A/N: 2023.05.12

Hope you guys liked the Prologue! Now, let's delve in a bit more!

Chapter 1: A New Battle

The following morning, Victor stood outside of a car dealership, leaning against the wall with his headphones on as he listened to his Walkman CD player and studied the surrounding area. This was the first time he had been to Tokyo, though he had read up on the city extensively in preparation for his and Cass's arrival to the city. Despite being in the city for only a few hours, Victor found the city to be absolutely amazing. It wasn't the first metropolis Victor had gone to, not even his first foreign one, but something about Tokyo immediately appealed to him. Victor was getting curious looks from the passersby, but he simply greeted everyone who studied him with a gentle smile and respectful nod. After waiting a few minutes more, Victor heard an engine rev and looked to see a 1995 Dodge Viper GTS maneuver around the corner. The window lowered, revealing Cass in the driver's seat.

Victor smiled and lowered his headphones, "Nah-ha-ice, boss!"

"I thought so," Cass shrugged. "Get in."

"Oh, yeah!" Victor hurried over to the passenger side. Once Victor was in, Cass drove down the street.

"So, what's first?" Victor asked.

"Paper," Cass pointed at a newspaper on the dashboard.

Victor picked it up and opened it.

"Saw it while I was signing the paperwork for the car. Skimmed through it while I was waiting."

"Let me guess: not good?" Victor began scanning the newspaper.

"Last night, a strange animal attack at an abandoned building. Some teenagers were trying to tag the building and were freaked out. The police arrived on the scene and couldn't find the animal but saw evidence of the attack."

Victor looked at the photos. One pronounced claw scratch with two smaller ones on either side of it. "Those look familiar."

"And how," Cass agreed. "We're gonna look into this. Then we look for the Sailor Guardians."

"Sounds like a plan." Victor looked at Cass. "What if they don't accept our help?"

"Worthwhile risk. We're in their territory. Crimson Paladins don't outrank Sailor Guardians."

"You do."

"I'm a Champion. Only Lords can outrank a Sailor Guardian."

"If you say so," Victor shrugged. He looked at the pictures in the paper, "Guess we were right about the Disciples being in Tokyo."

"Yeah. I, sometimes, hate it when I'm right."

"You think they're after something specific?"

"Must be," Cass answered. "They made it a point to come to Tokyo. We'll know more once we find them. Hopefully." He looked at Victor, briefly, before focusing back on the road. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"I'll do my best."

"Good enough."

A few minutes later, Cass and Victor arrived at the abandoned building, the site of the animal attack. They moved around the police barricades, made easier since the authorities weren't present. They searched the building then examined the claw marks and the destruction in the area.

"A berserker," Victor growled.

"The Disciples," Cass concluded, grimly. "This confirms it."

"I don't get this. Why set a berserker loose?"

"I don't think it was intentional."

"Okay, maybe, but I gotta admit I'm lost. We pick up their trail in San Salvador after months of nothing. We track 'em to Munich, Madrid, Cairo, then get confirmation that Tokyo is a target. What's this about? What do they want?"

Cass exhaled. "Not sure yet. But, for now, we should split up and have a look around the city."

Victor chuckled, "Oh, yeah! Two black guys meandering around Tokyo. One who's a teenager and everyone will consider a truant. That won't go wrong."

"First, I'm dark skinned," Cass reminded.

"To humans, you're black."

"Second…"

"You should really get that by now. You've been on Earth long enough."

"Second!" Cass roared, causing Victor to chuckle. Cass rubbed his forehead and dropped his hand, "Second, it's not like you're not fluent in Japanese. Plus, you've got your IDs on you, yes?"

"Never leave home without 'em," Victor confirmed.

"Then, stop worrying," Cass replied. "If you get into any trouble, show them your IDs and you'll be fine."

"Yeah, sure."

"Trust your instincts and mind your surroundings."

"I know the rules, big bro!"

Cass chuckled. "Just reminding you. Meet me at the house in a few hours."

"Got it." Victor headed for the exit, "See ya later, boss!"

"Watch yourself, little brother. Stay out of trouble!"

Victor laughed. "With that, I make no promises!"

