Ranma looked over at the pony-tailed girl walking next to him and smiled. This innocent young girl had accepted him for who he was and freely offered him a hand in friendship. This simple gesture had meant more to him than anything else in the world. Almost anything. This same girl had also opened up his heart and mind. He now saw what he had been too blind to see before. His love for Akane and her love for him.
Ranma had always felt something for Akane, but he had been afraid to admit it even to himself. Now he saw that there was nothing to be afraid of. Now he felt on top of the world and not even his curse could bring him down. Now everything was as it should be and nothing could go wrong.
Dragon! Phoenix! The voice in his mind was so loud it sent sharp jolts of pain through Ranma’s head. Come quick! There is danger! There is-! The voice cut off suddenly as if someone had silenced it. Ranma looked over at Serena and found that she was holding her head in her hands.
“What…what was that?”
“I’ll explain later. Right now we have to get to the dojo as fast as possible. There’s trouble and our friends may be in danger.”
Serena nodded and took out what looked like a small calculator from her purse. “I’ll check on them with my communicator.” She pushed some buttons on the small pad and played with a dial, but only static came across the screen. “Something’s definitely wrong. No one’s answering my call.”
“You’d better transform then. We don’t know what we’re gonna run into.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be fine as I am. Fighting is what I do best.”
Serena nodded and after a few moments Sailor Moon and Ranma were running across the roof tops of Nerima as fast as they could. On the way Ranma explained about the stone and it’s ability to communicate with them. When they finally reached the dojo they found that the front gate had been almost completely destroyed. Upon entering through the hole where it had been, they were stopped dead by the sight that met their gaze.
Strewn about the front yard like dolls were the unmoving forms of their friends. Blood stained the ground around many of them and others had limbs that bent at unnatural angles. From the looks of things only Mina had had the chance to transform into a Scout, but it had apparently done her little good. Ranma quickly scanned the area for Akane and found her lying face down next to Darien. He rushed to her side as fast as he could and Sailor Moon was beside Darien just as quickly.
Ranma rolled Akane over and gasped in pain and fear at the sight of the blood covering her face. He quickly tore off a large piece of his shirt and used it to wipe away what blood he could. To his relief the wound was not as serious as he had at first thought. There was a large gash in her forehead, which was bad, but at least she was still alive. The sound of fighting came to Ranma and he scanned the area again and saw what he hadn’t seen before. Ryoga wasn’t among the fallen.
Ranma stood up and put his hand on Moon’s shoulder. “I think the one’s who did this are still here. We have to find them.”
Moon nodded and gently moved Darien’s head from her lap and set it on the ground. “They will pay for what they have done,” she vowed as she stood up.
Nodding in agreement, Ranma led her around the house toward the sounds he had heard moments ago. Edging around a corner he found Ryoga facing off against two figures, one in black with blades extending from his forearms and one in blue wielding a double bladed staff. Neither of his opponents looked hurt in the slightest, but Ryoga was bleeding from multiple cuts and his left arm hung limp at his side. He was still standing though, and he was still ready to fight until he couldn’t fight any longer.
As Ranma watched, Ryoga threw himself at the figure dressed all in black. “You’ll pay for what you’ve done to Akane!” Ryoga was a powerful fighter, but it was painfully obvious that his wounds were taking their toll. The man simply sidestepped all of his attacks. Ranma watched in horror as the man slipped by Ryoga and brought up a blade attached to his arm with the intention of ending the fight. He couldn’t let that happen.
“Mooko Takabisha!” The energy for the attack seemed to come faster than it ever had before. It felt almost instantaneous. As the blast of orange energy left Ranma’s hands the two men turned in surprise. The attack was fast, but the man who had been about to kill Ryoga was faster. He leapt into the air and the blast flashed harmlessly beneath him.
Ryoga collapsed to his knees and looked over at Ranma. “I never thought I’d be glad to see you. These guys are tough Ranma. Be careful.” He looked like he was about to get to his feet again, but the man in black raised his hand and a tornado of black energy leaped forth and slammed into Ryoga. The tornado threw him against a tree and he fell to the ground in an unmoving heap.
