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 3 : SHELL GAME
            
         A Sailor Moon / Yoroiden Samurai Troopers cross-over

             by Morgan Hudson (dataraven_659@excite.com)


"If only I had known then... that a shell of iron... is hollow."
                                                        -Anthony Stark

Part 9 : Cutting Losses

	The Dynasty was a cold and lonely place, and Badamon wouldn't 
have it any other way. He stood alone, even in the midst of his loyal 
Ankoku Priests, their ragged gray robes causing them to lose even the 
last pitiful vestiges of humanity they had. Badamon was isolated from 
these mindless, emotional creatures, for he was a creature of 
intellect. 

	The undead priest's eyes glimmered a deep crimson under the 
shadows of his cylindrical black hat. His robes, once the fine fabric 
of a Confucian priest, were rotted, ragged things, black and foul as 
the eternal darkness itself. He wore them as a mockery of those who had
gone before, as a mockery of the weak and foolish creature he had 
once been. 

	Speaking of mockeries, Badamon thought to himself as the air 
before him shimmered and formed into two human shapes. He repressed 
the waves of nausea he felt at viewing those whose form he unwillingly 
shared. They both reeked of good, of positive emotions and feelings, 
deeply buried in the one, yet worn by the other like a badge of honor.

	Jadeite of the Dark Kingdom and Ryo Sanada, Yoroiden of Rekka, 
strode forward to face Badamon. More accurately, Badamon reflected, 
the one known as Jadeite strode forward and dragged Ryo Sanada by the 
scruff of his neck. The leader of the Yoroiden Samurai Troopers had 
seen better days : his armor was cracked and dented in more places 
than Badamon cared to count, and the boy was covered in blood ; his own
as well as that of many others. Badamon resisted the stirring he felt 
within him at the thought of such suffering. There would be time for 
his own fun later. 

	"Greetings, Sanada Ryo. I suppose you're wondering exactly 
why you're here." 

	The dark haired boy looked up, fire still in his deep blue 
eyes. "Yeah," he croaked, "I'm lost. could you please tell me where 
the Tendo Dojo is?"

	Badamon chuckled dryly, then drew back his hand and slapped 
the impudent whelp, his long fingernails drawing even more blood. 
Unable to resist, he popped them in his mouth and licked them clean. 
"Please, Yoroiden, by all means struggle. It will make this so much 
easier." The sorcerer turned his attention to Jadeite, who had remained
oddly quiet throughout the entire exchange. 

	"Place him on the table. Make sure the bindings are tight." 
Jadeite nodded and, with the help of several wraithlike Ankoku Priests,
strapped Ryo to a long stone table, covered with arcane symbols and 
wards. The ropes used were special, and Badamon had paid dearly for 
them in his life. Each cord was formed from the hair of Arago himself, 
and would be an intricate part of the ceremony. The cost of those ropes
for the human Badamon had been an eternity of servitude, but the 
creature that still wore his body had no qualms or regrets. 

	He took a moment to consider Jadeite as the young man assisted 
in tying down Sanada's wrists and ankles. The former general still 
possessed a sense of Metallia's taint on his soul, but the heart 
beneath remained sickeningly pure. If not for his insanity, caused by 
years in stasis, he might actually pose a threat to Badamon. The 
general possessed great powers, but he was too young. His soul had 
not yet accepted the glorious darkness of pure evil. 

	Still, he showed potential. And Badamon had gone centuries 
without a good apprentice...

	He shook his head. Matters for another day : if the boy 
survived the coming purge, then he would truly have matured into the 
properly tempered steel Badamon needed. More importantly, as that 
foolish bitch Beryl had never understood, he would have chosen evil 
on his own. This was important : an unwilling pawn is a pawn with the 
hope for redemption. 

	Ryo Sanada looked up at the robed figure as it loomed over him.
"What do you want, Badamon? I'm late for a date, and believe me, Sailor
Mercury is NOT forgiving." 

	Badamon felt an unaccustomed smirk on his lips as he pulled 
the ceremonial dagger from his sleeve and began slicing the proper 
kanji into Ryo's arms. Justice, Chi, Wisdom, Truth, Piety, Endurance,
Loyalty, Obedience, and... what was the last one? Ryo squirmed as his 
blood flowed freely onto the table, dripping into the grooves of each 
symbol and filling them with liquid. Ah, yes... Virtue. How foolish 
of him to forget. Badamon twisted the knife slightly on the last 
mark : he was fairly certain he had struck the bone. 

