Author’s note: Forget about all that stuff I’ve been throwing in about Serenity’s ghost, there’s been a change of plan. This will not affect anything that has happened only what’s going to happen. I will rewrite the sections concerning this change in the near future.

Akane watched in horror as purple energy began to gather around the renegade Scout’s odd weapon. Looking around she saw looks of fear and pain on the faces of all those still standing. Shampoo, Venus, and Jupiter were all unconscious or dead, she wasn’t sure which. Blood pooled on the ground around all three of them.

Those still standing weren’t in much better condition. Endymion and Ryoga had both lost the use of their right and left arm respectively. Ukyou looked like one of her legs might be broken despite the fact that she was standing, and blood coated one side of Uranus’s face. The rest of them simply looked as if they had been beaten repeatedly with large, heavy objects.

Akane was in the best condition since Endymion and Ryoga had both seen fit to protect her with their bodies. Far from being grateful though, she was angry with both of them for apparently thinking her unable to protect herself. She made a mental note to berate them both later, but then she remembered there might not be a later. If this new Scout unleashed a second blast they would all be done for.

Endymion and Ryoga were having similar thoughts concerning the situation. Each of them clutched at the arm hanging useless at his side and tried desperately to find a way out of this predicament. When no ideas presented themselves they both wondered if their bodies would be enough to shield Akane a second time. Doubtful, but worth a try.

Akane’s eyes narrowed and she almost forgot about the current situation when both Ryoga and Endymion edged in front of her, their intent obvious. Furious at both of them for thinking so little of her, she forced her way between them and took a step towards the two evil figures standing in the middle of the giant crater that now made up most of the area.

She was the first to move, the first to recover from the shock of the incredible blast, and all eyes turned to her. For a moment she didn’t know what she was doing, and when she locked gazes with the evil Scout all ideas of doing anything were wiped from her mind. But she seized a hold of herself using her anger as a buffer against fear, and faced her opponents without a quaver in voice or body.

"Who are you?" she demanded, trying to buy time, hoping that the renegade Scout didn’t just decide to annihilate all of them without a second thought.

For a moment it seemed as if she might do just that, her violet-eyed gaze was harder than stone and colder than ice. "Sailor Saturn," finally came the reply in a voice that was barely above a whisper yet carried to all those gathered.

"Why do you fight along side demons? You are a Sailor Scout, a defender of love and justice!"

"I fight alongside who I choose against who I want. I am the Bringer of Silence, the Bringer of Death."

The purple energy flared at the tip of Saturn’s Silence Glaive and Akane’s heart leaped in her throat. "Wait!" she screamed.

Saturn ignored the plea and the purple energy crackled ominously. But suddenly Shadow laid a hand upon her shoulder and said something Akane couldn’t hear. The purple energy died down and Saturn lowered the Silence Glaive to her side.

Shadow turned to regard Akane, his featureless face holding the hint of a grin. "You are spared this day Akane Tendou. But pray we do not meet like this again lest you not be so lucky next time."

Shadow nodded his head and Saturn stabbed the blade of her weapon into the air before her. It cut smoothly into nothing and she pulled up, ripping a large tear in the very air. The gap widened to show pure darkness beyond and Saturn stepped through calmly. Shadow was about to follow when he stopped and turned back to the group watching him warily.

"Here," he said pulling out a small, green ball and tossing it to the ground. "Something for you to play with." Then, laughing wildly, he stepped through the rift and it closed behind him.

Sailor Mercury, who had been feeding her computer data almost nonstop from the moment Akane had drawn attention to herself, now turned her attention to the small sphere left behind by Shadow. It was organic in nature, containing a life force of some type, more than likely a demon, within. It was growing fast too, and she suspected that it would be trying to inflict pain upon them in less then a minute.

"Akane, Endymion!" she called out. "It’s a demon of some sort. I estimate forty five seconds before we’re fighting again."

Akane considered Mercury’s analysis for a moment and then considered the condition of their team. The wisest course of action would be to run away. They couldn’t afford to let a demon run free though, so that meant they had to stand and fight. Or some of them did anyway.

"Ryoga, Ukyou, Uranus," she called out. "Take Shampoo, Jupiter, and Venus and leave."

Stunned looks met this proclamation. "Thirty seconds," called out Mercury.

