I do not own sailor Moon, Ranma 1/2, or Kamen Rider Ryuki. Those all belong to their respectinve creators. I do not own the Advent Knights either. They belong to ZK Chromedragozoid. He has been generous enough to let meuse his characters so that you may enjoy this fic.
-Ten-Faced Paladin
KSM: The Advent
By Ten-Faced Paladin
Chapter 2: Tiger's Walk
Now, Juuban was by no stretch a bad place to live. Granted, the people who lived their had their fair share of crime that was dealt with by a rather competent police force. It was a mostly peaceful community that for the most part, people enjoyed living in. The main reason that this district saw so few new people moving in was the constant monster attacks that had been popping up in the area. Thankfully the district had its own protectors in the form of the soldiers of Love and Justice called the Sailor Senshi.
These guardians of love and justice were the part of the reason that someone on a motorcycle was coming into the district. His vehicle seemed to have a silver and red design but not much that hade it stand out. The rider wore a black t-shirt and a denim jacket over it. He also had a pair of jeans on. A silver helmet hid his face from the world. He sped through the streets along his way to his destination. He wanted to be in Juuban but there was a certain part of the district that he was looking for.
After a while of driving, the rider pulled over to the curb and pulled a map that he kept folded up in his pocket. He unfolded a portion of it and looked at a section of it that he had circled for quick reference. Inside that circle were several small dots that had been drawn. Each one of them showed a major public area or places that were popular to go to. There weren't that many. Looking up from his map, the motorcyclist nodded before he slipped his map away and revved his engines and sped off again. He had a specific destination in mind before he began his search.
It was some time before the motorcyclist pulled over again. This time he let himself stop in a parking lot before he shut off the engine. Shrugging off his helmet, he allowed his features to see the light of day. He was actually a 19-year old boy with slightly spiked brown hair. His name was Yoshiyuki Takada. He was a member of the corporation that employed Kat and Leo as Advent Knights as one of the people who helped make their gear, but in addition he was one of the Advent Knights as well. He was the Knight of Byakko, Pluto. Not many knew that secret. Not even Kat and Leo knew.
Right now he was on assignment from his bosses to investigate the reports of strange animal monsters that had been attacking the people of this district and the one next door. Kat and Leo were sent to Nerima while he had to deal with Juuban by himself. He had to get started but he knew there was something that he just had to do first.
"I'm starving," he grumbled to himself. Getting to Juuban had taken forever and actually finding the part that he needed to be in had only taken even more time. He hadn't eaten since breakfast and his stomach was voicing its displeasure at this. "Sounds like we agree then."
Making his way to the sidewalk he found a small cafe and decided that it was as good as place as any. After he ordered (from a noticeable cute waitress named Unazuki) he pulled out his map and began looking at the map he began reading over it.
"Okay," he mumbled to himself. "I've marked off where most reports say that the Sailor Senshi have appeared. The monsters seemed to have followed patterns in the past. When the monsters first showed up they were in places that had a large concentration of people. The second group seemed a bit more efficient in the moves by going after single targets in a hunting fashion. The third group tried hitting five key points somewhere. The last group went places were notable individuals were fond or there were public events. Now what patter do these guys follow?"
This was the reason why Takada was interested in finding the Sailor Senshi. They had some experience with these new monsters so they would be the ones to ask about them. It would be the quickest way to see if the monsters in question really were Beast Spirits or not. So far, what he had been hearing about these things had not been adding up. They seemed to strike at almost random and managed to only attack a single person before they seemed to be satisfied and try to get away or start fighting the knights. The guys who had read the reports before him didn't see any reason beyond they were just animals, but dealing with Beast Spirits personally helped Takada see what animal instinct really was.
"These things aren't doing it by random," he muttered. "They picked their target and took opportunity to attack them. They are looking for something." Takada has taken up this mission initially because his predecessor would've done so as well. Takada sighed sadly as he thought of the original Pluto and how he had died before Takada picked up the mantle. He studied the map again and looked through it. From the reports he had gathered, most of the activity occurred in an area close to a place called the Hikawa Shrine. Seeing the points on the map just confirmed his theory.
"Okay, might as well get started there," Takada reasoned with himself.