Rei and Ami arrived at the Fruit Parlor Crown with Usagi, Minako, and Mako for lunch. After sitting down, the group recapped their feelings and experiences over the past few weeks. It had only been two weeks since Chibiusa had returned to the 30th Century, and the Guardians were relieved to have some time to relax and gather themselves. While they were talking, Rei gradually became the muted one of the group.

Noting Rei's silence, Ami looked over at her, "Rei?"

Rei blinked and turned to Ami, "Hm?"

"Are you okay? You've been quiet most of the day."

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just… had a weird feeling last night."

"Weird how?" Mako asked.

Rei sighed, debating how best to answer. "I… felt a strong presence. Something… dangerous."

"I did, too" Luna admitted.

"Like… a weird violent feeling?"

"Yeah. But it only a lasted a few seconds."

"Same here," Artemis confirmed.

"Think it's a new enemy?" Minako asked.

"It's possible," Luna admitted. "But the power only lasting a few seconds is the confusing part."

"All we can do is just keep our eyes open, then," Artemis suggested, leading everyone to agree.

As they continued the conversation, Rei looked around then out of the window. She saw a dark-skinned, teenaged boy with dreadlocks walking down the street. The boy was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, a hoodie jacket, and headphones but he seemed to be noticeably focused. Rei also noticed he had a modest, gold Christian cross hanging from his neck. As Rei stared at him, the boy looked up at her.

Victor felt a strong presence nearby, several in fact. But, when he looked up, he wasn't expecting to see a girl with long black hair staring back at him. Especially one as beautiful as her. Smiling, Victor gave her a small wave as he kept walking.

Rei waved back and stared at Victor until he was out of sight.

When Rei looked on either side of her, she noticed the other girls were staring out of the window. "When did you guys get here?" she asked.

"When we were talking to you for a minute and you didn't answer," Mako replied.

"Who was that?" Minako asked.

"I don't know," Rei answered. "But… there was… just something about him."

"Like what?" Ami asked.

"I'm not sure."

"Well, he was cute," Minako shrugged.

"Besides that!" Rei groaned. "Something was… different."

"Different how?" Usagi asked.

"I really don't know."

"More to the point…" Minako said, "you think he's cute, too?"

Rei froze. "Umm…"

Cass drove a couple of hours outside of the Tokyo city limits, following a pull he felt earlier. He came to another abandoned building and went inside. He looked around and saw a depression in the ground. Given the darkness of his surroundings, he held out an open palm and a purple-colored flame emerged from his palm. He examined the depression further until he found something buried underground. He pulled it out, revealing it to be a small, blackened branch.

"I knew it!" Cass growled. 'One of them is trying to create an army,' he thought to himself. 'If they can make one berserker… they can make more.' He put the branch in his pocket and studied the area again. 'But the process is weak. Still… if they're making any… perhaps we heard right and Verdune is here. Or, at least, on his way. Maybe we can end this here.' He checked his watch, 'I better head back to town.'

That night, Ami, Rei, Minako, and Mako were walking toward the Hikawa Shrine. Usagi had plans to meet up with Mamoru, and Luna and Artemis were elsewhere to discuss what may be coming next.

Ami looked over at Rei, noticing she still seemed subdued. "Whatever's going is really bothering you, huh, Rei?" Ami asked.

Rei nodded, "Mm-hmm."

"Whatever might be happening, Rei," Mako began, "we'll figure it out. Don't worry so much."

"I know, I know. It's just…" Rei sighed. "I can't explain it. I feel like… something's coming. Or… already here."

"You're usually right," Minako admitted. "But, still… we'll handle it. Okay?"

Rei smiled at them. "Thanks. I'm sorry for my mood."

"Don't worry," Ami smiled back. "We just hate to see you so down."

Rei held her smile. "Don't worry. It'll pass." Her smile fell away when she felt something strong and sinister nearby. "Or not."

"What happened?"

"Follow me!"

A few minutes later, the girls arrived at an outdoor shopping center to see bystanders being assailed by a berserker. A berserker was a bristly-haired, quadruped beast, nearly the size of a grizzly bear, with a long snout and two mouths, complete with full rows of fangs, and six, red eyes.

"What the?!" Mako shouted.

"Let's transform!" Minako ordered. "Quick!"

