The small girl stood alone in the center of a large ovoid room, her weapon of choice held casually in one delicate hand. There was the sound of motors whirring as the three doors leading into the room opened wide to reveal long, dark tunnels. From out of those dark passages emerged three grotesquely twisted, dog like creatures that growled menacingly at the room’s only occupant and licked their lips in anticipation of their impending meal.
The girl simply stood there, eyes downcast and apparently oblivious to her situation. Her skimpy uniform of purple, black and white seemed flimsy protection against the sharp claws of the demons surrounding her. However, looks could be deceiving.
The creatures surrounding the girl were not stupid, they knew that something was wrong with this situation. Warily they circled the girl, sniffing the air and using their superb eyesight to try and determine why this situation seemed to reek of danger. One of the creatures got brave enough to get within a foot of the girl and snuffle at her in confusion.
Still, the girl only stood there.
There is no danger here, thought the creatures. This is just some stupid human who is here for our dining pleasure. She is too scared to move, too scared to wield the strange weapon in her hands.
Confident that they were correct in this assessment of the situation, the creatures sprang upon the girl. Unfortunately for them, this was the wrong course of action.
The girl’s head snapped up and two violet eyes locked gazes with the closest attacker. Her weapon came to bear, a blur of black haft and silver blade spinning through the air. The blade struck black flesh, purple energy crackled along its length and the creature let out a cry of pain and terror as it fell, dead before it struck the ground.
Seeing their companion dealt with so easily and effectively, the other two creatures momentarily lost their confidence. They had already committed to their attack though, and it was too late to change their minds. Besides, they had attacked from three sides and now the girl had her back to them, providing an easy target.
"Silence Wall." The voice was soft, barely above a whisper, and neither creature heard it. Not that they would have known what it meant if they had.
Both creatures collided with the invisible barrier surrounding the girl and fell back with startled yelps. The girl turned to regard them, her violet gaze cold and hard like death itself. They cringed in fear of that gaze and one of them turned to flee down the corridor from which it had come.
The girl watched it go and pointed her weapon blade first at its departing back. Purple energy flashed along its length and then down the tunnel after the creature. There was an explosion, a cry of pain and then silence.
The girl turned to face the remaining creature.
Knowing that its death was near, the third beast lunged at the girl with the intent of taking her down with it. The girl’s foot connected with it in mid-air, striking with such force as to knock the breath from its lungs. Before it could fully recover she unleashed a flurry of devastating strikes with hands, feet and weapon. The creature landed in a heap on the floor, half of its bones shattered.
"Die."
She held one hand palm up out before her and a ball of purple energy began to gather there. Then she clenched her fist and the ball erupted in an explosion brighter than the sun. It filled the entire room and rushed down the corridors. Walls cracked and began to buckle under the force, and then it was over and the explosive force dissipated to nothing.
The room was now completely empty save for the girl who stood calmly in the center, waiting for whatever came next.
Shiko stared at the cracked glass before her, glass that could weather a full nuclear assault unharmed, and smiled. "I see you’ve made some modifications."
The shadows behind her shifted slightly, the only indication that anyone was there. "Yes, I increased her strength substantially and encoded fighting abilities into her mind. All of her weaknesses have been done away with and she is now the ultimate weapon."
"A most formidable opponent for our enemies."
"And one they’ll never see coming if our plan works."
"It will work. Their hearts are soft and their minds weak. They’ll be dead and their stone will be ours before they ever know what hit them."
Ryoga was lost. This was not the first time, nor would it be the last, but this, he knew, was not the time to be getting lost. There was a battle against evil to be fought and he couldn’t help if he was wandering around some unknown forest.
He and his fellow warriors had began their return trip to Tokyo just that morning and, even though he had vowed to stay by Akane’s side until this was over, he had managed to wander off. Wandering off was never a good thing since it was impossible for him to ever find his way back to where he had been without the intervention of some divine being.
Sighing loudly, he stopped before the large river rushing by before him with a loud roar. "I don’t remember crossing a river," he mumbled to himself, looking around for some kind of landmark.
Since he couldn’t remember passing over a body of water of any size, he must be traveling in the opposite direction he needed to go. Therefore if he simply turned around and started walking in a straight line he would end up where he needed to by. Following this line of logic, he turned right and began hiking along the river’s bank.