Ranma ground his teeth together. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re gonna pay for what you’ve done to Akane.”
“And Darien and the others to,” added Sailor Moon. “We won’t let you hurt anymore people. In the name of the moon we will punish you!”
Ranma and Sailor Moon separated, each heading toward a different opponent. Ranma had chosen the man in black. As he neared the man he glanced at Ryoga and was relieved to see that his chest was rising and falling with the motions of breathing. He was still alive. The man didn’t move from where he was standing, but his eyes followed Ranma as he got nearer.
Stopping about five feet from the man, Ranma looked over to see Sailor Moon with her scepter facing the man in blue. She turned to look at him and smiled. “Let’s do this,” he said. With a wordless shout he launched himself at the man, throwing everything he had into his onslaught. His battle aura leaped into existence and his hands and feet blurred with the speed of his blows. The man blocked ever-single one with minimal effort. Ranma couldn’t believe it. Not even Happosai was this fast.
As Ranma tried to comprehend what he was up against the man counter attacked. He brought one bladed forearm around and Ranma was barely able to avoid having his guts spilled. As it was, he now had a nasty gash across his stomach. The man didn’t give him any time to dwell on the injury, though. He was coming in fast and hard. Ranma was barely able to block the man’s strikes let alone consider a counter attack of his own. The man swept a blade low and Ranma jumped with the intent of springing away, but the man had predicted this and he brought his other blade up the middle. Only Ranma’s mid-air combat expertise saved him from becoming permanently female.
Ranma landed a few yards away from the man and tried to come up with a new plan of attack. The man was faster than he was and those blades he was swinging made him especially dangerous. The numerous cuts covering his body made it quite clear that a frontal assault would only get him killed. So I’ll just have to try something other than a frontal assault, he thought to himself.
Once again he started by charging the man head on, but as the man braced himself to receive the attack Ranma poured every ounce of energy he had into his movement and stepped to the mans right. The man swung his bladed arm and it passed cleanly through Ranma’s neck. Or so the man thought. His eyes widened in surprise as Ranma’s after image disappeared into the air like smoke. He had no time to react to the series of blows that struck his entire right side and he was sent flying through the air to crash several yards away.
Did it work, thought a breathless Ranma as he watched the man lying on the ground. He groaned in dismay as the man suddenly jumped to his feet. He still wasn’t fully recovered from the day’s earlier events and that attack had taken a lot out of him. He didn’t think he had it in him to do it again, nor did he think it would work again if he did. He was sure this man wasn’t dumb enough to fall for the same trick twice.
As Ranma stood there trying to come up with a new plan the man brought his arms up and crossed them before his chest. Not sure what the man was doing he readied himself for anything. Suddenly the man flung his arms outward and several shurikens formed from air shot toward Ranma. Somehow he managed to dodge all of them, but several grazed him causing sharp pain to shoot through his already wounded body.
As the last shuriken sped by Ranma, the man appeared directly in front of him. He threw up his hands to protect himself and razor sharp blades cut his arms to the bone. Crying out in pain he dropped his guard and fell backwards giving the man a wide opening. The man delivered a series of rapid kicks to Ranma’s head causing black specks to dance across his vision. As he began falling to the ground the darkness began to cover the entirety of his vision and Ranma knew that he was blacking out. He couldn’t let that happen. Too many people were counting on him. If he hit the ground he and the others were as good as dead.
Strange images suddenly began playing in Ranma’s head. There was a man standing in the middle of a field surrounded by twisted black shapes. He was wearing blue armor and, except for his close cropped hair, looked a lot like Ranma. A large sword hung at his side, but he seemed to ignore it as he faced the horde of demons surrounding him. The image of a dragon suddenly appeared coiled around the man’s body.