	"Your pain is delicious," he whispered to the bound boy, "but 
where is your terror? That would make this so much more... enjoyable."

	Ryo choked and gagged slightly as he spoke. "I am samurai. We 
are born... to die." 

	"Yes, die serving Lord Arago!"

	"Or opposing him," Ryo added weakly, his eyes fluttering shut.

**********

	Kayura stretched and yawned, spreading her arms and allowing 
Anubis and Naaza to lift her to her feet. A fire roared nearby, and 
all of the Senshi and Yoroiden had gathered around it. Kayura nodded. 
This, she decreed, was good. 

	Haruka Ten'oh, Sailor Uranus, was currently bugging her partner
and fellow Senshi, Michiru Kaioh, Sailor Neptune. As Neptune tried to 
eat the fish that Shuu Rei Fuan was so hard at work frying, Uranus 
would lean down and lightly kiss the green-haired girl's neck, causing 
her to giggle and drop the fish. Both seemed to be enjoying this game, 
and Kayura smiled as she watched. 

	Seiji Date, still clad in the distinctive green armor of 
Korin, was using his long and jagged sword blade to spear several of 
the fish at once, and appeared to be toasting them like marshmallows. 
Minako Aino, the blond haired Sailor Venus, leaned on his shoulder and 
occasionally whispered things in his ear that made the boy blush. 

	Sailor Mars, Rei Hino, was staring into the fire as if trying 
to devine some deeper meaning from the flames, and Shin Mouri appeared 
to be doing the same to Rei. Only, though, Kayura noticed, when he 
thought Rei wasn't looking. Which was, she realized, why Rei was 
deliberately not looking. It seemed that the Yoroiden of Suiko and 
the Senshi of Mars were enjoying a friendly little crush. 

	Yamanouchi Naotoki, her ever loyal Naaza, quickly released her 
arm and returned to his seat next to Sailor Moon, who had set herself
the laudable goal of inhaling anything too slow to escape her. Kayura 
giggled at the comedic efforts of her friend Usagi's attempts to eat 
five fish at once. For the moment, she and Anubis stood apart from the 
team, forgotten in the shadows of the coming night as old friends and 
teammates were swept up in getting reacquainted.

	"They are an interesting collection, are they not, Anubis?" 

	The armored man next to her shrugged and spoke. "They are... 
livelier... than some, but I can vouch for all of the Senshi, and you 
know of the Yoroiden. They are a good force. A good army." 
	 
	Kayura sighed, and shook back her long black ponytail. She 
loved the sound of his voice : it was so deep and forceful, but with a 
slight coarseness... like smoke, she thought as she gently squeezed 
the armored fingers wrapped still around her forearm. "They are 
indeed, my loyal Masho. And, one can hope, good friends also." 

	"I wish only that their associate, Mamoru Chiba, were here." 
Anubis looked over at his Empress. In the dark of evening, her black 
armor made her all but invisible, save for her pale face and red 
eyeshadow. Nearly as old as he was, true, but she looked so much like 
a china doll he often forgot how strong she really was. "Tuxedo Kamen 
is a great warrior, and I would have enjoyed the chance to spar with 
him one last time." 

	Kayura nodded. "I had hoped you would say that, Kujuurou..."

**********

	Mamoru Chiba leaned against the lamppost and waited for his 
prey. Soon enough, the door he was watching opened and a vaguely 
familiar man threw a small black cat out onto the front lawn. Usagi's 
father, the young man thought as he adjusted his sunglasses and 
pretended to be absorbed in his newspaper.

	Mamoru had pounced before the door finished closing, rushing 
across two lanes of traffic and scooping the slightly dazed cat 
into his arms. "Luna!" He hissed angrily. 

	The small black cat looked up at him dazedly. "Tuxedo Kamen? 
Whatever are you doing here?"

	"I'm asking the questions, kitty." Looking around to make sure 
nobody he knew was going to see him interrogating a cat, Mamoru ducked 
into a nearby phone booth and closed it behind him. Picking up the 
receiver, he set the cat down at his feet. "It's been four days, Luna, 
and I haven't seen Usagi once. Rei isn't at the temple, Ami hasn't been
to school, and Matoko says that Minako hasn't visited the Game King
Arcade Center in weeks." 

	Luna sighed. "I know... the Sailor Senshi are on a mission." 