The lost boy had been following the river for about an hour when a distant sound caught his attention, causing him to pause and cock his head to one side. He wasn’t totally sure what it was he had heard so he just listened to everything in an attempt to sort through the many noises the forest offered him and find the one that had alerted his senses.
The sound of the river rushing by was what dominated his hearing and above that were the calls of several birds. A zephyr whispered through the tree branches overhead causing them to rustle softly, a squirrel chattered at him noisily, in the distance a girl screamed for help, insects buzzed annoyingly around his head, a fish jumped…
Ryoga’s not too bright mental facilities finally registered what his ears had been trying to tell him and he came to his senses with a start. Someone was in danger and needed his help. Now if he could only figure out where said person was.
Again he heard the scream and he tried to get a sense of where it was coming from, but for someone with no direction sense this was very difficult. Fortunately the fates were with Ryoga this day and he managed to figure out which direction to go. As fast as he could he began to run at an angle away from the river.
The screams for help grew louder and then he burst from the trees into a small clearing. A small girl with shoulder length black hair was backed up against a tree screaming her head off. The reason for her screaming was the large, dog like creature slowly advancing towards her.
Ryoga knew instantly that this was one of the demons that he and the others had been trained to fight. The relative peace and quiet they had been experiencing since Dolgoth’s defeat was apparently over. Dropping his large pack to the ground, Ryoga drew his umbrella and walked calmly into the clearing.
"Hey!"
The demon dog turned from the girl to regard the martial artist with its beady red eyes. Noting that Ryoga was more of a threat and would make a more substantial meal than the small girl, it turned to face him. The girl should have taken the opportunity to run, but instead she just stood there watching in wide-eyed horror.
"Run," shouted Ryoga. "I’ll take care of this."
She continued to stand there though, and Ryoga could spare her no more attention because the demon dog was now attacking. It jumped into the air with the intent of coming down on top of Ryoga, but he sidestepped nimbly and its grasping claws caught only dirt and grass.
Snarling in frustration it spun to try its luck again. The umbrella that collided with its face sent it stumbling backwards stunned from the force of the blow before it even had a chance to locate its opponent. Stars danced before its eyes and suddenly it was facing three martial artists.
"Not such a tough guy when you’re not picking on small girls huh? Fight me demon and know defeat!"
The demon dog lashed out with a large paw, deciding to strike all three of its opponents with one sweep. Ryoga jumped over the clumsy attack easily and came down on the demon’s back. Lifting his umbrella high into the air he brought it down tip first where the spinal column attaches to the skull. There was a crunching noise and the demon dog fell over dead.
"That was easy," he muttered. "Not like the other things we’ve fought."
His speculation on the ease of the fight was cut short as a small figure plowed into him and gripped him in a tight hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you…" sobbed the girl.
Not entirely sure what to do, Ryoga gave her a reassuring pat. "It’s okay now. The demon’s dead, you’re safe. Where are your parents?"
The girl’s sobbing increased dramatically and Ryoga had to repeat the question several more times before he could get an answer. "T-They’re dead! That thing killed them!"
Ryoga suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Looking down at the girl he saw that her black hair was matted with blood and her clothes were ripped and torn. She was apparently uninjured so that meant the blood had to have come from her parents. Glancing at the dead demon he felt very protective of this girl.
"Do you have anyone else to take care of you?" The girl shook her head and Ryoga decided on his course of action. "Would you like to come stay with me and my friends until we can find you a home? We can protect you from the demons."
Hope blossomed in the girl’s tear filled eyes. "You mean it?"
"Of course I do. My name’s Ryoga, what’s yours?"
"Hotaru Tomoe."
"Well Hotaru, follow me and I’ll take you to my friends. Then we’ll get you cleaned up and find you some new clothes. You’ll be feeling better in no time."
Ryoga retrieved his pack from the edge of the clearing and started off towards home, his new companion trailing along behind him. He hadn’t taken more than five steps in his chosen direction before a tug on his sleeve brought him up short. Looking back he saw Hotaru staring up at him.
"Tokyo is that way," she said pointing in the opposite direction.
"Oh, thanks." He started off in the new direction, but something occurred to him and he stopped. "How did you know I lived in Tokyo."
Hotaru shrugged sheepishly. "Lucky guess."
That made sense. Ryoga nodded and started off once again. Behind him the violet eyes of the girl had grown hard and now they burrowed into his back like daggers. He never noticed though, and every time he glanced back Hotaru was gazing up at him with hope and admiration in her eyes.
"Akane!!"
