OBLIGATORY LEGAL DISCLAIMER : None of these guys are mine. The Sailor 
Senshi belong to DIC and Kodansha, while the Yoroiden are owned by 
Sunrise and Graz Entertainment. Okay? So don't bother suing me. I'm a 
student. 

                    RONIN SUMMER 4 : INNER BATTLES
            
         A Sailor Moon / Yoroiden Samurai Troopers cross-over

             by Morgan Hudson (dataraven_659@excite.com)



Part 8 : THE OWL'S TALE

	The sun rose on an interesting scene in the Hikawa Shrine that 
morning. Passed out by the sacred fire of Kami were five men and a 
tiger, each in various stages of dress and slumber. Seiji Date, by the 
doorway, was curled up in a ball, his thick shag of blond hair for 
once falling away from his eyes, which were squeezed shut. Ryo Sanada 
lay spread-eagled in the middle of the room, his head propped on the 
chest of the softly purring tiger as it lay on its back and kicked 
occasionally. Shin Mouri and Shuu Rei Fuan were both sitting upright, 
back to back, with their chins touching their chests. Shin smacked his 
lips and rolled over, landing with a soft thump on the stone floor. 
Shuu, without his friend's support, flopped over backwards on top of 
the boy. He mumbled something about pancakes with blueberry syrup and 
started sucking his thumb. 

	The fifth member of this group was NOT Touma Hashiba, as many 
might have expected, but a cloaked figure known as Owl who stood 
quietly in the corner, arms folded across his ribcage as his helmeted 
head nodded rythmically. The soft sound of snoring echoed through the 
shrine, interuppted occasionally by the muttered mention of places, 
things, and once or twice a girl's name. 

	The sun was not alone in appreciating this scene, as Jun Yamano
entered, followed by a wizened little man dressed in the robes of a 
Shinto priest. 

	"You see?" The priest said, waving his hand and indicating the 
dozing men. "How can I, the Guji of the Hikawa Jinjai, prepare for 
the great festival with so many oafs and vagrants cluttering up my 
floor?" 

	"Don't worry," Jun assured the old man, "I've been waking these
guys up for years." With an evil smile, he lifted a large cast iron 
pot and an equally large frying pan. "Cover your ears, sir... they're 
going to be saying things a priest shouldn't hear."

**********

	Sullenly, the four Samurai Troopers staggered out into the 
hallway, shielding their eyes and groaning. Seiji had a finger in his 
ear, wiggling it around and squinting. 

	"Is Jun still banging those damn pots? I hear a ringing..."

	Shuu rubbed his stomach. "Man, I'm starving! When's breakfast?"

	Shin yawned as he stretched his clasped hands high above his 
head. "Probably whenever we... whenever I... make it, Shuu. What time 
is it?" 

	Seiji checked his watch. "Six in the morning." 

	Ryo spoke from where he lay on the back of Byakuen, hands 
clasped against his stomach and eyes still shut as his feet dragged 
along the floor. "There's a six in the MORNING now, Seiji? Get out of 
town! Since when?" 

	"Well actually," Ami Mizuno said as she walked out of an 
adjoining room, "records indicate that the ancient Egyptians had 
developed a twenty-four hour day as early as..."

	"Please, Ami. I just got to bed twenty minutes ago. It's too 
early for paleontology." Makoto Kino groaned, trying to pull her long 
brown hair back into its usual ponytail. She was still wearing her 
school uniform, although it was far more rumpled than the day before.

	"It's anthropology, not paleontology! They're two entirely 
different subjects!" The blue-haired girl sniffed imperiously and 
joined the Yoroiden as they walked down the hallway. 

	"Hey, Seiji!" Ryo called out, "I can't see : is Ami pouting?"

	The blond man turned and looked behind him. "Yeah, a little."

	"Bet she's cute. What is she wearing?" Ryo grinned goofily. 

	"Open your eyes and see for yourself, you lazy sluggard." 

	Ryo considered that. "Nah... that would involve effort. You 
tell me, Seiji." 

	"Fine." Seiji turned again and looked at Ami as she walked 
behind him. "Uhm... pajamas. I don't know, some kind of girly blue 
pajamas, okay? They've got pictures of calculators and math equations 
and stuff on 'em."