	Mamoru looked betrayed. "A mission? Why... why wasn't I 
informed? They just LEFT... without telling me?"

	"It was urgent Senshi business, Tuxedo Kamen!" The cat began 
pacing around his feet, and Mamoru was tempted to lose his temper. 
"The Outer Senshi said that someone was after Sailor Saturn, and that 
they needed Usagi and the other Senshi to help them." 

	"And since when the hell am I left out of the loop?" Mamoru's 
foot twitched. Oooh, how he was tempted to just punt that cat...

	Luna flinched. Mamoru was hurt and angry, and there was only 
one way to calm him down before he did something she would regret. 
"I was left behind too, you know. You think I'm not worried about 
her, too? If I could take you there, I swear I would, but they're in 
another dimension! There's no way for us to help!"

	"Guess again, pussycat." Artemis said breathlessly, as he 
scratched at the door of the phone booth. "I'm here with two 
tickets on Air Kayura, first-class to the Dynasty! Jadeite’s back, and 
Usagi's in trouble!"

	"Four days without me, and she's already in trouble," Mamoru 
sighed, and reached into his jacket, drawing out a rose. "Why am I 
not surprised?"

**********

	Saranbo remained ensconced on his throne, and hadn't risen in 
days. The black and white marble throne room before him was filled with
long oaken tables, each surrounded by dozens of his finest warriors, 
all toasting his health and celebrating his reign. There was Kokuyoen,
the bug-eyed Sun Devil, raising a goblet of mead and leading the 
crowd in a cheer. Further away stood the Saryuto, and several of their
fellow sand ninjas. A great feast had been spread before the warriors, 
who had wasted no time in tearing it to pieces and devouring it. 

	Jadeite shuddered as he entered the room. He despised the 
noise, he despised the smell, and most of all he despised the SIGHT of
so many of these foul creatures. By the gods and devils, hadn't even 
ONE of the things learned any table manners? He made a face and plucked
a stray piece of raw meat off of his tunic. The things I do for my 
revenge, he thought idly, and weaved his way through the crowd of 
large, armored demons and monsters, careful not to touch any of them. 

	"Ah!" Saranbo looked up from gorging himself, strips of flesh
hanging off of his lower face as he chewed noisily and slurped at his 
drink. "I see that Jadeite has decided to grace us with his presence 
once more! And where, pray tell, have you been, my ally?"

	Jadeite tried to suppress his revulsion. Just being in the same
room as this corpulent youja lord made him feel the need to take a 
shower. "I have been meditating, Saranbo. Doing my JOB. It is quite 
rewarding ; you may want to try it... when you grow weary of your 
orgies, of course."

	Saranbo chortled through a mouth full of food, spraying crumbs 
everywhere. Jadeite began to wonder if his revenge was really so 
important to him, after all. "I like that! You are a very amusing, 
stuffy, little creature, Jadeite. I think I'll let you live, for now."

	Jadeite smiled. Regrettably, he decided, he would have no such 
compunctions when the time came. Saranbo was already as good as dead.

**********

	The ruler of the Dark Kingdom made his excuses and left as 
quickly as possible. He needed to get back to Badamon's secluded little
corner of the castle and see how his plans to resurrect Arago were 
proceeding. "The sooner I can get that fat slug of a youja out of my 
hair," he seethed, "the better."

	"Awww... isn't he cute? He's being treacherous." The voice 
sent a chill down Jadeite's spine. It couldn't be! 

	"Yes, but what else could you expect from him? He always 
was the least competent of us..." A different, deeper voice rumbled. 

	"Poor boy. He never understood that his destiny lay in the 
stars..." Yet another voice replied.

	Jadeite slowly turned and looked behind him. He wasn't going to
see them, he swore to himself, he wasn't going to see... 

	Zoisite. Hovering in mid-air, in a swirling cloud of sakura 
petals. Kunzite, floating nearby, and draping one end of his cape 
over his lover's shoulder. Worst of all, Nephryte, sneering down at 
him from the other side of the corridor.  

	"No." Jadeite's voice was little more than a harsh whisper. 
"You aren't here. You're dead. You're all dead!" 

	"Exactly!" Zoisite laughed behind a gloved hand, and turned to 
Kunzite. "He still doesn't catch on very quickly, does he, dearest?"

	Kunzite shook his head, long white hair swaying in a breeze 
that Jadeite couldn't feel. "No, I fear he's always been a little 
dull... all that ice must have slowed his brain." 