Akane stepped out of the path of the small form hurtling towards her and planted an elbow on its head as it shot past. There was a grunt as the figure hit the ground and then the sound of heart wrenching sobs.
"How could you be so mean to me," bawled Happosai. "All I wanted to do was give you a welcome home hug!"
Darien and the Scouts stared at Akane with disbelief. "How could you just hit an old man like that?" demanded Rei.
Happosai looked up to see all the beautiful girls standing around him and his crying turned from sorrow to joy. "So many pretty ladies," he cried in joy, springing up from the ground to plant himself on Rei’s chest. "Thanks for sticking up for an old man honey."
Rei went from surprise to anger in less than a second. "Get offa me you pervert!" She swung at the old man, but he had already disappeared.
A shriek from Mina announced where Happosai had gone. The old pervert bounced from girl to girl, making sure he got a good feel in before hurrying on to the next. Akane finally managed to snatch him out of the air as he was traveling between Lita and Michiru.
"Ah Akane, I see you want your hug too. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten you." He squirmed out of her grasp and made a lunge for her chest, but her foot traveled faster than his grasping hands and the perverted old man suddenly found himself in low orbit around the Earth.
"When did he get back?" asked Akane as she turned to the other people coming out of the dojo.
"About a week after you guys left," answered Nabiki. "Said he had been on some kind of training trip, but he had a sack full of his little goodies."
"Little goodies?" asked Rei, not entirely sure she wanted to hear the answer.
"Underwear," stated Akane flatly. "He collects women’s underwear."
Looks of disgust crossed the faces of those who had never met Happosai and their eyes followed the trajectory of his launch. The others, those who had lived in Nerima, just shook their heads in resignation.
"Now, now," said Genma, "you can’t be too hard on the old master. At his age one is allowed some liberties."
"How can you defend such a pervert?" demanded Haruka.
Akane snorted. "He’s afraid of him. So is my dad."
"He’s just an old man. What’s to be afraid of?" Akane pointed and all eyes turned to see Cologne standing there with a small smile on her face. "Oh."
"Never judge an opponent by their looks," stated Cologne. "Happosai doesn’t look like much, but Ranma and myself were the only ones who were ever able to defeat him."
Everyone nodded and Akane and Darien turned to face them. "Okay everybody," begin Darien, "go home, spend time with your families and then return here around nine. We’ll decide how to go about finding the last stone then."
Eager to see their families and homes after a month and a half of training, everyone was out of the courtyard in seconds. The families of the Scouts didn’t know their children were on a training trip of course. They were simply on a very long school field trip.
Darien was the only non-dojo resident still present and Akane peered at him curiously. "Why aren’t you heading home?"
Darien shrugged. "There’s no one there for me to return to. Just an empty apartment."
"What about your parents?"
"Killed in a car accident when I was very young."
"Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry."
Darien smiled. "Don’t worry about it. I got over their death a long time ago." A frown suddenly replaced his smile and he turned to stare into the sky. "For a while I even managed to forget my loneliness."
Akane felt really bad for him. Everyone he had ever cared for had died. She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and he turned to look at her smiling face.
"Don’t worry. You never have to be alone as long as me and the others are here, and we’ll be here for as long as you are."
His frown vanished and his smile returned. "You’re right, I do have lots of friends here."
It turned out that Kasumi had prepared large quantities of food in anticipation of their return, how she had known was anyone’s guess, and the two warriors were able to indulge themselves in a good meal for the first time in quite a while. They were just finishing up when they heard someone knocking at the door.
"I’ll get it," said Kasumi standing up. A few moments later they heard the door open and Kasumi’s melodic voice raised in greeting. "Why hello Ryoga. What can I do for you today?"
Akane raised an eyebrow. "That was fast. I didn’t expect to see him again for at least a week."
Kasumi returned to the dining room with Ryoga following along behind. "Ryoga’s here, and he brought a little friend."
All eyes traveled from Ryoga’s slightly red face to the small girl peeking out from behind his legs. Her clothing was ripped and torn and blood matted her hair leading everyone to wonder exactly where she had been and what she had been doing there. For an explanation everyone turned back to Ryoga.
"I found her in the forest when I was um… lost. She was being attacked by a demon, but I managed to rescue her." He paused for a moment looking down at the scared young girl. "Her parents weren’t so lucky."
"You poor thing," said Akane as she stood up. The quick motion frightened the girl though and she ducked behind Ryoga. "Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you."