	"Oh, yeah," Ryo said in satisfaction, "she's cute." 

	The six people and their tiger began working their way outside 
the shrine, waving absently to Rei Hino as she swept the stone stairs. 
She was dressed in her usual robes, and leaned on the broom as she 
waved back. Minako Aino was at the bottom of the stairs, tying her 
sneakers. Her long golden hair was tied behind her in a ponytail and 
held in place by her trademark red ribbon. 

	"Hi, guys!" She stood up and waved at them. "Anyone feel like 
a morning jog?" She was wearing a white t-shirt and red shorts. 

	"Yes," said Seiji distractedly, "yes, I DO feel like a morning 
jog." Throwing off his jacket and tossing it to Shuu, he rolled up 
his sleeves and headed off after the girl. "So long, guys!" 

	Shin shook his head sadly. "Well, there he goes again..."

	"There who goes again?" Everybody turned and looked at Haruka 
Ten'ou and Michiru Kaioh as they and their daughter Hotaru rounded the 
corner and watched Seiji scramble after Minako.

	"Probably Seiji." It was Nasuti Yagyu who spoke now, as she and
Jun finally joined the group, filling them out to nearly their full 
number. "He has a slight problem with women..."

	"Yeah, like dogs have a slight problem with cars..." Jun 
chuckled. 

**********

	Makoto and Shin set about making breakfast, and found to their 
delight that they shared similar opinions on the serving of sukiyaki. 
Within minutes, the table was laden with food, and at least seven 
different kinds of breakfast, from the traditional rice, pickles, soup,
seaweed and pumpkin, to the more Western style flapjacks, waffles, and 
oatmeal. 

	"Anybody seen Touma? The Living Computer's really gonna wish 
he hadn't missed this!" Shuu said, rubbing his hands together and 
licking his lips in anticipation. "Oh well, guess there's more for me!"

	"Leave Touma alone!" Makoto said as she deposited another 
stack of pancakes in front of Shuu and watched them evaporate. "He 
was up all night, and he just got to bed!"

	"Oh, we know better than to wake up Touma!" Ryo smiled and 
speared some pickles with his chopsticks before Shuu could eat those, 
too. "He's not exactly a morning person, or even an afternoon person."

	"Up all night, again?" Nasuti looked curious as she sipped her 
tea. "What was it this time? Reading? Studying? Some new video game?" 

	"Actually, it was me," Setsuna Meioh said as she entered the 
room and gracefully plucked a piece of pumpkin off of the table. "I 
brought us all some reinforcements, and some valuble information about 
Jadeite's plans. Touma, Makoto and I were discussing how best to 
utilize these new advantages."

	Someone tapped Nasuti's shoulder. "Excuse me? I'm sorry, but 
you seem very familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?" Nasuti turned, 
looked at the speaker, screamed, and passed out in her soup. 

	Naaza snapped his fingers. "THAT'S where I know you from! 
You're that Nasuti girl!" He watched as she burbled in her soup bowl 
for a minute. Reaching down, he scooped her up in his arms. "Well, if 
you're going to take a nap, it's rather rude not to warn me first..."

	"Naaza!" Setsuna looked over at him accusingly. "Are you still 
playing nice?" 

	"Yes, ma'am!" Naaza snickered and glanced down at the girl in 
his arms. "Nasuti and I are getting along famously! I think we'll name 
our first child Kojiro... the kids can call him Ko-ju..."

	Owl sighed and wrapped his cape around himself. "The important 
thing is that we're almost all here. I shall begin our transport to 
the Dark Kingdom as soon as the Joketsuzoku warriors arrive from 
China." 

	"The who?" Rei shrugged. "Why do we need them? Can't we just 
go and take Jadeite down right now? You DID tell us he's behind all of 
this..."

	"He is." Owl's visor flashed breifly in the sunlight as he 
turned his helmeted head to gaze at Sailor Mars. "And he ALSO has 
Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen prisoner, as you may recall. Our only hope
for success is to get into contact with my own rebel forces, hopefully 
supported by the Joketsuzoku. Then, we can prepare to wrest the crown 
from Jadeite's head!"

	Rei crossed her arms and glared at Owl. "AND rescue Sailor 
Moon," she added crossly, "as well as Tuxedo Kamen." 

