a necklace identical to the tiaras that the other Scouts wore. A silver stone
was in the center of the necklace.

In the middle of his forehead, a symbol suddenly appeared: the symbol for
Earth placed in the hollow of a crescent moon on its side, superimposed over a pair
of crossed swords. The symbol was a combination of both of the insignia from his
two swords. As suddenly as it appeared, it then disappeared.

“It worked!” he shouted excitedly.

“Yes, it certainly did,” Queen Serenity said, smiling with renewed hope.
“Sailor Scouts, I present to you your newest ally in our fight against Queen Beryl:
Sailor Knight.”

“I know I speak for all of the Sailor Scouts when I say how much we
appreciate all that you’ve done to help us,” Venus said.

“Thank you all,” Sailor Knight said, grinning. “Now that I have these new
powers, I would appreciate it if you all would help me learn how to use them.” His
expression turned grim. “Our time is growing short. Beryl may invade at any time.
We must hurry if I’m going to be of any help in our upcoming battle.”

“He’s right, Scouts,” Artemis said. “You don’t have much time.”

“You must begin your training at once, Sailor Knight,” Luna added. “The rest
of you should also continue to practice using your powers.”

“Right,” the five Sailor Scouts said simultaneously.

“Good luck, all of you,” Queen Serenity said to the departing Scouts.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Sailor Knight whispered to himself. “Thank you
for everything.”


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.