Ryoga patted the girl’s head softly. "You don’t have to be afraid Hotaru. Akane is one of my friends I told you about."
"So your name is Hotaru then? My name is Akane, it’s nice to meet you."
Hotaru edged out from behind Ryoga and mumbled something that might have been a return greeting. Darien had been staring at her oddly since she had entered and now he stood up next to Akane. Hotaru watched him cautiously.
"She seems familiar somehow."
Akane glanced at Darien. "How so? Have you met her before?"
"No, I don’t think so. It’s just a feeling I have. Like I know her but at the same time I don’t. It’s hard to explain."
"Um…Akane," began Ryoga. "Her parents were killed and she has no where to go so I was um…wondering if maybe…" he trailed off looking to the floor for guidance.
"Of course she can stay here. Isn’t that right father?"
Soun nodded. "Of course she can. Never let it be said that the Tendou Dojo ever turned away a person in need."
"She’ll have to earn her keep by finding a high paying job though," added Nabiki. "We can’t afford to have anymore freeloaders around here."
"Nabiki! She’s ten years old!"
"Hmmm, I see your point. I suppose painting the dojo will have to suffice." Akane’s eyes narrowed angrily and Nabiki held her hands up defensively. "Okay, okay, she can stay for free."
"Good, she can stay in my room. Is that okay with you Hotaru."
"Why can’t I stay with Ryoga?"
"Because Ryoga has a tendency to wander off and get lost. Don’t worry though, he should be here often."
Hotaru looked from person to person and then nodded. "Okay."
"Good. Now why don’t you come with me and I’ll get you all cleaned up. I think I still have some old clothes that will fit you."
Akane held out her hand and after a slight hesitation Hotaru accepted it. The two made their way to the bathroom where Akane talked constantly in an attempt to get the small girl to come out of he shell. Hotaru remained silent for the most part though, and when Akane wasn’t looking her piercing violet eyes studied the older girl’s every movement.
The Shadow watched a young couple stroll by lost in conversation and completely oblivious to his presence. The long shadows cast by the setting sun made an excellent hiding place. Ignoring the couple once they had passed him by, Shadow returned his attention to what mattered. The large museum across the street.
Normally he would have waited until full dark to sneak in and find if what he wanted was inside. He had had a sense of foreboding all day long though, and had decided to get this over with quickly. He doubted the third stone would be in a museum anyhow.
Using the shadows cast by the tall buildings surrounding the area, Shadow quickly made his way across the street and up to the doors leading into the museum. They were locked of course, but that was not a problem. Becoming a fine mist he passed easily through the small cracks between the doors, reforming into his normal shape on the other side.
A guard sat at his post in the lobby reading a magazine. Shadow made no sound as he crossed the blue tile floor and the guard would not have seen him even if he had been looking. All he would have seen were shadows dancing across the floor.
Along darkened corridors filled with rare and valuable artwork and up several flights of winding stairs traveled Shadow. The cameras spaced at various points around the museum caught no sign of the intruder. Electronic eyes were even worse than human when it came to tracking something that amounted to no more than a wraith.
At last he came to the room containing what he sought. It was a fairly unremarkable piece of stone sitting in an unremarkable case in the center of a large room filled with other such objects. Laser alarms surrounded the case despite the fact that the object within was only of moderate value. These too provided no hindrance to Shadow, for lasers could not detect what was not there.
Sidling up to the glass case Shadow let out a quiet sigh of disappointment. Not the stone he had been searching for. He was about to move away and return to his home when a guard suddenly appeared at the rooms entrance. Despite the fact that he appeared as nothing more than a black smudge against the case it was enough to arouse the guards suspicions.
There was the soft click of a flashlight switch and pale yellow light flashed into the room before Shadow could move. Illuminated he still looked like nothing more than a dark silhouette, but it was still obvious what was going on.
The guard opened his mouth, but whether it was to call for help or demand an explanation was something Shadow would never know. His hand came up and dark energy shot across the room striking the guard dead on impact. The force of the blow was enough to send the dead man hurtling backwards and he slammed into another case several feet behind him.
Alarms sounded throughout the building.
Cursing his luck, Shadow made a break for the staircase leading up to the roof. He passed several other guards rushing to check on the disturbance, but none of them ever saw him. A few minutes later he was standing on the roof of the museum admiring the sunset and preparing to use the rooftops as his road home. A single voice halted him in his tracks.