**********

	Mamoru Chiba entered the Pit and looked around. He wished he 
could say he liked the place, but something about a thin bridge 
stretching several hundred feet above a bottomless chasm just unnerved 
him. His opponent did little to make him feel at ease. 

	The creature was a minotaur, which in layman's terms meant it 
was about two feet taller than Mamoru, had a pair of horns stretching 
from either side of its skull that were thicker than Mamoru's thigh, 
and was covered in short black fur. It carried an iron ball and chain 
in hands larger that Mamoru's own head, and when it snarled it showed 
off more fangs than he thought any living creature deserved. 

	"Round One..." a voice boomed from above, "FIGHT!" The crowd 
sitting in their bleachers above the Pit went wild, and began hurling 
popcorn, meat, and drinks at the two fighters. The Pit was large enough
that few of the missiles reached their targets, but the chewing and 
snarling sounds coming from the shadows beneath him made Mamoru 
reconsider what exactly was waiting at the bottom of that chasm. 

	Mamoru's opponent bellowed and charged, swinging his iron ball 
as if it was made out of plastic. The metal globe hurtled toward 
Mamoru's head, and he wisely decided to duck under it. Then, before the
minotaur could recover his swing, Mamoru leapt up, soaring over its 
head and somersaulting through the air. Landing in a crouch behind the 
monster, he lashed out with his feet and tripped the monster up. As it 
roared and regained its footing, Mamoru leapt backwards and landed 
several feet away from it, raising the staff he had been provided with.

	The minotaur lowered its head and pawed the loose gravel 
covering the bridge, snorting steam. Mamoru tensed in preparation for 
the charge. He honestly hoped this would work... 

	With an earth-shaking roar, the minotaur rushed forward like 
a bullet train with horns. Mamoru flinched and waited. If he didn't 
time this perfectly, he'd be a small stain on the masonry : One...
	
	Two...

	THREE! At the last possible second, Mamoru lunged to his left, 
sailing out over the abyss, which snarled with anticipation as he 
thrust his staff behind him, catching his opponent in the ribs. The 
force of the minotaur's charge slammed into the staff and spun it like 
a propeller, swinging Mamoru safely back onto the bridge, once again 
behind the giant brute. Deftly, he twirled the staff and held it tight 
against his side in a ready position, his other hand reaching into 
his jacket and grasping for a certain rose... 

	Damn! He remembered all too late what his mysterious 'friend' 
Abadon had told him : with the exception of special matches, an energy 
field permeating the stadium kept magic from working. That meant no 
Tuxedo Kamen, he reminded himself as he swung the bo staff in front of 
him and grasped it with both hands. Maybe it's time to assess the 
situation, he thought as he saw the monster rise from where it had 
landed after rebounding after the far wall. He chuckled softly. I crack
me up sometimes, he thought, and charged. 

	A quick jab with the end of his staff caused the creature to 
recoil, and grunt in pain as Mamoru spun the staff once more, cracking 
it against the monster's temple. The minotaur groaned, and Mamoru 
caught it behind the knees once more, sending it crashing to the 
ground. He began to rise, and Mamoru's heel came in swift, violent 
contact with his ribs. Features expressionless, Mamoru thrust the tip 
of his staff against the minotaur's soft throat, just beneath his 
jutting jaw. "Say it," the young man snarled. 

	"Never!" The minotaur growled, and swept up his arm, knocking 
away the staff as he rolled to his feet and knocked Mamoru backwards. 
In mid-air, Mamoru cursed and threw his staff like a javelin, catching 
his opponent in the base of the skull. With a groan, the creature 
toppled once more, and Mamoru hopped on its back. 

	"You're pissing me off, friend! Say it, or I'm feeding you to 
whatever the hell lives down in that pit!" 

	The minotaur hung his head, horns dipping low. "I surrender."

**********

	Jadeite scowled. Reaching out, he snapped his fingers and the 
cowled form of Wiseman floated over, the crystalline globe in his lap 
bathing both men in its ghastly light. 

