Seiji's ears were ringing so loudly that for a second, he fancied there were temple bells nearby. He blinked rapidly to clear the spots from his eyes and then looked around. Dust and debris were still hanging heavily in the air, making it difficult to get a visual on the enemy. Almost instinctively, he curled protectively over the feminine warriors beneath him.

The blonde Senshi was coughing, curled on her side and over her unconscious companion. He felt himself frown. He didn't know the extent of damage the green and red Senshi had suffered, but they needed to have the two fallen warriors seen to immediately.

Seiji looked for his comrades. Touma was nearby. The warrior of Tenku had lost the battle with balance but was still braced defensively over the other two female warriors. They weren't really moving much. Seiji hoped they were ok.

Shin was already back up on his haunches, crouched near the red warrior, who looked like she might be coming around. Ryo and Shuu were next to them. Shuu had taken a stance very subtly in front of their leader, though Seiji doubted that had escaped Ryo's attention. They'd come so close to losing the Rekka warrior so many times, they were all just a little…sensitive to Ryo's well-being. Both Kongo and Rekka were at least still standing. They all locked eyes for a moment, and Seiji nodded.

He didn't know who their new allies were, but it was obvious now they were both trustworthy and talented. And they did not have the benefit of a rock hard shell of armor. The Troopers would stand in front of them from here on out. The blonde beneath him began to stir, groaning.

"Ohhh….my head." Seji summoned his most cheerful smile for her.

"At least it's still attached!" he reasoned. One deep blue eye opened and regarded him intently. Delicate shoulders shrugged. "I suppose that's true." She murmured, wincing and closing the eye again for a moment. She began to work her way towards a sitting position, and Seiji lifted back up, balancing himself in a squat beside them on the balls of his feet. "Ok?" he asked kindly.

Holding her temple, she nodded slowly. "Yeah…think I just have whiplash or something."

Seiji nodded. "That blast was pretty intense. Take it easy." In response, she merely checked her companion's pulse and then struggled to her feet, dropping into a battle-ready stance. He could see the fatigue in the lines of her body as he rose to his own feet and tried to keep himself in front of both Senshi. For the sake of them all, he hoped that attack had done the trick.

The blonde with the pig tails and the girl with the short blue hair were both standing now. While she'd seemed like a flake when he'd first seen her, the girl with the pig tails had a surprisingly hard expression on her face as she clutched the cutest looking scepter Seiji had ever seen in her hands. Touma stood in front of them and was scanning the area with angry, wary eyes.

The red warrior was moaning, and Shin was leaning over her, speaking to her gently, but Seiji couldn't hear what he was saying. Ryo and Shuu were both casting intent stares where their attacks had struck. The dust was settling, but Seiji still couldn't see much for a moment.

When a shadow appeared in the dust, he immediately tensed up, clenching his fist around the pommel of his nodatchi. He felt the blonde behind him tense, and he glanced at Kongo and Rekka for a moment.

They all made eye contact again, nodding subtly, and then Ryo and Shuu moved into a position at the head of the group, taking point against whatever else was coming. He waited, tense, as the dust continued to settle and the shadow became more distinct. And then the sound of clapping reached his ears. Again. Seiji clenched his teeth. What was with these assholes giving them a round of applause? Sure, he'd enjoy making them eat it later, but the gesture was still supremely irritating in its disrespect.

The blonde behind him muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like Crescent Beam, but the figure put its hands up, palms out.

"Sailor Venus! Please! You have nothing to fear from us! We mean you no harm! We bring you glorious tidings from the Sun." Its voice was strange – almost like many voices speaking at the same time. The effect gave him chills, and he centered himself in front of the blonde and her fallen companion warily.

"I've heard that line like a million times before." A feminine mutter breathed from behind him, but Venus stayed her attack. Seiji felt a bit of curiosity for the first time about their allies, and where they might be from. Was she familiar with this kind of enemy? Had she encountered them before?

He found he didn't like the idea of her going up against adversaries that could seriously hurt her and then wondered what on earth he was doing thinking about girls when clearly he needed to be focused on what was going on in front of him.

"I keep meeting people who tell me they don't mean me any harm today." Ryo growled. "I think these women meant it. You? I don't trust so much. You've got 30 seconds to prove you're on our side, or I'm unleashing on your face." Kongo backed his leader up, tightening his grip on his tetsubo and taking a step forward.

Normally, Seiji didn't agree with Shuu's tendency to level entire city blocks – even if it got the job done as Kongo so brashly pointed out – but the battle they'd just finished was proof they couldn't afford to hold back right now. And if letting Shuu flail on the enemy gave them the victory they needed, Seiji was fine with giving him free reign.

"Why, we are the one who brought you together! Troopers, we have stretched the very cosmos to bring the Sailor Senshi to your aid in this battle! You will need the power of the Sailor Crystals, and especially the Silver Imperium Crystal. You face now a foe whose power and darkness you barely comprehend. This battle has been a mere taste of things to come."

