Chapter 12: Learning How Power Works

The explosion sent Sailor Venus into a brick wall and showered the others with rubble. "What the hell?" Koaru shouted as he leapt up and covered Sailor Mercury. "I think we are being attacked." Luna said, and Koaru rolled his eyes.

Chiron walked out of the alley, approaching the Scouts with a slight swing in his walk. "So, you are the great warriors that have been causing us trouble?" he said, feeling bewildered that such weaklings could be so annoying.

Sailor Mars got to her feet, thoroughly pissed off. "So, we are weak, are we?" she asked, charging her energy, causing Chiron to pause. "Mars Fire…Ignite!" The fireball slammed into Chiron, engulfing him in swirling flames.

The fire dissipated, and Chiron stood there, untouched. "Yes, I would say so." He replied, causing the six warriors to gasp. Koaru got up, picking the Crescent Staff as he got up. "Well, if magic, or whatever it is that they use, won't work, then what if I used steel!" Koaru threw himself at Chiron, who drew out a spear, blocking the blow. "You can't defeat me with just kenjutsu (weapon combat), boy. You need more then that."

Koaru smiled as he stood locked with Chiron. "Alright, so kenjutsu isn't enough. What if I added a bit of taijutsu?" Chiron's eyes widened as Koaru released his grip on the staff and ducked down, then aimed a kick straight up at Chiron's jaw. "Rising Thunder!" Koaru shouted as his foot sent Chiron flying straight up, then leapt up after him. Koaru then kicked straight up, striking Chiron in the lower back. "Pillar of Pain!" Chiron flipped over Koaru, and he spun 180 degrees and slammed his heel into Chiron's upper rib cage. "Heart Breaker!" The attack crushed Chiron's rib cage and sending him down into the ground, hard.

Chiron looked up, and saw Koaru fly down at him, doing a very fast series of front flips as he came down. "Damn…" he thought.

"Thunder Strike!" Koaru slammed his heel into Chiron's chest, creating an explosion that blew a crater into the street.

"Holy Shit! Sailor Jupiter shouted as the dust settled around the dark outline that was Koaru. After the dust had settled, they saw Chiron's body at the bottom of the crater, a hole blown right through him chest, his blood all around the crater. Koaru pulled his foot out of the corpse, a strange gleam in his eye. "That felt good." He said, turning o face the girls, who all gasped. Black and blue rope like markings had appeared on his neck and face.

Luna gasped then ran at Koaru and sunk her teeth into Koaru's ankle. He yelped, and the marks vanished. Koaru shook his head, then looked around. "What happened?" he asked. Luna explained, "That tattoo is not a tattoo. It is a mark called a Shadow Scar. I will explain all the details later, but if you feeling evil, and have an evil intent in your heart, I will take control of you." Koaru whistled. He then looked at the cat. "Can I use magic too?" The Scouts laughed, and Artemis sighed. "Training him will be no fun at all."

Epilogue

The final battle against Queen Beryl took place like the anime. Koaru was not there, due to his crashing his motorcycle into a truck while chasing Jedite.

Look for the next story, which will appear within the next three months. Look for TheTrue Ruler of Tritus this fall.