"But Akane," protested Ryoga, "I have to protect you…"

"I don’t run from a fight…" began Ukyou.

"I don’t take orders from you…" stated Uranus in a cold tone.

"DO IT!!" roared a seething Akane.

Ryoga and Ukyou blinked once and then reluctantly followed Akane’s instructions. One look from Endymion and Uranus shut her mouth and did as she was told as well. Except for Endymion, the seriously injured had now been dealt with.

"Twenty seconds."

"You should leave too Endymion."

"You know I can’t."

Akane nodded. They had both been given positions of leadership and it was now time to prove they deserved them.

"Fifteen seconds."

The condition of the remaining fighters was bad and Akane knew that if this fight dragged on more of them would probably go home seriously injured. Or worse, they wouldn’t go home at all. She forced herself not to think about that, forced herself to concentrate on what mattered. Defeating this demon before it could cause any harm.

"Ten seconds."

Akane had more than enough anger to draw on. She was mad at Endymion and Ryoga for thinking her helpless. White energy began to arc around her hands and Endymion stepped away. She was mad at Ukyou, Ryoga, and Uranus for challenging her orders. A pure white battle aura flared around her, its heat and intensity driving Endymion further away.

"Five seconds." The small, green ball began to jump around and cracks appeared along its surface.

She was mad that she had allowed her friends and allies to be hurt. A sphere of white energy gathered in her outstretched hands. She was mad that their new enemy was a Sailor Scout with enough power to blow all of them away with ease. Her aura flared, the white sphere grew in size and intensity.

"Incoming!"

The green ball exploded suddenly and a creature that should have had no chance of fitting inside burst out. Tall and green with multiple, tentacle like arms and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth, the demon roared as the eyes perched on the end of three long eye stocks searched the area for its intended prey. This wasn’t hard to do since one of them was glowing brilliantly.

Akane saw the demon and prepared to launch the energy she had been gathering, yet she still pored anger into her upcoming blast. She was mad that Cologne had made her leader, a position she didn’t feel qualified for. White energy flared and sweat broke out on her forehead from the strain of holding on to it. The demon took a step towards her and she let go.

"Dragon’s Raging Sp—"

She was mad at Ranma for leaving her.

As images of Ranma cascaded into her mind Akane’s attack faltered. She tried to control it, but it was to no avail. The emotions raging inside of her had broken the concentration required to perform the chi technique properly. Now it raged out of control.

Akane tried to scream a warning, tried to scream anything, but her throat constricted even as the very energy she was attempting to harness turned against her. The last thing she saw before a wall of white washed over her was the dark visage of the demon looming over her.

Endymion heard Akane began to unleash her attack and then heard her voice catch in her throat. Glancing over at her he saw her face twisted in pain and terror, the white energy surrounding her raging wildly. Something had gone terribly wrong and now he stood there powerless to stop it.

The white energy whipping around Akane obliterated her from Endymion’s sight, but the huge green demon looming over her was all to visible. He tried to grab his sword from its sheath, but his right arm wouldn’t respond. Gripping the hilt with his left hand he yanked the blade free and spun it around so that he was holding it properly. The fact that it was in his off hand was a moot point for someone of his skill.

There was a thunderous booming sound and then the white energy surrounding Akane exploded outward violently. The demon was caught completely off guard and the blast hurled it backwards several feet. Endymion braced himself against the concussion caused by the attack, but he was still sent stumbling backwards and his right arm was jerked around painfully.

When it was over and the energy had dissipated Endymion’s first thought was for Akane. The young woman was lying face down on the ground where she had been standing. Her clothes were ripped to shreds and smoke rose off of her body, which was obviously severely burned. Concerned, Endymion took a step towards her. A loud roar brought him up short.

The demon was picking itself up off the ground and although it had obviously been hurt by the haywire attack, it still had plenty of fight left. Endymion looked to Akane and then to the rising demon, torn by indecision. Suddenly Sailor Mercury was at his side.

"I’ll take care of her. You help the others deal with that monster."

He hesitated for a moment and then nodded. Sailors Mars and Neptune were positioned so that the three of them formed a triangle around the demon. Excellent position he noted as he nodded for Mars to start them off. The demon had just reached its feet and looked more than ready, but deep inside Endymion knew that this would be a quick fight.