	"Wiseman... I came a rather long way to watch these fights. I 
mean, I'm a busy guy. I have people to kill and places to conquer, you
know? But I put my whole day on hold, and out I came, because you told
me Tuxedo Kamen would be killed. You, in fact, SWORE to me that Tuxedo 
Kamen would be killed." He pointed out of the window of his booth, to 
where Mamoru Chiba was currently taking his bows. "Why, then, if I may 
ask, is he not dead? He's not even mildly uncomfortable! He didn't even
chip a friggin' tooth!" 

	Wiseman nodded to himself as he gazed into the depths of his 
crystal ball. "Hmmm... It would seem that Mamoru Chiba is a better 
fighter than I had anticipated. The mere nullification of his powers 
will not be enough to destroy him. A simple error..."

	"You've been making an awful lot of 'simple errors' lately, 
Wiseman." Jadeite raised one eyebrow as he rubbed his fingers together.
"Like, for example, what happened to my other four clones. What the 
hell happened to them again?"

	"I'm afraid that one of this 'Owl' person's troops must have 
broken into my lair and set the explosives that destroyed them, Lord 
Jadeite." 

	Jadeite looked skeptical. "Sure. And if you happened to have,
oh, I don't know, STOLEN my clones and used the explosion to cover your
own tracks, you'd tell me, right? Since we're all such good friends 
here." 

	Wiseman nodded. "I assure you, if that were the case, Lord 
Jadeite... you would be the first to know."

**********

	Three hours later, Mamoru Chiba got to meet his opponent in a 
far more comfortable and hospitable setting, which is to say he was 
leaving the change room when a large hand clamped around his head and 
slammed him into a convenient wall. 

	"Hello," he said calmly, "can I help you with something?" 

	"I know who you are," the minotaur snarled, his fetid breath 
wafting over Mamoru as the young man squirmed around just enough to 
peek between fingers like tree roots and see a familiar pair of beady 
red eyes and an even more familiar set of very large and sharp teeth. 
"I know WHAT you are."

	"Don't know what you're talking about," Mamoru mumbled into 
the creature's palm, thinking fast. "My name's... Darien. I got caught 
stealing some artwork from the palace and..."

	"Shut up." The minotaur shook him briefly, and Mamoru decided 
to obey. "There's only one human who could ever do to a youma what 
you just did to me in that ring. And it doesn't matter if you're 
calling yourself Darien, or Tuxedo Kamen, or Desert Knight, you're 
still YOU. And you could have killed me at any time. I wanna know why 
you didn't." He raised his free hand, and roughly a dozen other youma 
surrounded the two in a loose ring. "Couple of my friends want to know 
too..."

	"You're here because you hate Jadeite," Mamoru explained, "and 
whether I'm the person you think I am or not, I see that as a sign of 
good taste. I try not to kill youma with good taste : they're rare 
enough as it is."

	The minotaur nodded slightly, and lowered the young man to the 
floor. "Come with us," he said softly, "there's a few things you ought 
to know about this place..."

**********

	Usagi Tsukino stared out of her window. The Dark Kingdom didn't
even look that bad, she thought, at night. It was like looking at a 
country where drought and war had been taking their toll for years : 
farmland, towns, villages, all were there, just... not. The farms were 
barren, the villages ghost towns. She sighed and clutched her brooch 
for at least the ten millionith time. 

	Vepres, the plant creature who served Jadeite, opened her 
door with relative ease. "Princess?" 

	She turned, her long tails of blond hair brushing the stone 
floor she had ruthlessly scoured clean. Boy, she thought idly, if Mom 
could see me now, she'd think I was possessed or something. Amazing 
what boredom does for your appreciation of cleaning skills. "What is 
it, Vepres? Has Jadeite found something even MORE degrading for me 
to do? Would he like me to expose my mind to Wiseman? Hand scrub the 
latrines?"

	"Nothing of the kind, my Princess." Vepres bowed deeply, and 
something behind his back began squirming. "In fact, Jadeite is most 
pleased with your... compliance. He has decreed you be given this as a 
reward." The vines leading from Vepres' wrist lifted, and Usagi's heart
followed soon after as she saw what was wrapped in them. 

	"CHIBI-USA!" Tears flowing from her eyes, Usagi raced over to 
the small pink-haired girl and wrapped her in a tight embrace. "Oh, 
Chibi-Usa! Are you okay? What have they done to you? Let me look at 
you..."