	"We're dead, Jadeite. The Senshi killed us all." Nephryte 
glided closer, black smoke emanating from countless wounds on his 
chest and arm. "All but you." 

	Kunzite smiled, and revealed the smoking hole in his chest. 
"We're ghosts, Jadeite. Spirits. And we're going to make sure that you 
NEVER have to worry about being alone..."

	"We'll haunt you until the day you die, Jadeite!" Zoisite 
giggled. "Isn't it DELICIOUS?"

	Jadeite slowly began backing away, a sheen of perspiration 
on his forehead. "N-no..." He protested weakly, before spinning on one 
heel and bolting like a rabbit.

**********

	Kayura smirked as she surveyed her troops. "Saranbo," she said 
calmly, "has a force of nearly two hundred youja guarding the castle 
at all times. Those will have to die first." 

	Seiji nodded. "No problem. But what about Ryo? I mean, if 
Saranbo and this Jadeite character see us coming, won't they kill him,
or use him as a hostage?" 

	Anubis grinned wolfishly and pointed a reed stalk at the 
blond boy. "Very wise of you, Seiji no Korin. That is why we plan to 
break our group into two teams. One will serve as a distraction in 
the front courtyard and keep his army busy, and the other shall handle 
Saranbo in his throne room." The Yoroioden of Yami paused and 
continued. "I happen to know of a secret way in, one that will get us 
to the throne room almost unnoticed." 

	"Another one of Rajura's spying holes, Anubis?" Naaza asked 
dryly. "From the way he enjoys tunneling around, you'd think he's the 
Yoroiden of Gophers!"

	"Actually," Ami interjected softly, "there are several breeds 
of spiders known for burrowing, including the wolf spider of Australia,
the trapdoor spider, and the tarantula. The common myth of all spiders 
using webs is a misnomer." 

	"ANYWAY," Anubis interrupted, "I will lead the Inner and Outer 
Senshi to face Saranbo and rescue Ryo Sanada. Kayura and the other 
Yoroiden can engage the army and subdue them at the front gate."

	"Close," said Shuu Rei Fuan, "but I'm coming too. My friend is 
the one in trouble, and if you think I'm trusting any of you with his 
safety, well, you've got another think coming."

	"Good luck, Touma," Makoto whispered, and leaned in, kissing...
Seiji's hand. 

	"Sorry, Sailor Jupiter," the Yoroiden of Korin apologized, 
"but we kind of need old Touma running on all four cylinders right 
now. Save it for later." 

**********

	Anubis led the way, his red silk cape swirling around him as 
he slipped through the eerie shadows of the coming dawn. "Hurry!" The 
Yoroiden of Yami hissed to the nine girls and one man following him. 
Sailor Mercury was first to follow, doubtlessly eager to rescue the 
man she loved. Slipping from one shadow to another, she remained less 
visible than someone in a bright white fuku can usually manage. Anubis 
nodded, impressed. 

	Sailor Saturn and her adoptive parents, Sailor Uranus and 
Sailor Neptune, moved next. The three seemed to merge and move as one 
larger organism as they developed an intricate strategy of scouting and
moving only on prearranged hand signals. Anubis felt his eyebrows 
reaching his hairline. He had to admit, these girls were good.

	Sailor Jupiter was overly cautious, an amateur mistake, and 
moved too slowly, kicking a series of pebbles that clattered across 
the rocky ground like gunshots. Wincing, she froze, another rather 
amateurish mistake. Sailor Mars, to Anubis' surprise, proceeded to 
run smoothly and silently, catching the taller girl over her shoulders 
and reaching the rest of the group without further incident. He clapped
silently, and Rei bowed. 

	Sailor Moon tripped and fell. Fortunately, Shuu no Kongo, who 
had been bringing up the rear, clamped his gauntlet firmly over her 
mouth and nose. Her scream was muffled, and Shuu tucked her under a 
free arm. Looking from left to right, and holding his heavy iron staff 
at the ready, he joined everybody else. 

	"I just thought of something," Minako whispered to Anubis as 
he began to search for the opening to the tunnel he had stumbled upon 
a few years ago. "If we're handling Saranbo, and the Yoroiden are 
handling... well, everybody else, who's taking care of Jadeite?"