After eating and paying for his meal, Takada hopped onto his bike and set out for the Hikawa Shrine. The drive wasn't particularly long or exhausting. When he arrived, he parked his bike near the sidewalk and placed his helmet on one of the rearview mirrors. After ensuring that he had his Advent Buckle and Category Ace Byakko card (he was in a hotspot for monsters after all) he began to climb the stairs that would lead to the temple.
In all, the place was actually very nice. It was clean, calm, and had somewhat of a soothing atmosphere. Walking along the path he noticed some school students chatting while standing next to a stand where they sold charms. There was also a strange old looking man talking to another group of high school girls. It seemed like he was trying to convince them to be shrine maidens or something. Takada just pulled out a notebook of his and began looking at the notes he made about this place.
"Let's see," he muttered. "Temple bus that vanished and took the people inside with it. Missing people returned after a few days shortly before the arrival of Sailor Mars. Another report mentions sounds of some kind of monkey demon and sightings of the Sailor Senshi at this temple. List goes on. Doesn't look like a monster hotspot in my opinion."
A cawing noise caught Takada's attention and he saw a pair of crows setting on the temple gate, staring at him. Normally he wouldn't have thought twice about this but the crows were giving him an odd feeling. Almost like they could see more to him than most people could. The feeling was actually mutual. Something in Takada's mind was saying that they were not ordinary crows by any means. It might have been the part of the Category Ace that Takada had after his first fusion.
"Like bird watching?" someone asked from behind Takada, turning him back to reality. He quickly turned around to see a pretty girl a couple years younger than him with long black hair and donned in priestess attire.
"Huh? Uh…no," Takada denied while getting the fog out of his head. "Just got entranced for a moment."
"It happens to the best of us," the girl smiled. "Are you here for a fire reading?"
"Uh...no," Takada replied, shaking his head. "I'm just exploring the town. I heard that this was a popular spot to go to so I'm just checking it out." There was no way that he could actually explain just why he was there. His mission and his Advent Knight identity had to remain secret lest someone try to interfere or take him out.
"Oh. Well you came to a good spot to begin," the girl smiled. 'My name is Rei Hino."
"Yoshiyuki Takada," Takada bowed in greeting. "But just call me Takada, Hino-san."
"Only if you call me Rei," the girl smiled. "Hino-san is what people call my grandfather."
"Will do," Takada grinned.
"So, Takada-san, why are you exploring town anyway?" Rei asked curiously. "You want to see the Sailor Senshi? A lot of tourists drop by in this town to try and catch a glimpse of them."
"Oh no. Nothing like that," Takada again denied, though his job would become that much easier if he could see them.
"Oh," Rei blinked. "Well, if you have any questions the go right ahead. Feel free to explore if you like."
"Arigatou," Takada smiled. He looked around the compound. He felt a strange connection with this. Again, this was probably because of his link with the Category Ace of Diamonds. It had the power over Earth and Metal and other unknown abilities. It was probably because it could detect mystical energies but Takada shook his head. He was here about the monsters, not sightseeing.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on who you were, said monsters decided to come to him. There was an ear-splitting screech that had almost everyone covering their ears before what seemed to be a small tornado fell from the sky and touched ground right in the middle of the grounds. Takada had to hold onto his papers tightly so that he wouldn't lose them. The tornado was fierce and wild but it quickly dissipated. Of course, seeing what was inside of it had made the other temple visitors scream and begin running.
Inside the tornado had been a draconic creature of some sort. It was covered in thick grey armor that seemed specially made for flying through the air. It was smooth and the light reflected off of it like it was polished silver. It stood on its feet like a humanoid but its feet were three-toed and a spiked tail came fro its rear end. Its arms were also something to see. They were broad iron-looking wings that looked incredibly sharp along with the talons that came from the top joint. Its chest was broad as had a large emerald embedded in the centre. Its head was reptilian and situated on an extended neck. Three horns decorated the draconic head from the top and both sides. This creature looked ready for battle at any time.
"Hmmm," it hummed to itself. "So many targets and so little time. What shall the great Wyvernator do I wonder?"
People were already running for the exit and the temple priest and his helpers were gone already. Deciding that he was not going to just sit around, Takada drew his Advent Buckle and situated it around his waist before the actual belt wrapped around him. Wyvernator already took notice of him and turned to face the Advent Knight.