	"She is to stay with you, from now on. Lord Jadeite is not 
an inconsiderate man." Vepres bowed again, and left. 

	Usagi sniffed a little, and kissed Chibi-Usa on top of the 
head. "Oh, I was so worried about you... are you sure you're alright?"

	Chibi-Usa was stunned. Usagi was actually acting like she was 
her mother, for once. She felt a sudden urge to say something mean and 
insulting, just to get the old 'Sagi back. Then again... she returned 
the hug. This Usagi wasn't exactly so bad, either. "I'm okay, Usagi. 
Me and Mamoru were keeping each other company, and nobody's been 
hurting us. Some of the youma are even kind of nice," she added, 
thinking of that Abadon guy. 

	"Oh, thank the Kamis," Usagi sniffled, and completely forgot 
about the ginzuisho she was wearing for once. She KNEW she had been 
doing the right thing, she had just KNOWN it! Now she had Chibi-Usa 
back, and as long as she just kept playing along, everything was going 
to be okay... 

**********

	"You see," the minotaur explained as he and his small group 
led Mamoru to a convenient corner, "we youma got long memories, longer 
than you humans. Most of us are tellin' you this shit from personal 
experience, so pay attention."

	"I assure you, I am." Mamoru glanced around to make sure 
nobody was listening. "So, what's your story, Takenoko?"

	"One thousand, two hundred, and..." Takenoko looked over his 
shoulder. "Is it sixty, or seventy years, now?" 

	"Sixty-nine," one of the other youma answered. 

	"Fine... One thousand, two hundred, and sixty-nine years ago, 
the Dark Kingdom was actually a rather peaceful place. There was no 
war with the Dynasty, no suicidal battles against the Sailor Senshi... 
we just lived free, like creatures in dimensions everywhere." 

	"Takenoko was a farmer," the same youma interrupted. 

	"Shut up, boy!" Takenoko bellowed, and the creature ducked. 
"Yeah, I was a farmer, and I will be again, if the Owl gets his way!" 

	"Owl?" Mamoru's eyes narrowed. "Who's the Owl?" 

	"A legend. Just some crazy youma who's been dead for nearly one
thousand years." A youma in the crowd snorted, and Takenoko growled. 

	"I'M telling this story! Anyway, back then, our ruler was a 
youma named Kain. Wise man, but tough, too, the kind of guy who could 
have stayed on the throne forever... if he hadn't screwed up." 

	"Screwed up?" Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "Explain."

	Takenoko sighed, his horns scraping on the ground. "Dumb 
bastard got cheated out of it all by Metallia. She approached him 
first, you know... he turned her down. So she went and found someone 
more willing - Beryl. Kain was off the throne in less than a week. 
Dead, far as anyone knows. 

	"Anyway, Beryl takes the throne, and next thing we know we're
all drafted. She's taking every youma living in the whole dimension, 
and turning them into some kind of invasion force. Three years after 
she says she's gonna take over Pluto, Owl shows up. He's the hereditary
protector of the Dark Kingdom's throne. Scared the hell out of us, let 
me tell you! There we were, expecting a nice, easy takeover, and Sailor
Pluto had the fucking OWL on HER side! Screw their army : those two 
alone were cutting us to shreds! If it hadn't been for the Shadow 
Warriors, we would have all been killed, and even then they had to wipe
out all life on the planet to finish it." 

	"The Shadow Warriors?" Mamoru scratched his head. "So then, 
this must have been before Queen Serenity trapped them in the 
ginzuisho." 

	Takeneko smiled. "You know a lot about the Moon Kingdom for 
someone who isn't who I think he is... Darien. But, back to the 
story : Owl fought us every step of the way, leading shock troops on 
Uranus, on Neptune, on Saturn, on Jupiter... every planet we invaded, 
and something weird started happening. Little by little, Beryl's whole 
damn army started joining the Owl's troops. I mean, hell, it's better 
than dying, right? Soon, he had an outright revolt going on, and we 
were tearing down the doors of Beryl's castle!"

	"So, what happened? I assume you lost."