The man in armor spread his legs apart for stability and the dragon uncoiled in response. The dragon towered over the man, but as he brought his hands up before himself the dragon lowered its head even with the hands. It seemed to Ranma that the hands of the man became the mouth of the dragon, or maybe it was the other way around. He wasn’t quite sure, but he definitely wasn’t prepared for what happened next. The man shouted something unintelligible and the mouth of the dragon (the man’s hands?) opened wide and blue fire leapt forth to destroy the demons. The fire incinerated the demons, but it also seemed to sear Ranma’s soul. The fire consumed him, engulfed him, and gave him strength. He felt almost invincible.
The strange vision had taken less than a second and Ranma’s half-closed eyes opened wide when he was halfway to the ground. He felt completely refreshed. Even his wounds didn’t bother him anymore. He turned his fall into a back flip and sprang away from the man, who seemed surprised at Ranma’s sudden recovery. He landed a few yards away grinning happily. The image of the man in armor replayed itself in his mind and he brought his hands up before himself as his battle aura burst into existence around him. This time it was a bright blue as opposed to its normal flaming orange color.
Ranma closed his eyes and imagined the mouth of the dragon forming with his hands as he reached deep inside of himself for the energy he knew waited for him. As the man charged toward him he found what he was looking for. His eyes snapped open and his hands opened wide as energy poured into his body. “Hi no Ryu!” he shouted as blue fire shot forward to engulf the man in black. The man screamed in pain, but his cry was cut short as the blue flame quickly incinerated him.
Ranma’s battle aura slowly faded and he fell to his knees as the burst of strength he had received also faded. The pain and exhaustion he felt was almost enough to put him out, but he ignored both as he struggled to his feet. He had to make sure Sailor Moon and the others were okay. Than he could rest. Or could he? The ones who had sent these two were still out there and it was his duty to see that they didn’t harm anyone else. Sighing wearily to himself, he made his way around the house in search of Sailor Moon.
As Ranma charged the man in black Sailor Moon began to activate her scepter. “Moon Scepter-“ Her words were cut short as the man in blue swung his double bladed staff at her head. With a startled cry she ducked and the man brought the other end of his staff whirling toward the hand that held her scepter. She managed to avoid losing her hand, but the mans attack knocked her only weapon out of her hands. She made to go after it, but one bladed end of the staff slammed into the ground in front her effectively cutting her off.
Crying in dismay she quickly backpedaled out of range of the man’s weapon. As she backed away the man began to slowly advance on her. He twirled his staff slowly and grinned menacingly at her. He didn’t see her as a threat and figured he had all the time in the world. Sailor Moon was beginning to agree with him as she made and discarded several plans, most of which involved getting away.
Suddenly she remembered she wasn’t completely unarmed. Reaching up she took the tiara off of her head. It began to glow and spin in her hand and the man stopped his approach, suddenly unsure of Sailor Moon’s helplessness. “Moon Tiara Magic!” she shouted as she hurled her golden projectile. The man tried to deflect it with his staff, but it was too fast and it zipped by his weapon and passed cleanly through his chest. Instead of disintegrating or even bleeding, however, water began to gush from the man’s wound.
As the tiara returned to Sailor Moon’s hand the man doubled over in pain as he clutched at his wound. “Looks like that takes care of that.” Her joy quickly turned to dismay, however, as she watched the man straighten. His wound was rapidly healing over. There was a puddle of water at the man’s feet and he looked a little smaller, but he was looking at Sailor Moon with unbridled anger.
Swallowing loudly she brought forth her tiara once again with the intent of trying it one more time. Before she could begin to activate it, though, the man charged. He was incredibly quick and his staff blurred as it knocked the tiara from her hands. It blurred again as it darted toward Sailor Moon with the intent of taking her head off. Acting on instinct alone she somehow managed to avoid the more deadly strikes, but blood from numerous cuts was beginning to appear on her white costume. She was trying to escape the man by backing away when her heel caught on something and she fell backwards. The staff whipped around and one of the blades drove down toward her chest with the intent of pinning her to the ground as she fell.