Arriving at the shopping center, Victor ran through the crowd to find the berserker battling against the Guardians. Victor heard a car screech to a stop and saw Cass exit his car. They nodded to each other and headed for a nearby alley.

"Sailor Guardians," Victor pointed out.

"I noticed," Cass agreed.

"You never mentioned they were gorgeous."

"Is that really important right now?

"Right now? No. But it is important."

"Stop it."

Victor laughed a bit.

Cass looked at the skirmish, noticing the Guardians were holding their own. But this was still their battle. "Looks like we found the war we were looking for," he declared.

"Oh, that so works for me!" Victor smiled.

Cass summons his Paladin Guard, a dark-red, leather gauntlet-bracer, to his right hand. "Ready?"

Victor summoned his Guard as well, "Ready!"

They each crossed their respective right arm over their chest. "Rise to battle!" they shouted in unison.

They pressed the Paladin Crest on the Guard.

"Crimson Paladins!"

They made fists with hand with Guard on it, rotating their arms to aim their fists upward. They threw their fists forward, opening their palm and shouting, "TO ARMS!"

A red light shone from within their bodies, causing them to shine, and their clothing shifted. Their clothing became all-black uniforms with long-sleeved shirts, black pants, and boots. A second Paladin Guard appeared on their left arms, identical to the one they used to transform. Crimson-colored marks appeared over their right eyes. Victor acquired a crimson scarf and a pair of sais, sheathed on both sides of his hips. Cass obtained a crimson half-cape, a medallion hanging from his neck, and a broadsword sheathed in a scabbard at his left hip. The Paladin Crest, styled as a longsword vertical behind a heater shield which doubled as their coat-of-arms, appeared in bright red on the back of their uniforms.

Cass looked at Victor, "Time for battle, Angelus."

"After you, Ziel!" Victor smiled.

"Let's roll."

As the Sailor Guardians were still battling the berserker, it roared and jumped to attack them, causing them to scatter.

"Jeez!" Jupiter growled. "These guys usually tell us how they're gonna kill us before they do it."

"Guess this one skipped that part in the supervillains' handbook!" Venus joked.

"This thing isn't the talkative type we're used to anyway," Mercury added.

"True."

The berserker rushed at Mars.

Mars gathered her power, quickly, "FIRE! SOUL!"

The fireball collided against the berserker, sending it crashing against a wall.

"Think that did it?" Jupiter asked.

The berserker growled as it got up. Once on its feet, the berserker roared, forcing the fire off of it.

"Nope!" Mercury activated her visor. "What is this thing?!" She scanned it, noting that the berserker barely qualified as a living being. "Not good…"

"What's wrong?" Jupiter asked.

"This creature is more a… doll, I guess. I can't even technically call it alive."

"Can we defeat it?" Venus asked.

"Probably," Mercury replied. "But… it won't be easy. It doesn't really feel pain so it won't be as hard to slow down."

"Apt observation," Ziel's voice echoed.

The Sailor Guardians looked up and saw Ziel and Angelus, standing atop a nearby building.

"This monster is more a weapon than a creature."

"Uhhhhh…" Jupiter said. "…okay?"

"A grand effort so far, Sailor Guardians!" Ziel continued. "Don't blame yourselves! These creatures are obstinate."

"Let us give it a shot!" Angelus shouted.

Ziel and Angelus jumped down and Angelus kicked the berserker in the face then grabbed its head and threw it down the street. Ziel unsheathed his sword and dashed at the berserker. The berserker recovered in time to catch the sword with one of its mouths. Ziel grunted, and Angelus leapt into the air, drew his sais and came down in the berserker's back, jamming his sais as close to the berserker's spine. The berserker howled and tossed both Paladins away; Ziel landed in front of the Sailor Guardians while Angelus landed, crouched, on the side of the building.

Angelus looked at the berserker, growling, "Friggin' mutt!"

The Guardians observed Angelus's feat, in awe. "Is he…" Venus asked. "…just… on the wall?"

"His powers enable him perform above average feats," Ziel explained. "Once he finally learned how to do it properly. Training him to do that was quite the arduous task, believe me."

"I CAN HEAR YOU!" Angelus screamed.