Sailor Mars squared herself with the demon and held one hand before her face. A look of concentration crossed her features and a soft red light traced her body. High above her head a vortex of swirling red clouds appeared. The demon saw this and took a step towards what was the obvious threat. It seemed to be both slow and stupid.

"Mars Fire Storm!" The swirling mass of clouds suddenly burst into a hundred balls of flame that shot towards the demon like a meteor shower. They struck hard and the demon let out a roar of pain as it was sent reeling. It spun away from the assault as if it could escape and was just in time to see Sailor Neptune’s attack.

"Neptune Hydro Daggers!" Neptune’s hand swept forward and a wave of daggers formed from water shot towards the demon. The demon bellowed in pain as the daggers struck and green blood began to poor from its many wounds. It was, however, still standing.

"My turn," stated Endymion.

He charged the demon with a wordless roar, grabbing the creatures attention and turning it his way. Up he jumped, high over the demon’s grasping claws as they tried to tear him in two. Moonlight glinted off of his blade as he brought it up over his head.

"Soul Strike!" Endymion’s sword became like silver fire in his hand as it swept down upon the demon’s head. When it was over he was kneeling on the ground before the two pieces that were what was left of the creature of darkness.

There was no time for thoughts of victory though. Endymion stood and began to run to where Akane was still lying on the ground; Sailor’s Neptune and Mars were right behind him. When he reached her he quickly averted his eyes. Her clothes were completely shredded and didn’t cover much of anything.

"Will she be okay?" he asked Mercury.

Mercury looked up from where she was studying the readout on her computer. The readings were not good. Three fractured ribs, a split scalp, severe bruising all over and first degree burns in several areas. It looked as if Akane was going to be down for some time.

Mercury shut off her computer and shook her head. "I’m afraid Akane’s condition isn’t good. I think the only thing that saved her was the fact that she initiated the blast and most of its force was expended on the area around her. As it is though, she’ll be laid up for a while."

Sailor Mars looked around at the destruction that now dominated the landscape, and gave a weary sigh. "Let’s go home."

Shiko stared down at Shadow and tried very hard to think of reasons not to kill him. It was a difficult task given his recent actions. Still, she forced her anger under control and stilled her face to calm. He knew the depths of her anger, showing it would only make her seem immature.

"You had them," she stated frostily. "Why did you not kill them when you had the chance?"

"At the moment they are more useful alive."

Shiko arched an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

For a moment Shadow wondered how someone so stupid could be placed in charge of him. "Cologne is crafty, we could spend years searching for the stone she hid and never find it. If, however, we let them lead our little spy to the stone we have saved ourselves a great deal of trouble. They can be easily disposed of at any time so why not wait until we have what we want from them?"

Shiko considered these words. It made sense when she thought about it. Let Hotaru first take their secrets from their lips and then they could rip their hearts from their chests. She nodded her approval of this plan.

"Why then did you send that demon after them?"

Shadow shrugged. "Sport. It was a very weak breed and I’m sure they had no trouble dealing with it. I was just having some fun."

Shiko nodded again. "You have done well Shadow. Now leave me."

Shadow bowed, a bare nod of his head, and then stalked from the room. He was angry at so frank a dismissal. It was by his efforts and his efforts alone that they had gotten this far. If it had been left up to Shiko, Earth’s defenders would probably have all three stones by now. The woman was a fool, but that was something he hoped would be dealt with soon.

Coming to a small, unadorned room he paused to consider his greatest treasure. Sitting calmly in the rooms only chair and staring at the floor was Sailor Saturn. She didn’t look up when he entered although she knew he was there. This girl was his to control and Shiko could not see the danger despite the fact that it was right under her nose.

"Saturn," he said quietly and she turned to look at him. She didn’t say anything, she rarely did, but the look in her eyes was enough to freeze even his soul. "You need to get back before the others do."

The small girl nodded and stood up. Using her Silence Glaive, she tore a hole in the fabric of space, a trick that he had taught her. She gave no word of parting as she stepped through the portal, but he expected that. She was, after all, the Bringer of Silence and she more than lived up to her name.

Akane opened her eyes and stared up at the familiar ceiling hanging over her head. Finding herself in her room was not nearly as surprising as finding herself alive. When she had lost control of her attack she had figured that she was as good as dead. Now though, she discovered that she was fine.