In slow motion she watched the point of the blade slowly close on her as she fell toward the ground. The image of that blade protruding from her chest appeared in her mind and then suddenly vanished as other images exploded into her head. A woman stood on the top of a mountain facing a large multi-armed monster. The woman had long red hair that hung to the small of her back and her face had a scar that ran from her temple to her chin.
The monster bellowed loudly, but the woman seemed unconcerned by the being’s presence. A wind rose, causing the woman’s red robes to flutter, and she crossed her arms across her chest. Behind her a bird of flame appeared. The phoenix brought its head even with the woman’s and opened its beak slightly. The monster bellowed once more and charged the woman, apparently paying no attention to the phoenix protecting her. With a wordless shout the woman flung her arms wide and the phoenix let out a piercing shriek.
It seemed to Sailor Moon that she could see the waves of sound issuing from the mouth of the phoenix. As they came in contact with the monster it shuddered and stopped its charge. The monster began to shake violently as it started backing away from the woman. Suddenly it threw back its head in a cry of pain as flame burst from a hundred different places on its body. It was completely destroyed in seconds, but the cry of the phoenix continued to hang in the air. It was the most beautiful thing Sailor Moon had ever heard. It found its way into her heart, penetrated the very core of her being, and tapped the power that was sleeping in her soul.
The images faded and Sailor Moon once again found herself falling toward the ground. Now, however, she was alive with the power the phoenix’s cry had awakened inside of her. The bladed staff was still driving toward her chest, but she moved faster than she thought possible and caught the blade between the palms of her hands. She moved it to the right of her head and imbedded it harmlessly in the ground. As she hit the ground she rolled with the fall and came up on her feet several feet away.
The man was startled to say the least. He had been sure of victory, but now he was looking at Sailor Moon with a hint of worry in his eyes. As the man began to pull his staff free of the earth, she crossed her arms across her chest as the woman in her vision had. Around her a flaming red aura appeared. The man managed pull his weapon free, but as he turned to face Sailor Moon again he found her waiting for him. “Sakebu no Fushichou!” she shouted as she threw her arms wide. A shrill cry seeming to come from everywhere at once pierced the air. The man began to shudder and than shake violently. A wordless cry erupted from his lips as fire burst from his skin and turned him to ash and steam.
As the man’s ashes settled to the ground Sailor Moon fell to her knees in exhaustion. That attack had taken a lot out of her and now she felt incredibly tired. She also felt incredibly confused. She figured the power she had unleashed had been that of the Phoenix, but who had the woman been? How had she instinctively known how to do the things she had done?
“Are you okay?” asked a voice from behind her.
She turned to see Ranma standing there and nodded. “And you?”
“As well as can be expected I suppose. I feel like I’ve been used as a cutting board.” She laughed quietly and he smiled. “Come on,” he said extending a hand, “let’s go make sure the others are gonna be okay.”
Taneth knelt once again before the throne of her lord. In one black gloved hand he held the green rune engraved stone she had been sent to retrieve. He smiled to himself as he turned it over in examination. “Now we have two of the stones. You have done well Taneth.”
“Thank you my lord.” Taneth had done little fighting at the Tendou residence, preferring to leave that up to her fighters. She had taken care of a few of the humans, though, and once she decided the others would be kept occupied by her servants she had slipped into the house. With a little ransacking she had managed to find what she had been looking for and return home leaving her elemental warriors to dispatch the rest of the humans.
Dolgoth rose from the throne and began walking toward the back of the great hall, gesturing for Taneth to follow. He stopped before a large stone circle carved with runes and standing upright with no apparent support. At the top of the circle and on either side there were small holes interrupting the flow of the archaic writing. Set into the hole at the top of the circle was a stone identical to the one Dolgoth now held except that it was red.
Taking the stone he held, Dolgoth reached up and placed it into the hole on the right. The runes of the stone flared brightly as it was placed in its new home and then died as it seemed to fuse with the stone around it. “Now we have more than enough power to crush anymore resistance to our goal. Shall we see how your warriors have fared against our opposition.”