Seiji couldn't keep the scowl from his face. This guy was definitely not their friend. All sorts of red flags were flaring in his mind after that handful of sentences. What kind of benevolent deity let a monster like that run rampant, endangering the innocent and causing mass destruction? And anyone going around bending universes and dragging other innocent warriors into a battle that wasn't their own didn't sound like a benefactor.

"What do you want with the Silver Crystal? You leave my Senshi out of this!" The blonde with the pig tails had stepped around Touma, her big blue eyes burning like heated flame as she stared through the dust, trying to see who spoke to them.

"Son of a…..dammit Usagi." the blonde behind him muttered. Seiji risked a glance over his shoulder to see the orange and the blue Senshi looking towards the girl with the pigtails with expressions he recognized easily. He was sure he and the Troopers had looked at each other like that any time Ryo's health and wellbeing were under threat. He had no idea what the Silver Imperium Crystal or the Salior Crystals were, but if they came at a cost, any price was too high.

And whoever the girl with the pigtails was, she probably needed extra protection if her teammates' actions were anything to go by.

"You stretched the cosmos to bring us a Rock that doesn't belong in this dimension?"

Tenku sounded…..upset. That was putting it mildly. Seiji flicked his eyes over to Touma. The archer had positioned himself so that the blonde clutching the scepter was well behind him, putting him between her and…whatever this thing was. He was glaring at it, his eyes dark with anger, mouth curved up into a sneer of aggravation on one side.

Seiji didn't know what kind of unbelievable scientific laws had to be broken to bring universes together, but Touma probably had an idea. The Warrior of the Heavens looked harassed. The blue haired girl next to the blonde with the pigtails looked alarmed.

"Our Universe is unprotected?!" she called out. She glared at the shadow in front of them.

"Why, Sailor Mercury, of course we would not leave your home unguarded. The Outer Senshi and Endymion are still present." Mercury didn't look relieved. In fact, she looked even more alarmed.

"They don't know do they?!" Venus called out. "Damn. Can Pluto use the Time Gates to get here? Can she even get here?!" the blonde had lowered her voice and seemed to be talking to herself. Mercury cast a glance at Venus.

"Of course she could. She's used them to travel through time, but she's the guardian of time and space, so presumably, she could get here too." Venus devolved into muttering uncomplimentary adjectives from there. Seiji now wanted to know who the Outer Senshi were. They could, apparently, move through space and time?

What!?

Exactly how powerful were their new allies?

"The Outer Senshi are unaware of your current situation. Once you've resolved the conflict here, we will send you back to where you came from. It will be as if you never left." The tone was benevolent, but the voice was still creepy, and there was an underlying malice in the way it spoke that raised the hair on his neck. It will be as if you never left sounded more like a threat than a reassurance.

He was starting to wonder if maybe this had more to do with the Senshi themselves than the Troopers. Whatever the relationship between the Senshi here and their Outer counterparts, it raised concern inside of him that part of the Senshi team was being kept in the dark about the whereabouts of the rest of their team.

If he'd discovered that someone had taken half the Troopers out of his reach and then hidden their battles from him, nothing would have stopped him from exacting vengeance once the dishonorable slight of hand had been revealed. As the Warrior of Courtesy, honor was kind of a sticking point for him, and this guy was setting off plenty of alarm bells.

Seiji flicked his eyes over to Shin briefly, studying his friend's facial expression.

Suiko appeared outwardly calm, but his eyes were alight with distrust, his body hovering protectively near the fallen red warrior. He had placed a hand gently on her back, as if to ensure she was present with him, and that was enough for Seiji. If the Warrior of Trust was so suspicious he felt he needed physical contact to ensure his charge was safe, that spoke volumes about what they might be dealing with.

Seiji turned his attention again, studying their potential opponent now that it was in plain sight.

It had the appearance of a humanoid male, but he knew that appearances often meant little. From the tips of its toes to the top of its head, the thing was dressed like some kind of obnoxious aristocrat. Lots and lots of shiny rocks and metals, flowing folds of silks and satins, all gravity defying as it floated centimeters above the ground, pristine and pure, no trace of the thick dust still swirling around it on its person. Long, silky hair flowed behind it, the color of autumn leaves, shifting between yellows and oranges and reds. Its eyes were a strange and disquieting shade of dark crimson. There was something behind them that filled him with unease – a greedy, wanting lust in its gaze that made him tense.

It looked less like a benevolent god and more like a dangerous predator waiting to ambush hapless prey.

"Oh no, Mercury, none of that."

The entity gestured, hair flowing, clawed hand arcing in front of it in a short, sharp motion, like a cut off, and Mercury shrieked in pain. Seiji turned fully now as Venus called her companion's name and bolted for her. The Senshi of Mercury was curled in a ball, hands on either side of her head, on her knees at a shocked looking Tenku's feet. The woman with the blonde pigtails had dropped beside her, holding her tightly and frantically murmuring in her ear.

Venus landed on her already skinned and bruised knees beside them, and Seiji made sure he was in step right behind her. He skidded to a stop in front of the three women, cursing himself as his gaze found the unconscious and unprotected Jupiter where he'd been standing.