Shifting slightly in her bed Akane groaned in pain and realized that fine was not exactly the case. Putting one arm before her eyes, she winced. Yellowish bruises peeked out from beneath the layers of bandages covering the length of her arm. She had lived, but her present condition was nothing to be pleased about.

Still, she forced herself to get out of bed. She wasn’t wearing anything, but noted that the bandages covering her body almost provided decent covering. They were especially thick around the ribs and, given the fact that they hurt a lot, she figured they were either broken or cracked. But all of her injuries were nothing compared to the damage done to her pride.

Blowing one’s self up was not the way to begin one’s role as leader.

Forcing such thoughts from her mind, Akane dressed with intent of finding out how the others had fared. She was especially concerned about Darien since he had been closest to her haywire attack. Akane doubted she could forgive herself if any major harm had come to her friends due to her incompetence.

She had just finished dressing, a task that took ten very painful minutes, when the door to her room opened to admit Cologne. The old woman glanced at Akane and then looked to the bed frowning. It was obvious that she thought Akane should be resting, but the stubborn girl had other ideas and continued to stand where she was.

Cologne shrugged. "I suppose it’s up to you whether you want to tempt fate some more by wandering around in your current condition. I guess I should at least be happy that you’re finally awake."

Akane glanced at the clock on her dresser. "It’s only about two ‘o’ clock. I haven’t been out for that long."

The old woman snorted. "Yes, it’s only about two ‘o’ clock…of the third day since the fight! You’ve been out cold for quite some time girl."

"Three days," she said softly. "What’s happened while I was out?"

"Nothing actually. It’s been very quiet of late. That bothers me."

"Huh, why?"

"Because it means that something big is probably going to happen soon. That is not something I’m looking forward to."

Akane felt weak all of a sudden and moved to sit on the edge of her bed. She tried to make it look casual, but her legs gave out almost before she had reached the bed and she sat down hard. Smiling to try and cover her condition, she picked up the conversation again.

"I can’t think of anything that would be bigger than what happened last…three days ago."

Cologne nodded. "The others told me of Sailor Saturn and she is definitely a problem, but the situation could be worse. The demon’s could find the third stone."

Akane considered this for a moment. "You know, you’ve never really explained this whole stone deal to us. All we know is that if the demons get all three stones all hell breaks loose on Earth. Why are they so much more dangerous with two stones instead of one?"

Cologne considered this question for a moment before answering. "The stones act like keys and possess the ability to open up the door to the demon’s home dimension. Legend says that they also possess the ability to open portals to other worlds, but if that’s true then I don’t know how it works. Anyway, there are three stones for three doors. Think of the barrier keeping the demons out as a large portal with three separate hatches, one for each key.

"One stone will open the first and smallest of doors. Once open, small groups of demons may enter into this world and those already here can draw power from their home world. If the second hatch is opened then you get more demons and more power. Once the last barrier is breached our world merges with theirs and the dark god who rules over the demons gains access to Earth."

"Dark god?"

"I don’t know much about him, only that he’s incredibly powerful. Far stronger than Saturn."

Akane shuddered at that thought. Sailor Saturn had been able to take out all of them without even breaking a sweat. What chance would they stand against this dark god if they couldn’t even deal with a rogue Scout?

"You need to rest," stated Cologne, breaking Akane’s unpleasant train of thought. "That demon you fought did a number on you. They must be getting stronger if they’re able to hurt you this badly."

Akane looked at the old woman in confusion. "What do you mean they must be getting stronger? Didn’t they tell you?"

Cologne’s eyes narrowed. "Tell me what?"

Akane realized that Darien and the three Scouts who had stayed to fight had kept her shame a secret from the others. She was extremely grateful to them and happy that Shampoo and Ukyou didn’t know, but her feelings of joy faded quickly when she realized that Cologne was still staring at her. She had opened her mouth and now she had to explain everything.

Hanging her head, Akane spoke in almost a whisper. "I lost control of my attack," she admitted. "I caused all of these injuries myself."

Tears were threatening to poor from her eyes by the time she had finished. Akane expected Cologne to berate her for screwing up, but the stinging words never came. Glancing up she saw the old woman regarding her calmly.