“I’m sure there’s nothing to see but a bloody mess my lord.”
Dolgoth laughed. “Confident aren’t you. We have already made the mistake of underestimating our enemies once. I do not intend to do it again.” Waving his hand before the stone circle he spoke a few strange words and suddenly the runes around the portal began to glow and a bright light filled the center. As the light faded an image began to form. It was an image they knew all too well, that of a pig-tailed boy and a pony-tailed girl. The two figures looked to be in bad shape, but the fact that they were standing proved that Taneth’s warriors had failed.
“How is this possible,” growled Taneth. “Those were my two best fighters and they were defeated by children. I shall return and take care of them myself.”
“No Taneth.”
“But my lord-.”
“I said no. We have more important things to do. You will get your chance for revenge, but we have no need to go to them. I assure you that they will come to us.” Laughing, Dolgoth once again passed his hand before the stone circle and this time the runes flared brighter than the sun. Taneth shielded her eyes against the intense light and wondered what was happening as the whole palace suddenly began to shake.
After making sure that all of their friends were at least breathing Ranma and Serena called Dr. Tofu and Cologne. The two came as fast as possible and even the old ghoul was shaken by the sight of the comatose fighters. Tofu was in such a shock that the sight of Kasumi hardly fazed him at all. Luckily none of Akane’s family or Genma had been hurt. This was mainly because they had been cowering in the dojo the entire time. Except for being somewhat messy the house to was pretty much undamaged.
Cologne and Tofu worked together in the preparation of bandages, poultices, and splints, and soon they had all of the wounded patched up and resting comfortably. Some of them were beginning to wake from their forced sleep as Dr. Tofu approached Ranma after closely examining Akane. There was a look of concern on his face as he wiped his hands on a towel.
“I’m afraid Akane has a serious concussion, Ranma.”
Ranma was suddenly very worried. The wound on his stomach had been stitched and bandaged, but now the pain it had been causing him seemed distant. “Is she gonna be okay?”
“I can’t say for sure and neither can Cologne. Only time will tell for sure.”
“What do you mean only time will tell? Isn’t there anything you can do for her?”
“I assure you I’ve done everything I can. Now she needs plenty of rest and some of Colognes herbs. And you need rest as well. You took quite a beating today.”
“I’ll rest when I’m dead. Right now I have to find the ones who sent those two goons and teach them about what happens when you mess with Ranma Saotome.”
“Leave it to my son-in-law to act like a fool in a time of crisis,” said Cologne as she came bouncing over to stand next to Dr. Tofu. “Even at full strength I’d only give you an even chance against the ones who sent those two. Right now you’d be nothing more than an annoying insect to them.”
“There were three of them,” said another voice from behind Cologne. Every one turned to see who it was and found Darien standing with Serena’s help.
“What did you say?” asked Cologne.
“There were three of them, two men and a woman. The woman left the battle to the two guys and went into the house to look for the stone.”
Upon hearing this Ranma jumped to his feet, ignoring the pain that shot through his body. “I completely forgot about the stone.” Dashing up the stairs he through open the door to his room. He didn’t bother to go in, there was no reason. The dresser where he had hidden the stone was in pieces and the contents had been spilled all over the room. There was no sign of the rock.
Cologne came bounding up the stairs as Ranma was turning to go back down. The look on his face told her all she needed to know. “So now they have two of the stones.”
“What do ya mean they have two of the stones? I thought this was the first one found.”
“Unfortunately not son-in-law. Come down stairs, we have much to talk about.” Ranma followed Cologne down to where the others were waiting, curious to hear what she had to say. Before she could say anything though, Nabiki grabbed their attention.
“I think you guys should take a look at this.”
She directed their attention to the television and Ranma gasped at what he saw. Hovering over the middle of Tokyo was a large island, and on the island was a dark and foreboding castle. Nabiki turned the sound up so they could all hear the announcer’s voice.