	Anubis grunted a chuckle as he pulled aside the heavy boulder 
covering his associate's secret entrance. "Why, Rajura, of course. He 
left yesterday. If Jadeite is still sane enough to talk, that spider 
owes me a drink." 

**********

	Rajura snickered to himself as the former youma general ran 
like the hounds of hell were on his heels. This had been even easier 
than usual : the 'ghosts of old enemies' routine worked every time.
It helped that this Jadeite character didn't seem incredibly stable.
Smirking, and throwing his white and blue cape back over his shoulder, 
the white haired Masho turned to his 'Zoisite'. 

	"A wonderful performance, my dear. I admit, it never would have
worked without the copious input of your friend over there." 

	The blond youma general smirked bitterly. "Whatever. I did what
needed to be done, and your powers of illusion were necessary to the 
plan, 'Kunzite'. Jadeite must flee this place, before one of my less...
knowledgeable associates kills him."

	Rajura grinned. "Admit it, Setsuna. You enjoyed that just a 
little more than usual. You know the joy of manipulation : I taught it 
to you." The Spider Masho turned to his other associate, even as the 
illusions began to fade. "I must ask, though ; how DID you learn so 
much about Jadeite?"

	The false Nephryte smiled as his uniform slowly reformed into 
a far more stylish tuxedo. "Let's just say that Jadeite and I go... 
way back. I would have killed him right here, if Setsuna weren't so 
dead set against it for some reason."

	"Trust me," Sailor Pluto said, as her hair slowly returned to 
its usual shade of green, "you'll understand soon enough, Tuxedo 
Kamen. And you'll thank me for it."

**********

	Ryo Sanada's breathing was growing shallow, Badamon noticed. 
His blood still flowed from the various cuts torn into his arms, 
dripping off of his fingers and down his arms, staining the white 
sweater he wore. His legs were bleeding too, from the constant 
abrasion of the ropes on his ankles as he struggled to get free. 

	"Maleficus dominus, resurrectio..." Badamon's Ankoku Priests 
all chanted in a low drone, as their leader carefully waved his 
ceremonial dagger through the air in the predrescribed patterns, 
leaving a fading trail of energy behind it.

	"Evinco! Universum insidiator..." The Priests droned on, and 
Ryo's eyes snapped open. A small speck of crimson light appeared above 
them, and Badamon began to laugh as it slowly stretched and grew into 
a great swirling vortex of red and purple energy. 

	"My master's time has nearly come, Ryo no Rekka! As it reads 
in the ancient scrolls, 'and the soul of his greatest enemy, shall be 
his home... and no man shall stand against him, and prevail..."

	"Gee," Ryo choked, "if I knew I was going to have company, 
I would have straightened the place up a little..."

	"Vester famulus an prestolatio suus dominatio..." The Priests 
chanted, as Jadeite entered the room with the look of a hunted man. 

**********

	Saranbo looked up from his feast as the massive wooden doors 
to his throne room were thrown open, falling off of their hinges with 
a sound like the world was ending. Standing in the smoking hole 
was a sturdy lad in orange armor. A steel grate concealed the lower 
half of his face, and a massive set of bull horns sprouted from the 
sides of his helmet. 

	"I am Shuu Rei Fuan," he growled, and the room emptied, youja 
scrambling for cover like cockroaches when the light comes on. The 
Yoroiden of Kongo smiled grimly and tightened his grip on the massive 
tetsubo staff he held. Slowly, each heavy footstep ringing through the 
now empty room like the giant bell at a shrine, he advanced. 

	Saranbo rose to his feet and grabbed his halberd. "We have 
battled before, Shuu Rei Fuan. You do not have your Yoroiden friends to
rescue you this time."

	"He doesn't need them to handle scum like you, Saranbo." Anubis
strode across the marble floor, hurling tables out of his way as if 
they were matchsticks. "This little coup of yours is over." 

	"That's right!" Usagi Tsukino leapt forward, followed closely 
by the other Senshi. "I am Sailor Moon, champion of love and just-"

	"And I," Ami Mizuno interrupted, "am Sailor Mercury! Tell us 
what you've done to Ryo Sanada, or face my wrath!" 

	Minako turned to Makoto. "Face her wrath? Ami has WRATH?"

	Makoto shrugged. "It's news to me."

	Saranbo chortled. "Oh, this is rich! A group of little girls 
in skirts are going to make me face their wrath!" He continued 
laughing, and all nine Senshi started to fume. 