"Stop right there creature of evil!"
Cursing his luck once again, Shadow turned to face four Sailor Scouts.
Several minutes before the encounter on the roof, four girls were making their way across town towards the Tendou Dojo. Lita, Rei, Amy, and Mina had taken the bus to Nerima, but it was such a nice summer evening that they had decided to walk the rest of the way. They had been passing before a museum talking about cloths and boys when Rei had stopped all of a sudden.
Lita stopped as well and looked at her friend curiously. "What’s up Rei?"
"I sense something in the museum. Something evil."
At that moment a loud alarm suddenly began squawking from inside the building and all four girls exchanged glances. Ducking into an alleyway, they pulled out their henshin rods and transformed into their alter egos.
"Where is it Mars?" demanded Sailor Venus as Mercury contacted the other Scouts as well as the group from Nerima who also possessed communicators now.
Sailor Mars concentrated for a moment before pointing skyward. "The roof."
Using windowsills as ledges, the four Scouts ascended the six-story building quickly. They reached the top just in time to see a dark, shapeless figure emerge from a doorway and turn away from them. He was about to take flight across the rooftops when Sailor Jupiter brought him up short with a few simple words.
"Stop right there creature of evil." The shapeless black creature turned to regard them with an air of frustration. "I am Sailor Jupiter, champion of love an--" began Sailor Jupiter. Before she could finish, however, the shadow spoke in a soft hissing voice.
"I know who you are foolish Scouts. And I know too that you stand no chance against me. Leave now before I am forced to kill you."
"We will not back down before any evil!" stated Sailor Mars defiantly. "Especially not to evil that is spawned from the same muck that killed our friend and leader."
The shadow chortled noisily. "You’re breaking my heart. Know that you face Shadow now. And know too that I watched with pleasure as Dolgoth destroyed that annoying Sailor Moon and that stupid Ranma Saotome."
Sailor Venus’s eyebrows shot up in indignation. "How dare you! Venus Heart of Destruction!"
A single golden heart exploded from Venus’s outstretched hand and shot forward with incredible speed and velocity. Somehow Shadow managed to avoid it though, and it slammed harmlessly into the doorway he had come out of. Or mostly harmlessly anyway. The doorway and a large chunk of the roof were ripped away in a tremendous explosion. When the dust kicked up by the attack had cleared, there was no sign of Shadow.
"Where the hell did he go?" demanded Venus.
"Right here," hissed a quiet voice, as Sailor Venus’s shadow seemed to detach itself from her feet and rise up to stand before her.
Jupiter swung at the shadow, but her hand passed through it harmlessly. "What the hell is this thing?"
"Let’s see, how did that little attack of yours go?" hissed the shadow. "Oh yes, now I remember. Shadow Retaliation Strike, Venus Heart of Destruction!"
Venus’s shadow threw it’s hand out before itself and a black heart exploded towards the stunned Scouts. They recovered from their shock rapidly when the stolen attack crashed into their midst with an explosion that dwarfed Venus’s original attack. The four Scouts leapt from the top of the museum as the roof was decimated by the tremendous blast.
Hitting the ground, Jupiter quickly scanned the area and discovered that she and her companions weren’t the only ones who had deserted the roof. Shadow stood several yards away, now returned to his normal if shapeless form. Even as she watched he seemed to grow and shrink, broaden and narrow. None of his features were visible, but she got the sense that he was grinning.
"Nice trick," scoffed Jupiter, "But let’s see how you deal with my attack."
Sailor Jupiter extended her right hand and blue electricity began to dance around it. The wildly arcing energy rapidly began to take shape and in seconds she was holding a large throwing hammer made entirely out of lightning. Taking her new weapon in both hands she swung it up over her head.
"Thor’s Thundering Hammer!" With a mighty heave Jupiter hurled the hammer end over end at Shadow.
Seeing the hammer speeding towards him, Shadow simply jumped high into the air in order to avoid it. "Ha," he snorted, "you expect to defeat me with such a simple attack."
"Yes." Jupiter brought her hand up and her hammer of lightning suddenly changed course, heading directly for the airborne demon.
"What the…" Shadows surprise quickly turned to anger. "How dare you presume that such a pathetic trick is enough to beat me!"
With a wordless roar he extended one hand towards the rapidly approaching hammer and darkness seemed to leap from his fingers. Darkness and hammer collided in a brilliant explosion and then the hammer was consumed and the darkness continued on towards the street. Jupiter was barely able to throw herself out of the way as the darkness blew a large hole in the ground where she had been standing.