“Eye witness reports state that this castle rose out of Tokyo Bay less than thirty-minutes ago. It flew into the middle of Tokyo and has not moved since. Citizens are warned to stay indoors until notified otherwise. Authorities…” Nabiki turned the sound back down and everyone turned to Cologne.
“This proves that they have two of the stones. They would not have been able to raise the Shadow Palace otherwise.”
“What’s the Shadow Palace?” asked Serena.
“It is an enemy stronghold that was sunk in an ancient war. They would not have had the power to bring it back to the surface with just one of the stones. They must have two.”
“How do you know they don’t already have all three old ghoul?”
“Because if they did we would now be facing an army of demons.”
Amy limped from where she had been lying to where the small group of almost healthy fighters was standing. She had a bandage wrapped around her temple and she looked like hell, but at least she was conscious. “I thought the stones could only give the demons access to this world. You never said anything about raising ancient castles.”
“It’s true that the stones open a portal to the demons world, but the demons in this world pull their power from that world. The more the portal is open the more strength the demons can draw on. Two stones were enough to allow them to bring forth this castle, but that must have been pushing the limit. I doubt they will have enough strength to summon any more of their brethren for at least a day.”
“All the more reason to hit them now.”
“I agree with Ranma,” said a beaten and battered Ryoga from where he was slumped against the wall. “If we attack them now than they won’t have the chance to cause anymore problems.”
“And how exactly do you intend to fight them?” asked an irritated Cologne. “You can barely move. No one in this room is in any condition to fight. We will go to ground until everyone is healed and then we will make plans for an attack.”
Serena looked at Cologne with a worried expression on her face. “But if we don’t do anything now won’t they attack the city? Thousands of people could die.”
“There are casualties in every war child, and this is a war we are fighting.”
“You act like you don’t even care that people are gonna die!” shouted Ranma.
“I will mourn for the dead when this is over. Right now there is nothing we can do”
“There has to be something we can do,” said a teary eyed Serena. “We can’t just sit here while people die.”
“You and Ranma are the only ones who can even stand unsupported for more than five-minutes. You two might be able to fight, but I seriously doubt it. I would love to fight back right now, but we don’t have anything to fight back with.”
“She’s right,” said Amy. “We wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Silence followed Amy’s statement. Ranma stood glaring at the floor, Serena looked like she was about to cry, and the others looked like they were about to collapse. Finally Ranma grunted and looked up, “I’m going to bed.” He made his way up the stairs and headed for his room, but stopped when he reached Akane’s. Opening the door slightly he looked in on her motionless form. Except for the bandage wrapped around her head she could have been sleeping peacefully.
Angry at what had been done to Akane and the others, and angry at his own helplessness, Ranma shut Akane’s door and went to his own room. Throwing himself down on his futon without bothering to clean up any of the mess cluttering the floor he stared at the ceiling and tried to come up with a plan to attack the enemy. He didn’t get far before sleep claimed his exhausted mind.
Serena had just helped Darien to the couch when her communicator began beeping. Taking it out she pushed a button and the face of Luna appeared on the screen. There was a look of anger on her face, but this quickly evaporated as she caught sight of Serena’s bruised and bandaged face.
“My god Serena. What happened?”
“It’s a long story. Let’s just say we had one to many fights today.”
“Well it looks like your going to have one more. Have you looked up at the sky lately?” Serena nodded wearily. “Than you know the problem. You and the others need to hurry back here so that we can come up with a solution.”
Serena shook her head. “We can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t? You still have feet don’t you?”
Tears began to well up in Serena’s eyes. “Luna I’m one of the only people here who can even stand. Rei and Lita and half of Ranma’s friends still haven’t even regained consciousness yet. We can’t go to you and we can’t fight because we don’t have the strength.”
Luna looked worried and scared. “Everyone’s okay, though? Everyone’s going to pull through right?” S
erena shook her head, tears streaming down her face now. “Akane has a serious concussion. We don’t know if she’s going to be all right yet.”