	The youja lord barely had time to regain his composure before 
Shuu's naginata and Anubis' no datchi were whistling towards his head. 
Ducking, Saranbo lifted his halberd and easily blocked both weapons on 
the long staff of his polearm. Undaunted, Anubis spun and struck again,
again blocked by Saranbo, who rammed the blades of his halberd into 
the Wolf Masho's stomach. With a howl, Anubis staggered backwards and,
snarling, threw his sword away, swiping at the traitorous youja with 
his gleaming razor claws. 

	"SAILOR V KICK!" Unexpectedly, Sailor Venus flew in from 
behind, catching Saranbo with a vicious kick to the back of his head. 
The youja staggered, and Shuu was able to jam the blunt end of his 
staff into Saranbo's jaw, sending him back even further. 

	"Sailor Neptune!" Anubis suddenly thought to yell. "Don't 
use any of your attacks! Saranbo gains his strength from water!" 

	Michiru nodded and Haruka charged forward, swinging the Uranus 
Space Sword at Saranbo's neck. The youja lord managed to deflect her 
strike, but left himself open to another blow from Shuu no Kongo. 
Sailor Moon shouted encouragement from the sidelines. 

	"MERCURY ICE STORM... SPLASH!" Ami's attack smashed into the 
youja, throwing him forward. Saranbo used the momentum to duck and roll
away from his attackers. 

	"F...Fools!" He stuttered, wiping the blood from his mouth. 
"I will crush you without mercy!" He pointed, and thick streams of 
seaweed vomited out of the ground and wrapped around the Senshi,
immobilizing them. Anubis and Shuu, who had been half-expecting such 
an attack, managed to dodge. 

	"A nice try, Saranbo." Anubis smiled and retrieved his sword. 
"A very nice try. Now allow me to demonstrate a TRUE attack. BLACK 
LIGHTNING SLASH!" From the no dachi sprang a giant beam of black light,
smashing into Saranbo and splitting into several dozen smaller beams, 
which severed the thick green bands pinning down the Senshi. 

	"All right, Senshi! That's IT!" Usagi gagged as she yanked the 
cold, slimy seaweed off of her bare arms and legs. "Saranbo... you're 
getting dusted!" 

	"SAILOR... PLANET... MEDITATION!" 

**********	
	
	"REMEO TUI INIMICUS! REMEO TUI INIMICUS!" Chanted the Priests, 
and Jadeite began to feel queasy. He had never considered himself a 
man easily unsettled by any stretch of the imagination, but a nagging 
voice in the back of his head was telling him to get the hell out of 
Dodge. The voice sounded a lot like Zoisite's, now that he thought 
about it.

	Badamon was cackling maniacally as he lifted the ceremonial 
knife high, and streamers of energy began to stretch from the portal 
hanging above Ryo Sanada, filling the room with an eerie maroon glow. 
Jadeite shifted uncomfortably and pulled at the collar of his uniform, 
which seemed to have gotten a little too tight. 

	"Do you have any final words, Ryo Sanada?" Badamon asked the 
boy tied to the table. 

	"Not to you," Ryo said calmly, as he stared up at the ceiling. 
It was really a very lovely ceiling, he reflected, almost the same 
shade of blue as Ami's hair. There was a flash in the corner of his 
eye, and he winced slightly. This just might suck, he admitted, if 
something didn't happen soon. 

	Jadeite couldn't even stop watching the scene before him long 
enough to blink. The dagger seemed to gleam wickedly as it was infused 
with energy from the portal, and Badamon was cackling like a madman. 
He could almost sense the presence of Nephryte and Kunzite, watching 
him with constrained glee. "He's going to be next," Nephryte was 
saying, "Jadeite thinks he's winning, but he'll be next on the table."
Well, he'd be damned if he let THAT happen! Now that he thought about 
it, why HAD Badamon been so insistent that he be here to witness this?
Maybe... maybe this was all just part of some plan of Saranbo's! Maybe 
they were just trying to dupe him into exposing himself, so they 
could kill him! When had his collar gotten so damned TIGHT?

	Ryo closed his eyes and went somewhere else, far away from what
was about to happen. In his mind, he entered a secluded glade in 
the forest near his home. He could already smell breakfast cooking back
in the log cabin : his father must not have left on the photo safari 
yet. The sun was just beginning to rise, and his tiger Byakuen leaned 
its head against Ryo's hand, asking him to scratch between its ears. 