"Well, aren't you a brave soul," he snickered. "Just the kind of person we may be looking for."
"Well, you'll just have to keep searching," Takada smirked as he slid his Category Ace into his buckle. "Henshin!"
"CHANGE BYAKKO!"
Wyvernator was stunned when he saw the buckle his intended target wore split open and send out a field of energy that had a tiger imprinted on it. It became even more shocking when he target ran through it and came out donned in tiger theme armor with a nasty looking gun gripped in his right hand.
"What the-?" Wyvernator gasped. "Just who the heck are you?!"
"I am the Knight of Byakko," Pluto said seriously as he pointed his gun at his target. "My name is Pluto!"
Wyvernator growled as he stared down the barrel of his opponent's gun. This was something that he hadn't been counting on. There were only supposed to be five Celestial Knights, Not this Advent Knight guy. The Sailor Senshi probably wouldn't be a problem if he could work fast enough but now it seems that he had met some unknown resistance. Pluto just continued staring at him through his eyepieces as his finger stayed on the trigger of his gun, waiting for the right moment to begin shooting.
"Hold it!" a new voice shouted.
Both Pluto and Wyvernator turned to see the source of the voice and saw a young woman standing on top of the shrine that both combatants were in front of. She was wearing a red and white outfit and had long black hair. She was also wearing long gloves, a tiara, and red high heels.
"A temple is a place for peaceful worship and not a battleground!" she said sternly. "I, Sailor Mars, will not let this happen!"
'The posters do not do her justice,' Pluto thought idly to himself. She was very attractive, especially in that outfit. There was something odd about her though. It was like her face was so familiar to him but he couldn't quite remember where he had seen her. It was at the edge of his mind but he decided to think about it later. Turning his sights back to Wyvernator, he noticed that his opponent was distracted so he took advantage of the moment and shot a few rounds into the now surprised monster.
"Grah!" Wyvernator roared as he recovered from the shot. "Why you little-! I'll slice you to ribbons!"
Flapping his great wings, Wyvernator sent compressed blades of air straight at Pluto. The Knight of Byakko quickly saw them and dodged out of the way. As he was getting up his eyes widened as he saw Wyvernator descending upon him, ready to crush him under his talons.
"Mars Fireball Ignite!" cried Sailor Mars' voice before an immense fireball crashed into Wyvernators back, sending him to the ground, rolling to extinguish the flames.
Pluto looked up to see Sailor Mars racing towards him. As he stood up she reached him and looked at him questioningly.
"Just who are you?" she asked. "Another Celestial Knight?"
"No, I'm and Advent Knight," Pluto replied as he put his gun in his left hand. "I'm just passing through so let's just get rid of this thing first."
He stepped forward and opened the panels that held his cards which held the Beast Spirits that were part of the Diamonds suit. Gripping one, he pulled it out and closed the panels before slashing it through his gun.
"BULLET!" the scanner called before a large image of the card appeared over Pluto and then absorbed into his body. Sailor Mars was stunned to see this, and she thought what the Celestial Knights did with cards was something to see.
Pluto took careful aim at the struggling Wyvernator and started shooting again. This time the monster was feeling agony every time he got hit with a bullet since Pluto's last card powered up the shots his gun made.
"Wow," Sailor Mars gaped as she watched Pluto go to work. "What else can this guy do?"
Wyvernator got to his feet and suddenly took off into the sky. Pluto kept trying to shoot him but his bullets either missed or the target was too high. He got a smug look on his armored face when he looked down on his two opponents.
"Now that you can't hurt me, I can start hurting you!" Wyvernator crowed before he started raining more wind blades down on the Knight and Senshi
They made impact with the ground and sent up clouds of dust. Pluto and Mars were hard pressed to avoid them. Being sliced to ribbons was in fact not a good thing in their books. Pluto looked up at his target before he opened the panels of his gun. 'Oh well, might as well see what this new combo does!' Pulling his last two cards out of their containment panels, his new Category 5 of Diamonds: Drop Whale and the Category 6 of Diamonds: Firefly, he brought them to his gun to be scanned through.