“Oh dear. This is very bad. Since I can’t come there and you can’t come here than I guess I’ll just have to check up on you on a regular basis. I want you to stay there until you and the others have enough strength to get back here. We’ll just have to hope that that thing in the sky stays silent while you are healing.”
Serena nodded, unable to say anything else because of the lump in her throat. After a few moments of staring at Serena in worry, Luna ended the communication. Serena stared at the lifeless communicator for a long time wondering what they were going to do.
Ranma’s eyes snapped open. He had been having a nightmare. He didn’t remember most of it, but he did remember that Akane had been in it and had been screaming for his help. He hadn’t been able to do anything for her. Ignoring the pain from his wound, he got up and made his way to the window to look out at the star speckled sky. Hanging over Tokyo he could see the dark outline of the Shadow Palace. The sight of it made Ranma’s blood boil.
I can’t beat it as I am, he thought. Cologne was right about that. But as a Scout I’m faster and stronger. I might have a chance. I have to strike now, though. If we wait then we will lose. I can feel it. The others are to hurt to help; I’ll have to do this alone.
His mind made up; Ranma opened the window and quietly slipped out of the house. Stopping next to the pond long enough to grab a bucket of water, he made his way up and over the outer wall. Dumping the water over his head as he hurried down the street, Ranma began making plans on how to get inside the fortress. Behind him dim light lit the horizon signaling the impending dawn.
Serena was having trouble sleeping. She was lying on a futon next to the couch upon which Darien slept. This was part of the reason she couldn’t sleep. Darien had been tossing and turning all night. She knew this was because of his injuries, and that there was nothing she could do for him. Her helplessness over the situation was what was making sleep impossible.
Deciding that some fresh air might help, she got up and went to stand on the back porch. She looked up at the night sky and hovering in the air she could see the dark outline of the Shadow Palace. It’s so large, she thought. How are we ever going to get inside let alone defeat those living there? Shaking her head, she turned to go back inside. Movement next to the pond caused her to freeze where she stood.
As she watched, a shadowy figure bent down next to the pond and filled what looked like a bucket. As it stood moonlight struck the figure, illuminating the pigtailed head of Ranma. Taking the bucket he ran to the wall and made his way over the top. Looking at the castle hanging in the sky Serena knew exactly what he was planning.
Turning to look at the shadowy mounds of those still sleeping in the house, she wondered whether or not to tell Cologne. The image of people dying at the hands of demons stopped her from saying anything. She knew that that’s what would happen if something wasn’t done tonight. She wouldn’t tell on Ranma, but she wouldn’t let him go alone either. As fast and as silently as she could she ran to where she had watched Ranma go over the wall and made the climb herself.
Looking down the street she saw Ranma making his way quickly toward the palace. He was moving fast enough that she had to run in order to catch him. When she was close enough, she called his name just loud enough for him to here. He stopped and turned to see who had called his name. Serena saw that he was a she at the moment.
“I’m not going back if that’s what you’ve come for,” she said defiantly.
“I haven’t come to stop you, I’ve come to help you.”
Ranma-chan opened her mouth to say something, but shut it again. She looked at Serena for a long time and than finally nodded. “Maybe you can come up with an idea on how to get up to that damn place. I sure can’t come up with anything.”
Serena smiled. “I have an idea. Come on I’ll tell you on the way.” The two warriors hurried down the street as the first rays of the sun began to break the horizon. High in the sky the full moon still held on to its place in the heavens.
Sailor Pluto watched as the Ranma-chan and Serena ran down the empty streets toward the Palace of Shadows. “I am still trying to decide whether their actions are brave or foolish.”
“I think they are both,” said a voice from behind Pluto, “but would you expect anything less from them?”
Pluto sighed. “I suppose your right. Foolish and brave are the ways of those two.”
“I am worried that this time they might be up against too much though. Are you sure that they can handle it?”
“Of their ability to defeat the lord of that castle I am sure. It’s their ability to reach him that I am unsure of.”
“And if they are defeated before they can reach him, what then?”
“Do not worry my queen. I assure you that if they need help than help they shall have.”