"Uhh…" Jupiter began. "Who… are you guys, exactly?"

The berserker roared.

"In just a moment, Sailor Jupiter," Ziel replied.

"You know me?" Jupiter asked.

"I got 'im, boss!" Angelus leapt from the building and, using his sais and a variety of kicks, unleashed a relentless assault on the berserker. The Guardians were amazed at Angelus's level of skill. He was hitting with a lot of power and, as far as they could tell, didn't have a single wasted motion. Angelus continued the onslaught until the berserker was weakening and barely standing.

"I can take it from here." Ziel raised his sword before him, summoned purple fire around his body, then focused it on his sword. He moved the sword his side, getting into a runner's stance, then dashed at the berserker, "Judgement."

Ziel sliced through the berserker, setting the monster aflame and bisecting it. Moments later, the berserker was reduced to cinders.

Angelus landed next to Ziel. "Not bad, old guy."

"Oh, shut up," Ziel laughed, sheathing his sword.

"Well, if nothing else, they know we're here now."

"We better get going. Perhaps we can find where the berserker escaped from."

"Sounds good!"

"Hey!" Jupiter yelled as she and the Guardians approached.

Ziel and Angelus looked at the Guardians. "Apologies for the quick exit, fellow warriors," Ziel stated. "But we need to see if can trail where the monster came from! Until next time!" He and Angelus jumped up on top of the light posts.

"Wait!" Mars shouted. "Who are you?"

Angelus and Ziel stopped. Ziel turned around and smiled. "Rest assured: we're allies, Sailor Guardians. We will meet again soon, you have my word! When we do, we'll explain everything! Until then…"

"Later!" Angelus smiled. He and Ziel disappeared over the next rooftop.

The Guardians stared at the direction the Paladins disappeared then looked at each other.

"Who the heck were those guys?" Venus asked.

"I don't know," Mars whispered. "But… something about them…"

"Good or bad?" Mercury asked.

"I think… good."

Angelus and Ziel arrived at the building they backtracked the berserker originated from. They found evidence of someone having been in the area, but no one was currently present.

"Weird," Angelus noted.

Ziel kneeled down and traced his fingers along the ground. "Hm."

"Whacha thinkin', boss?"

"They're attempting to perfect the berserkers. One of them, anyway. But… I'm sensing something… death… and… the Effigy."

Angelus slowly turned to him. "What?"

Ziel stood up and looked at Angelus. "They must've found pieces of it."

"Effigy Splinters…" Angelus froze, staring off into space for a while.

"Calm, little brother. We don't know for sure if Verdune and the Breaker are here."

Angelus contemplated for a moment before responding, "No. If they were… we would've known by now. But if any of the Disciples actually have the Effigy, even if they're just Splinters, strong enough that you can feel its power… those two can't be far behind."

Ziel considered that grim reality. "True enough."

Quezon City, The Philippines.

Cretz crawled along the ground, in a back alley. He looked up and glared at the two figures entering the alley.

Verdune, the Devil Priest, and Bahram the Breaker.

"You…" Cretz growled, "…traitorous monsters…"

Both Verdune and Bahram smiled.

Cretz raised his wand but could surge no power to it. He growled and tossed his wand aside. "You lied to us. You betrayed us! You damned…!"

Bahram hurled his short battle axe at Cretz, hitting him in the chest and killing him instantly.

They approached Cretz's body and Verdune held his hand out, surging his power toward Cretz. Cretz's body dissolved and Verdune absorbed Cretz's ashes into his skin. He kept his hand extended, and an Effigy Splinter came to his hand.

Verdune smiled, viciously. "All according to plan." He looked at Bahram. "Now… let us move to the final stage. Tokyo."

A/N: How was that for the Crimson Paladins first battle?! So, a little background here: the Crimson Paladins are absolutely Power Rangers/Ronins Warriors inspired. I get that was probably obvious. Power Rangers and Ronin Warriors are a two more childhood favorites of mine, right along with Sailor Moon. I still love all three to this day. The scarf and cape aesthetic was inspired by the PS2 games, Shinobi and Nightshade. Fun games! So! Next chapter, we're learn a bit more about the Paladins and the Disciples! Get ready for it!