	Ami Mizuno sat nearby, watching the sunrise. Byakuen lay down, 
and the two teens lay against its side and listened to the birds 
singing. He did his best to memorize every curve of her face, tracing 
her jaw with his fingers. She leaned forward with her usual shy smile,
and he gently kissed her lips. 

	Ryo Sanada smiled, and the knife fell.	

	There was a sudden, sickening crunch as the ceremonial blade 
slammed through Ryo Sanada's ribcage, and Badamon screamed in triumph. 
The young boy's eyes snapped open, and crimson energy began to gush 
from his mouth, flowing up into the portal as his back arched. The 
table cracked and splintered as the Yoroiden of Rekka slammed against 
it repeatedly, hurling himself into the air and being thrown back down 
by the bindings around his wrists and ankles. The handle of the blade 
glowed a blinding white, and the ropes binding him began to writhe, 
growing and swirling around his body as he flopped like a dying fish. 

	Soon, the boy's entire body was bound tightly from head to 
foot in a cocoon of coarse, silvery hair. Nothing moved, and no sound 
was made. Jadeite, standing forgotten in the corner, looked as if 
someone had hit him in the head with a board. "I think," he whispered 
to himself, "it is time for me to exit..." Quickly and quietly, he 
pushed his way past the Ankoku Priests, and raced out of the room, his 
footsteps sounding faster and farther away by the second. 

	Badamon stepped forward and lifted his hands dramatically. 
"Arago, my master... arise! Your enemies await their destruction..."

	The cocoon twitched, and suddenly tore asunder as a huge, 
glowing hand thrust upward out of its chest, clutching the ceremonial 
dagger by its blade. Badamon stepped back, and laughed. Turning to face
his assembled Ankoku, Badamon threw his arms wide and cried out 
joyously. "He has returned! Our leader is BACK!"

**********

	Anubis dusted off his hands and rubbed the back of his head. 
"That," he said dryly, "was one of the nastiest things I've seen 
in a while. I'd feel sorry for old Saranbo, if I coul... AAAAAAAH!" 
Clutching his head, and his forehead kanji flaring, the man in the 
brown and black armor dropped to his knees, screaming in anguish. 
Shuu joined him almost simultaneously, and the howls from the courtyard
told the Senshi all they needed to know about the rest of the Yoroiden.
Racing to the window, Usagi, Ami, Minako, and Makoto gazed out into 
the courtyard as Rei, Hotaru, Michiru, and Haruka cared for the 
two men writhing on the floor. 

	"It looks like they're all having some kind of epileptic 
seizure," Ami noted as she watched Seiji, Touma, Shin, Kayura, and 
Naaza squirming and thrashing on the ground below. 

	"Poor Touma..." Makoto moaned, clasping her hands in front of 
her chest. 

	"Poor Seiji..." Minako moaned, clasping her hands in front of 
her chest.

	"Poor US!" Usagi moaned, clasping her hands in front of her 
chest. "There's still a whole army around here! We're screwed without 
their help!" 

	"Helmets..." Shuu groaned. "Take... helmets... take... off..."

	Moving on instinct, Rei reached out and grabbed Shuu's helmet, 
twisting it off of his head. With a shuddering gasp, the stocky 
Chinese boy collapsed on the ground and began panting, sweat trickling 
down his face. 

	"Hotaru! Quick! Take off Anubis' helmet!" 

	The Senshi of Silence did so, with considerable effort, and 
Kujuurou Sasaki joined his associate Shuu Rei Fuan in gasping for 
air. "Arago..." The Masho of Darkness groaned. "He has... returned 
to this world! We have to get to the other Yoroiden : he controls us
through our helmets!"

	"Right!" Usagi nodded, and leapt out the window. "Sailor 
Senshi! Let's get to work!" Most of the Senshi followed her, but 
Sailor Mercury stayed behind. 

	"Anubis... what does this Arago person want?" Ami asked, 
tilting her head quizzically. 

	"To conquer the world. But to do that, he has to regain his 
full power. And to do that, he has to reabsorb the mystical yoroi..."

	"How do we stop him?"

	Shuu shrugged. "With the Kikouten armor we can't form, and 
the Jewel of Life we don't have. If Arago is here, he must already have
eaten Ryo..."

	"EATEN?" Ami covered her mouth with one glove and felt ill. 

	"Yeah..." Shuu said sadly, "and we're next on the menu."

TO BE CONCLUDED...