"DROP! FIRE!" The two images of the cards were absorbed into Pluto's body before he leapt into the air. "BURNING SMASH!" Mars watched in amazement as Pluto's feet were enveloped in bright flames. Wyvernator was caught totally by surprise as the burning drop kick smashed into his head and sent him spiraling to the ground. His impact caused a large amount of dust to fly before Pluto came up to him and put his foot on his neck and his gun to Wyvernator's head.
"Alright, you!" Pluto said sternly. "I know you aren't a Beast Spirit so talk! Just what the hell are you?"
"I don't have to answer you!" Wyvernator spat before a bullet hit the ground next to his head. Mars just gasped at Pluto's actions. He was determined to get his answers.
"That wasn't aiming for you head," Pluto said darkly. "The next one will."
"I am a Star Beast! The great Wyvernator!" the creature in question roared angrily.
"Star Beast?" Pluto asked, committing the term to memory. Before he could ask any more questions, Wyvernator began squirming and with a flap of his wings, sent Pluto to the dirt again. Mars was too far away to help and he was out of cards. It seemed like the end for him until...
"Uranus World Shaking!" a new voice called.
A sphere of yellow energy cut through the air and collided with Wyvernator, causing him to scream in agony as he was sent back a few feet. Pluto scramble to his feet and ran over to Sailor Mars who was already standing next to her Sailor Senshi allies. This included all of them from Mercury to Pluto. They even brought the small one with pink hair.
"Could you have cut that one any closer?" Pluto asked as he came up to the group of women.
"You should be thankful that we did save you," Sailor Uranus frowned. "Just who the heck are you anyway?"
"I'm the Advent Knight of Byakko," Pluto introduced. "You can just call me Pluto."
Now, the Senshi were having various reactions to him. The Inners seemed alright with his appearance. After all, he was helping them fight this monster. Sailor Saturn seemed to agree with them. Sailor Uranus and Neptune seemed a little more suspicious. It was Sailor Pluto that had a look of shock on her face. It wasn't the 'you-caught-me-by-surprise' look of shock either. It was more like the 'I-got-rid-of-you-a-long-time-ago-so-what-the-hell-are-you-doing-back-here' type of shock.
If Pluto noticed the woman's shock, he didn't acknowledge it. He just nodded to them before turning his attention back to Wyvernator, who was getting back up again. He was a mess but it seemed like he wanted to still fight.
"I'll handle this!" Sailor Moon said while she was stepping forward while summoning her Moon Heart Rod. She twirled her rod for a moment before she pointed it at Wyvernator. "Moon Heart Spiral Attack!"
Now, Pluto had seen some strange and terrible things since he had started his job as an Advent Knight, but seeing a magical girl shooting a giant pink heart pretty much got near the top of his list, if not the top itself. The giant heart flew at Wyvernator and collided with him at a force that made the ground tremble for a moment. He screeched in pain as energy bolts could be seen erupting from his body as he struggled to stand. Finally, he couldn't stay on his feet anymore and he fell to the ground before exploding in a fiery haze.
"Yahoo!" Sailor Moon cheered. "I did it!"
"That's great, meatball head, but you forgot something," Mars frowned. She was referring to the rising energy ball that was floating from the remains of the defeated Star Beast. Without the Celestial Knights, they had no way of sealing it. Well, so they thought
Pluto held a blank sealing card in his hand and stared at the energy orb. It was worth a shot so he threw it accurately and it hit the orb. The card floated within the orb for a bit and the orb appeared to be shrinking. The card was actually sucking the energy in. When the orb was completely absorbed, the card spun in the air and flew into Pluto's hand. He gazed at it and was surprised to see the image of the previously destroyed Star Beast printed on it but wrapped up in chains. It was strange. The cards were made to seal Beast Spirits, not Star Beasts. He had to look into this later.
"Sugoi!" was Sailor Chibi-Moon's reaction. Pluto turned to her and even if his face couldn't be seen, you somehow knew he was smiling.
"Hey, thanks," Pluto smiled underneath his helmet. "Always nice to have a fan, especially a cute one like you."
Chibi-Moon blushed red at the compliment. It was after this that Sailor Pluto got her voice back and stepped up the Pluto before pointing her staff at him and glaring at him with enough force that would be able to melt steel if such a glare was a laser.
"Alright," she frowned. "Maybe you can answer a question of mine."
"Uh...okay. Shoot," Pluto replied nervously. He didn't like the way that this woman was looking at him.