	"Damn right, we lost. Owl made it into Beryl's own chamber, and
faced her down. Problem is, A Certain Someone You Aren't was also 
leading an attack against Beryl, and she had managed to turn his 
generals to her side. Owl couldn't beat all four, not by himself, and 
with this Certain Someone's army reinforcing hers, we were all either 
drafted, killed... or thrown down here and forgotten about. That 
Certain Someone ran back to the Moon Kingdom with his tail between his 
legs, and Owl got hung out to dry. Nobody ever saw him again, and we 
all figured he died."

	"He DID die!" One of the youma yelled. "You're just some senile
old fart who's willing to listen to a bug that was half crazed!" 

	"THE BUG TOLD THE TRUTH! THE OWL IS BACK!" Takenoko roared, and
the ceiling tiles began to rain plaster on everybody. "I HAVE PROOF!"
Mamoru did a quick scan of the audience, and noticed that there were 
more heads nodding than shaking. 

	"Okay, so this Owl guy is back. Why are his loyal troops still 
down here? And where's your proof?" Mamoru asked, leaning back against 
the wall and resting his head on his hands.

	Takenoko drew a small and heavily folded piece of paper out of 
his belt. "This," he panted, "is a note I found in my meal last week. 
It's in a code only the Owl and his generals knew, and it's addressed 
to me using a name I hadn't heard in one thousand, two hundred years. 
It says that we're nearly ready for another shot at the throne, and 
he needs all of us in the Pit to be on his side when he makes a move. 
I need to know you're with us, or we'll have to make sure you don't 
interfere when the time comes."

	Mamoru considered it, and nodded. "Fine, Takeneko. I'm yours, 
on one condition : I get Jadeite. We have a few old scores of our own 
to settle."

**********

	The ragged figure of Abadon had deliberately set up a habit of 
wandering the hallways of Jadeite's labrynthine castle, to the point 
where even the most alert of sentries barely even registered his 
presence. Although outwardly, the shadowy being was as quiet and 
stealthy as ever, inwardly he was practically shooting steam out of his
ears. 

	Stupid damn Rajura, he thought to himself, if you were going to
show me up by bombing Wiseman's lair first you could have at least 
WARNED me! Oooh, when I get my claws in you I'll teach you a brand new 
meaning for the words 'Oh Kami, It Hurts'! You're going to WISH I 
would just kill you! You KNOW how much I hate getting blown up! 

	His inward rant was interrupted as a cloaked and cowled figure 
dropped out of the rafters and dragged him into an adjacent room before
anyone could notice. The man in question stood a few inches shorter 
than Abadon, with a slim build and a black and silver jumpsuit over 
which had been thrown a grey cloak and a helmet crafted in the shape of
an owl's head. 

	"Anubis, of the Dynasty... how fares the battle?" Owl asked. 

	'Abadon' rose to his full height and tore off his burlap cowl, 
slamming the rebel leader against a convenient wall. "Did you blow me 
up? You KNOW I hate getting blown up! Here I go and arrange for Mamoru 
Chiba to get put in the Pit for you, and you thank me by BLOWING ME UP!
Or was it Rajura? Hmmm? It was that damn spider, wasn't it?" 

	Owl gurgled unintelligably, and Anubis realised his claws were 
pinning the man to the wall rather forcibly in the neck area. "Oh! 
Sorry about that : I have a bit of a temper when it comes to getting 
exploded. I don't deal well with it." 

	Owl clutched his throat and kneeled on the floor, gasping 
for air. "No problem," he explained, as he regained his feet, "I can 
understand. As far as I can tell, none of my troops planted those 
explosives, and I haven't heard from Rajura since the two of you 
approached me with your offer of help."

	"Well, if it wasn't you, and it wasn't him, then who-" Anubis 
growled, and clenched his fists. "Wiseman. That crooked old wizard 
thinks he can steal the clones and play ME a fool, does he? I think it 
high time someone reminded him why people are afraid of the dark..."

	"His time will come, Anubis," Owl reassured the Masho. "Soon 
enough, the entire Dark Kingdom shall face a reckoning, and we shall 
place the TRUE ruler on his throne!" 

	"And you shall have your revenge, young king. How very 
convenient for us all." 

	Owl nodded amiably. "Yes, I shall have my revenge. And, with 
the help of my counterpart on Earth, the Sailor Senshi and Samurai 
Troopers shall assist me!" 

To Be Continued...