Shadow was laughing when he landed. The other three Scouts present had joined with Jupiter now, but he didn’t seem concerned in the least.
"You are fools to think that you can challenge me. If all of you were here you might stand a chance, but you four alone are nothing but dog food as far as I’m concerned."
"Blazing Spatula Strike!"
Shadow jumped away as several spatulas blazing with red energy slammed into the ground where he had been standing. When they hit they exploded sending small chunks of rock everywhere. Growling angrily, Shadow turned to face Ukyou and Shampoo.
"More lambs to the slaughter."
Shadow was about to start unleashing the large amounts of dark energy stored up within himself, when he heard the squealing of tires and turned to face a pair of headlights. Thinking it was simply a scared motorist he dodged to the side, but the car swerved to hit him and he was forced to dodge once again. The red convertible still grazed his shoulder as it shot by though, and the force of the impact sent him crashing to the ground.
Truly angered now, dark energy flowed around Shadow as he picked himself up off of the ground. The blow to his shoulder was a minor one, but being struck by a simple car was damaging to his pride. As if to taunt him, the convertible had pulled to a stop next to the Scouts. His eyes narrowed as Sailors Uranus and Neptune stepped from the vehicle.
"Looks like the gangs all here," he growled. "How convenient for me."
"No demon, now everyone’s here."
Whipping around Shadow found Akane, Endymion, and Ryoga striding up the street from the direction the car had come. Now he was beginning to grow a little nervous. His strength was great, but the odds were heavily against him. Although he knew he could kill most of them in the coming fight, escape was now his paramount goal.
Something suddenly glimpsed out of the corner of his eye caused him to smile and change his assessment of the situation.
"You’re outnumbered and outgunned demon," stated Akane in a flat voice. "Surrender."
"Outnumbered yes. Outgunned? No, I don’t think so."
Had they been able to see his eyes, those surrounding Shadow might have seen his gaze slide to the same alleyway the Scouts had used to transform in earlier. If they too had looked towards this alleyway they might have seen the faint glimmer of the last rays of the setting sun reflecting off of steel. Or the might have seen the briefest flash of purple. Either way they would have had warning.
Mercury’s computer was the only reason they survived the attack.
Seeing their opponent brought to a halt for a moment, Mercury had taken the opportunity to get some readings. Switching on her visor she had began to analyze Shadow for strengths and weaknesses. She quickly deduced that his brash talk had some credence to it. Even with everyone here it would be a hard fight and she doubted all of them would live through it.
His energy level was incredibly high, but it was nothing compared to the reading that caused her computer to suddenly beep in alarm. This reading was even higher and it was coming from somewhere nearby. Her computer quickly zeroed in on the alleyway and she did indeed see the glint of steel and flash of purple.
Then the reading went off the chart.
"Everybody get away!" she screamed with such terror in her voice that everyone did exactly that. They were almost too slow.
"Silence Glave Surprise," whispered a voice from the alleyway.
Purple energy lanced from the tip of the weapon protruding from the mouth of the alley. It shot into the middle of the street and exploded in every direction. The buildings on either side of the road were obliterated, the street itself was torn asunder, and the red convertible became nothing in seconds. Shock waves from the blast raced through the city, destroying the windows of buildings a half mile away.
Despite the fact that they had all taken Mercury’s advice and bolted, no one was able to escape from the blast unscathed. All of them either felt the stinging fire of the purple energy or were tossed through the sides of buildings by the shock waves. A few had the displeasure of experiencing both.
Both Endymion and Ryoga had instinctively thrown themselves over Akane protectively and so she suffered the least amount of injury. Endymion’s right arm and Ryoga’s left hung useless at their sides however. Smoke rose from the lost boy’s singed and torn clothing, and Endymion’s armor was severely dented.
Picking themselves up off the ground and out of the rubble that had been dumped on top of them, the warriors of justice searched the area for the source of the devastating attack. It wasn’t hard since she was standing next to Shadow in the center of a huge crater. Shadow was laughing at the looks of shock that crossed everyone’s faces, but the small Scout standing at his side remained silent.
"Behold one of your own turned against you!" shouted the demon. "Know the power of silence and tremble with fear!"
Then Sailor Saturn raised the Silence Glaive above her head and purple energy began to gather around its tip.