"Explain why you have the powers of several Beast Spirits with you," Sailor Pluto demanded. "Those things are incredibly dangerous! You could end up releasing them!"
"You know about that?" Pluto gaped before he took a breath to answer his question. Deal with the security leak later. "My weapons are designed to only borrow their power, not break their seal. Besides, I'd hate to break it to you, but the Beast Spirits are already free."
Sailor Pluto paled considerably that she almost dropped her Garnet Rod, "What?"
"The Beast Spirits are already free," Pluto repeated. "Me and two other Advent Knights are working to seal them all back up again. That's why I'm here. I thought your Star Beast problem was actually Beast Spirits."
The other Senshi were now confused about what their ally and this Knight were talking about, but Sailor Pluto was only half listening at this point. This was bad, incredibly bad. With the Beast Spirits free then there was only a one in fifty-three chance that Crystal Tokyo would rise. Not very favorable odds. She had witnessed the last Battle Game through the gates of time and was shocked by the sheer ferocity of the combatants. Normally, she would have tried to manipulate the game to let the Human Beast Spirit win but each Beast Spirit was immortal like her. They were beyond the touch of time. It was a godsend that the Human Beast Spirit had won. That meant that Crystal Tokyo was that much closer. Now...now it seemed to be slipping away. There was only one last thing that could bring a ray of hope.
"The Human Beast Spirit," she finally spoke. "Is it still free?"
"Category 2 of Hearts?" Pluto asked. "No. That one got sealed pretty early."
That did it for Sailor Pluto. She almost felt her dreams crashing around her. If the Human Beast spirit didn't win then another dominant species would rise and overthrow humanity. It had to be humanity that was dominant or there was no hope for Crystal Tokyo to even be a passing thought. She knew what she had to do now. She had to find the Human Beast Spirit and free it. Then she would make sure that it couldn't be found so that the other Beast Spirits could take each other out, leaving the Human Beast Spirit as the winner. She would have to try the Gates of Time.
"Very well," Sailor Pluto nodded, not breaking her reserve. "Good luck with the Beast Spirits."
With that, she teleported, leaving one Advent Knight and nine very confused Sailro Senshi behind.
"Excuse me," Sailor Mercury asked politely. "Just what are these Beast Spirits that you and Sailor Pluto were talking about?"
Pluto explained, "Well if you already heard that much then I'll just tell you. The Beast Spirits were creatures that lived over 10,000 years. Each Beast Spirit represented a different race, humanity being one of them. The Beast Spirits did battle against each other until only one would remain. The winner would be allowed to populate the Earth and the losers would be sealed away. It was a good thing that the Human Beast Spirit won so here we are now."
This struck the Senshi by surprise. An ancient battle where the victor would be allowed to populate the Earth with its kin? Now that they, the Beast Spirits, were free, that would mean the Battle Game would once again commence.
Sailor Mercury was the most shocked. She now knew the origin of humans and it was quite shocking to say the least. This information could very well change history.
"Well, now that you know, I'm going now," Pluto said as he walked away. He was going to study his new card.
"Hey, wait!" Sailor Mars called to him. "How can we find you?"
"You don't," he said. "I'll find you. See you later, girls!" He then walked away with a wave.
The Senshi tried to follow him but Pluto had slipped through their fingers. What they didn't know was that he had changed back before getting on his bike and driving away. Now he had something to work with. He just had to find a spot to make a quick phone call. He found one such place in front of a place called the Crown Arcade. It was a place where the noises of the video games and such would keep people from overhearing what he was saying on the phone. Pulling out his own cell-phone, he dialed the number for Leo's phone.
"Moshi moshi?" Leo's voice came through the other end.
"Leo? It's me," Takada replied.
"Oh, Pluto-san," Leo spoke. "What are you calling for?"
"Did you two make it to Nerima yet?" Takada asked, getting down to business.
"Hai," Leo answered. "We ran into one of the creatures you told us about. We also met one of the Celestial Knights too."
"I see," Takada spoke. "How did that go?"
"Well, onee-chan was convinced that it was a Beast Spirit so after we managed to put it down she attempted to seal it." Leo explained.
"Oh?" Takada asked. He was sensing a 'but' coming up.