Except she wasn't unprotected. Shuu had moved so that he was now crouched protectively by Jupiter. Ryo had shifted back so that he was between the red Senshi and Shin and their cluster near Touma. Their focus had shifted. Their allies were directly under threat, and Seiji was certain this tense stand off was coming to an abrupt end. The Troopers didn't tolerate games. He clutched the pommel of his sword more tightly, fighting off the urge to pull the Korin Ken from it's scabbard.

"What the hell did you do to her?!" Ryo snarled. "You wanna come after anybody, you can start with us." Rekka gestured towards the other Troopers. Seiji firmed his jaw in agreement. Behind him, Mercury had lapsed into silence, and that was three of the five Senshi down. He could hear Tenku murmuring to someone softly.

The entity turned to face Ryo and Seiji dropped his stance, ready to go in the blink of an eye. Shin rose from his crouch. The red Senshi at his feet wasn't moving any longer, and Seiji felt concern stab at his focus. Three of those women down, and none of them had really moved or shown signs of recovery. Not good.

"We would advise you to watch your tone Rekka. We have, afterall, bent the very heavens to our will to bring you aid. The Silver Imperium Crystal is a vast source of power – the very kind of power you will need to defeat your enemy. An enemy who rises, even now, to bring armies against you." The being cast a look of avarice upon the pig tailed girl so intense, Seiji stepped completely in front of her, blocking its gaze.

"What armies?! What enemy?! You're not my ally. Not if you hurt innocent people." Ryo's voice was climbing in volume, a sure sign his leader was going to blow a gasket soon. Seiji managed to lock eyes with Shin and they both nodded. Things were about to get…explosive.

Ryo's temper was legendary, and this thing was dialing it up.

The deity shook its head. "They are not innocent. They are warriors, used to the hardship of battle. They must come when the call is sounded. They have died before for much less. They possess powerful resources that you will need in this battle."

Seiji felt shock hit his system. They had died?! Who were these women? And regardless, how could anyone treat death so callously? Seiji turned, casting a look at the two blondes and the unconscious blue-haired woman kneeling behind Touma's legs now. He couldn't imagine any of them dying.

Was this…thing…expecting them to die for whatever bogus cause it had dragged them here to pursue?

"They're human beings!" Shuu snapped, whirling his tetsubo in agitation. He slammed the shaft against the ground, pulling his crouch closer to Jupiter. The deity tilted its head at him, as if it couldn't understand why he was so angry. "

Of a certainty, they are mostly human." It agreed. "More importantly, the power of the crystals will be necessary to quell the uprising of the underworld."

"What power?! Wait a minute…Uprising of the Underworld?! What uprising?" Tenku's outrage shook through his voice.

The deity bobbed its head. "Yes. Uprising. Izanami. She seeks revenge against Izanagi and all of his children for her banishment to the Underworld." Silence followed this pronouncement.

"…Izanami like…..Mother of all Creation Izanami?" Touma finally muttered. He was frowning, his face lit with confused agitation. "That doesn't make any sense. I'm pretty sure that war was settled…eons ago."

The warrior of Tenku had risen to his feet, but stayed near the Senshi. The woman with the pig tails was curled around Mercury in a comforting embrace. Venus had risen to her feet, fists clenched, muscles trembling. Seiji recognized an outpouring of vengeful rage when he saw one, but couldn't really blame her. He braced, and wasn't disappointed.

"You….how dare you hurt Ami?! I don't know who you think you are, I don't care if you're a god, you had no reason to hurt her!" Venus' voice had taken on a booming quality, and her hair was starting to blow upwards in an invisible wind. She inhaled slowly, and closed her eyes, concentrating, even as she started to glow. Seiji tensed, ready to add his own attack to hers, ready to back her up.

The time for talking was over.

Almost as soon as it started, the glowing and the wind stopped, and the Senshi of Venus let out a tiny yelp, dropping like a stone. Touma's quick reflexes stopped her from hitting the ground. The warrior of Tenku gently guided her down, where the pigtailed woman was weeping as she accepted her fallen friend with open arms. The archer bent an enraged look on their newest enemy as he straightened.

Seiji felt his own rage boiling up and out. "I've seen enough. You're no friend of the Troopers," he ground out, raising his nodatchi. Touma reached behind him for the Sho Ha Ku, its arms snapping into place menacingly as the heavenly archer drew a golden arrow from a limitless quiver. He notched the arrow, sighting along the shaft at the entity with a sharp, icy gaze. Shin hefted his yari, the normally gentle and affable Suiko stone-faced and determined, and Ryo whipped out his katana, fire burning in the depths of his wild blue eyes. Shuu didn't need an excuse to stand up and start spinning his tetsubo again, his features pulled into a dark scowl.

The deity in front of them frowned, crimson brow furrowed in irritation. "This meeting did not go as we had hoped. Perhaps you must see with your own eyes the destruction that faces your world. Farewell Yoroiden. When next we meet, we hope for a better sentiment. Perhaps you will understand then why I brought the Senshi here to assist you." It raised its hands, but before Seiji could counter any attack, his world blurred and faded, and everything went black.