"It did not go well," Leo sighed. "For some reason the creature's body absorbed the card and suddenly got back up again. It was like the card had given it a recharge."
"What!?" Takada gasped. "Did yours explode into a sphere of energy before you tried or was its body still intact?"
"It was intact," Leo answered. "Why do you ask, Pluto-san?"
"It looks like we made two important discoveries today," Takada frowned. "Continue."
"Well, after the creature got back up again that's when the Celestial Knight Lunar-san appeared," Leo continued. "The creature seemed o ignore us then in favor of him. During the fight I noticed that Lunar used a card system that is similar to our. Only his summons weapons and creatures to help him fight."
"Really?" Takada blinked. Someone else using a card system? Interesting…
"Yes." Leo confirmed. "Anyway, when Lunar-san managed to destroy the creature, he used another card which allowed his own creature to absorb this sphere of energy that it had left behind. After that onee-chan and I tried to talk to him. Onee-chan does not like him very much."
"DAMN RIGHT!" Kat's angry voice could be heard in the distance. "WHEN I SEE THAT HORSIE-BOY AGAIN I'M GOING TO MAKE HIM A EUNUCH!!"
Takada sighed, "Tempers flared I take it?"
"Hai," Leo sighed dejectedly. "Lunar-san didn't seem like a bad person though. I do admit that calling onee-chan an uncute tomboy may not have been a smart thing to do though. She's been mad for a while now."
"I...see," Takada blinked. "Well, I also managed to find one of these creatures and meet the Sailor Senshi."
"Really?" asked Leo. "Did they help you defeat it?"
"Yes," Takada admitted. "We got to the point where the creature was destroyed and only that sphere of energy you mentioned was left. That was when I tried my hand at sealing it."
"What happened?" asked Leo. "Did it come back like ours did?"
"Actually, no," Takada replied. "The sphere was absorbed into the card and returned to me. I am now the first person to have ever sealed a Star Beast."
"Star Beast?" asked Leo. "That was what the creature called itself. You managed to seal one?"
"WHAT?!" Kat's angry voice cut through the background again. "TIGER-BOY SEALED ONE OF THOSE THINGS?!"
"Onee-chan, you're making a scene!" Leo hissed before turning his attention back to the phone. "That's impressive, Pluto-san. What are you going to do with it?"
"I'm going to make a study on it," Takada replied. "I'll have Takada help me. He'll send you the data if we find anything."
"Hai, Pluto-san," Leo acknowledged. "Good luck. Bye."
"Bye," Takada said before shutting off the link. He looked at the card again and spoke to himself, "Let's see what secrets you hold, Wyvernator."
--
Meanwhile, the Sailor Senshi had reverted to their civilian forms. They were going to get their answers from Setsuna who also knew about these Beast Spirits the Knight of Byakko named Pluto had mentioned with her. Right now they were still at Rei's temple, discussing what they had been told.
"Man," Minako sighed. "Who'd have guessed that all of humanity is descendant from just one Beast Spirit?"
"Mmn," Ami nodded. "It's a little unnerving. This disproves the theory of evolution as well."
"It does not disprove it," a more mature voice spoke.
The gathered Senshi all turned to the entrance of the room and saw Setsuna standing in the doorway. She seemed somewhat distressed but still in her unflappable attitude mode. She quietly walked into the room and took a seat with the other Senshi.
"What do you mean, Setsuna?" asked Michiru seriously.
"The theory of evolution," Setsuna spoke. "It is real. It's just placed at the wrong period in time then from when Darwin placed it."
"What do you mean?" asked Makoto curiously.
"You would recall that during the Silver Millenium, the dominant species on every planet was humanity, correct?" Setsuna asked. Seeing that she was met with nods, she continued. "When the Negaverse attacked, that combined with Queen Serenity's spell wiped out humanity altogether. I was the only human left alive."
"Oh, wow," Usagi blinked in amazement. "What does that have to do with those Beast Spirit thingies though?"
"I'm getting to that, please be patient," Setsuna replied. "The first couple of years I was content to amuse myself and ensure that Earth continued to support life so that the people of the Silver Millenium could be reborn. Imagine my surprise when I found these animal/human hybrids springing up."
"I guess that would have been quite the shock," Haruka remarked.
"It was," Setsuna nodded. "I was afraid that a new species was going to take over the Earth and humanity wouldn't get the chance to return. Naturally I tried to search for the root of these creatures evolution but the Gates couldn't show me."
"Why not, Puu?" asked Chibi-Usa.
"It was because they were immortal as well, Small Lady," Setsuna replied. "Being immortal, they were beyond the touch of time. I couldn't find their birth or search for them in the Gates. I was only able to watch where they went."
"But where did they come from, Setsuna-mama?" asked Hotaru.
"Mountains, the ocean, forests, swamps, wherever the animal species they were based after would be found," Setsuna continued. "I was a little concerned that there were so many of them but I soon found that each one was different and that no two were alike. In short, they weren't reproducing. I was confused but I decided to watch them. They were certainly more interesting than watching the various plant life grow I assure you."
"What were they all doing?" asked Rei.
"It was odd," Setsuna frowned. "They were just wandering. They seemed completely content in exploring. The world was new to them and they wanted to see it. It would have been rather cute if they didn't look so intimidating. They were like small children at the time."
Usagi had a thought in her head about chibi-monsters in diapers that cried a lot while she was feeding one with a bottle.
"Then, after a while of wandering, they all started converging on a single location," Setsuna continued. "I was surpised to see them all converge in a circle around this one object. It looked like a slab of stone that was twisted around the middle. Each of the Beast Spirits seemed to be hearing something from it. I couldn't hear a thing mind you."
"Soooo, what happened next?" asked Minako.
"The Battle Game started," Setsuna replied.
"Battle Game?" the remaining Senshi asked in confusion.
"They called it a game," Setsuna replied sourly. "I called it a brutal and terrible war. These creatures were all incredibly powerful in their own ways. Seeing them fight each other this way was not something I'd care to see again. After so long of watching them wander like small children, seeing them battle was almost unbearable in some ways."
"You saw the whole thing?" Rei gasped incrdiously.
"I did," Setsuna nodded. "I didn't want it to continue but I had no choice. I could do nothing to influence their actions. As each one fell, I noticed that their buckles would reveal some kind of runes that symbolized their defeat. After that the stone would uncurl itself and suck them in. I learned later that they were sealed into stone tablets at a secret location. One by one they all fell."
"Until the human one was left," Haruka finished.
"Yes," Setsuna nodded. "When he was the last one standing, he was absorbed by the stone too. I thought it was over but imagine my surprise when humans started coming out of the stone. They just kept coming and coming until there was enough to populate the entire world. It was almost like a miracle. That was when I realized why they were fighting. They were fighting to see who would populate the world.
"And now they're out again," Makoto frowned. "Can't we do anything about it?"
"No," Setsuna replied while shaking her head. "We do not possess the ability to seal them like that man Pluto does. I sensed that he was using the power of a Category Ace."
"I heard him mention the category thing before," Ami noted. "What does that mean?"
"It is the system used to classify the rank and power of the Beast Spirits," Setsuna explained. "The Beast Spirits came from the four corners of the world and each of them had a banner in which they put themselves under. Blue Spade was the East, Red Heart was the South, Black Club was the North, and White Diamond was the West."
"Sounds like those normal playing cards to me," Haruka spoke up.
"A remarkable coincidence," Setsuna nodded. "The system places a number or name on each Beast Spirit. It starts at two then rises. Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. Again, a remarkable coincidence."
"But...," Usagi spoke up. "Pluto said that the Human Beast Spirit was Category 2. How did he win?"
"Through sheer determination and by using his mind," Setsuna smiled. "During his travels he learned quite a bit about how things worked. He learned how to use weapons before the others did. He learned about hunting and many other things very quickly. All those skills helped him when he fought."
"Did you ever meet any of them, Puu?" asked Chibi-Usa.
"Actually, I did try to speak with a few them," Setsuna nodded. "Category Jack, Queen, and King of Clubs. Elephant, Tiger, and Xuanwu. They were just learning how to talk when I met them."
"What were they like?" asked Minako.
"Very pleasant actually," Setsuna replied with a rare smile. "I showed them a little affection and they returned it ten fold. I even gave them names."
"Really?" Hotaru asked.
"Yes," Setsuna nodded. "I named the Elephant Daichi, the Tiger Hikaru, and the Xuanwu Shima. I was very sad when they got sealed. Maybe...maybe I will see them again before they get sealed once more." She frowned. The three Beast Spirits were a lot nicer than the others but they were forced to fight. It was a fate they could not go against. At least she hoped to see them again in this era. There was chance for that now.
The other Senshi were very much surprised to hear this. Usually Setsuna was someone who was very objective about her position and what she did. Hearing her speak fondly of those three Beast Spirits was very odd for her. Then again, she was just getting used to being alone so perhaps those three were what allowed her to keep her sanity. They apparently made some very good memories for her.
"Hmm, those three were like another family to me," Setsuna continued to smile. "I still miss them."
"Don't worry, Setsuna!" Usagi smiled brightly. "I'm sure you'll see them again. You said they were strong so I'm sure they'll probably be sealed last! You have plenty of time to find and visit them! I'm sure of it!"
"Thank you, Usagi," Setsuna nodded before she started to frown again. "However, there is one Beast Spirit that I hope will never be able to win the Battle Game and I pray that it has not been released."
"Which one would that be?" asked Michelle curiously.
"As you know, in any deck of cards there are usually fifty-two cards that are used. Thirteen for every suit," Setsuna explained. "Can you tell me what other card may lurk in a deck that most do not use? One that does not follow any suit?"
"Ummmm, the Joker?" asked Hotaru.
"Yes, Hotaru, " Setsuna nodded. "The Joker."
"There was a Beast Spirit that represented the Joker?" asked Minako.
"There was," Setsuna nodded. "It was not created like the other fity-two were. When all the forces of nature created the Beast Spirits, this also included the remnant power that the Negaverse left behind after Queen Serenity cast her spell. The Black Joker was Negaverse power incarnate. It lived to destroy everything in front of it. The very second it came into being I was alerted of its presence. I even tried to destroy it before it could reach where the Battle Game was to be held."
"But it was immortal too, wasn't it?" asked Rei with a frown.
"Yes," Setsuna nodded. "I could not destroy it. I could only pray that it would be defeated in the Battle Game. Thankfully, a number of Beast Spirits worked together for a moment and defeated it. It took all four Category Ace Beast Spirits to stop it; Seiryu, Byakko, Suzaku, and Genbu. I shudder to think what would happen if the Joker is free and wins."
"What do you think would happen if the Joker does win?" asked Chibi-Usa fearfully.
"Worst case scenario?" Setsuna asked. "End of the world. No more life at all. The best case scenario would be that the Battle Game had to start over again since it wasn't one of the fifty-two chosen combatants."
"Wait a sec," Makoto spoke up. "If there was a Black Joker, shouldn't be there a white one as well? I mean each the other Beast Spirits were balanced by another one. Why would the Joker be any different?"
"It's hard to try and interpret the will of the universe," Setsuna replied. "But the Black Joker was not created by the will of the universe. Its origins lay in the Negaverse, a completely separate plane of existence if you recall."
The room had gone silent after hearing Setsuna's explanation. All this talk of the end of all life as they knew it or another species becoming the ones to rule the Earth really brought down the mood.
"Do you think Pluto and those other Knights he mentioned can do it?" asked Chibi-Usa.
"All we can do is have faith in them," Setsuna remarked sagely.
--
Takada leaned back on the chair in the hotel that he had found for the night. Things were starting to get interesting now. He held the card that he had used to seal that Wyvernator guy with. When he looked into the eyes of the image on the card he could almost feel the rage and hate that Wyvernator was probably going through at the moment. Seeing the chains wrapped around him was also something to consider. The Beast Spirits didn't have these chains wrapped around them when they were sealed. Was it because the Beast Spirits knew they had no choice after being sealed or was it because Wyvernator wasn't a Beast Spirit, but a Star Beast? Were the chains there to make sure that he would stay put?
"I feel a migraine coming on," Takada sighed to himself as he set the card down. HQ would want to know about this and he still had lots of tests to run on this new card. Who knows? Maybe it would be helpful in their hunt for the Beasts Spirits.
To Be Continued...
A/N: That's all she wrote for this one folks. Another big thank-you for ZK Chromdragozoid for beta reading and giving a helping hand when I needed it. The history of the BEast Spirits is revealed and our heroines have a deep connection to them. Well, one of them anyway.