"I warned you that this could happen. What’s done is done though, and now you will be more careful next time since you know the consequences of losing control of your emotions."

"But I almost got us killed! I’m not fit to be leader."

"You screwed up, everybody screws up. Ranma screwed up several times, but he was still one of the greatest fighters to ever live. What you need to do is learn from this and make sure it never happens again."

Akane stared at the old woman in amazement. Understanding from Cologne? It was unheard of! Her thoughts must have been obvious because Cologne chuckled softly.

"Just because I am harsh does not mean that I don’t care. This is my world, you and the others are my champions, and I will see that you succeed in the task placed before you. However, if you ever do something like this again I’ll beat you from one end of Tokyo to the other!"

Akane smiled. "Thank you."

"Go see your friends now. They’re worried about you."

Still smiling, Akane got up from her bed and crossed the room to the door. Her legs still felt rubbery and weak, but they seemed to support her and that was all she needed. Still, as she opened the door and a wave of dizziness overtook her, she wondered if maybe staying in bed wasn’t such a bad idea.

All thoughts of weakness or bed were dashed from her thoughts as a small form hurtled towards her. "Akane! I’m so glad that you’re feeling better!"

Akane looked down at the old man clutching her chest and turned bright red with anger. "STUPID PERVERT!" she roared, sending Happosai through the dojo roof with a well-aimed punch.

That action, although appropriate, was not the best thing Akane could have done in her present condition. Her legs went out from under her and she suddenly found herself sitting on the floor. A snort from Cologne made her turn bright red with embarrassment. She was giving serious thought to crawling back to her bed when the sounds of several people ascending the stairs reached her ears.

Silently vowing not to be seen as weak, Akane forced herself to stand up. Ryoga was first to come into view and his joy at seeing Akane up and about quickly turned to confusion when an icy look settled on him. Akane had not forgotten his over protective and disobedient actions of the previous fight.

Her father was next in line and he pushed past Ryoga and ran towards her with tears streaming from his eyes. "Akane!"
For an instant Akane was worried about the pain she was going to feel if her father grabbed her up in one of his vise like hugs. Luckily, Cologne stepped between her and Soun before he had gotten within reach. The over emotional man stopped in confusion.

"She’s still hurt," explained Cologne, "and she doesn’t need you to aggravate her injuries."

These words took a few seconds to sink in. "Of course," stated Soun as if he had known this all along. "I was just going to give her a fatherly pat on the shoulder." Cologne nodded, but remained between him and Akane.

"A-are you feeling better Akane?" stammered Ryoga, still confused about his icy reception.

The entire Nerima gang was now present in the hallway outside of Akane’s room. Darien was the only member of the Juuban group that was there, but that made sense since the others were probably at their own homes. Bandages were visible on all of them, especially Shampoo, who had several wrapped around her head, and Ryoga, who had his arm in a sling. Ukyou was supporting herself with a crutch although there was no cast on her leg. She was probably suffering from a major sprain.

"I’m feeling much better Ryoga, thank you." Her voice was cool and she winced at the hurt expression that crossed Ryoga’s face. She had every right to be mad at him and Ukyou, but she felt bad about it now that they were here showing concern for her injuries. "I feel much better," she repeated in a warmer tone.

That seemed to help. Ryoga’s hurt expression turned into a smile and then into a frown as he looked her over. "You still don’t look like you feel very well. Maybe you should go back to bed."

The glare he received sent Ryoga back a few steps. "I said I was fine. You on the other hand," she began, gesturing towards the sling wrapped around his arm, "need to be resting that arm."

Akane’s tone left no room for argument and Ryoga headed back down the stairs in a hurry. "That goes for all of you," she continued. "We need to be in top condition when the demons attack again. Can I talk to you for a minute Darien?"

The others all departed save for Darien, Soun, Kasumi, Cologne and Hotaru. Akane had completely forgotten about the small girl and hadn’t even realized she had been among the others. Now two violet eyes gazed up at her with concern.

"Are you really okay Akane?"

Akane smiled down at the young girl. "Of course I’m okay. Now why don’t you run along with the others. I have something important to say to Darien."

It seemed that for an instant Hotaru’s eyes became hard and cold, but then she nodded and turned to go. Her face was one of picturesque innocence and Akane wondered what kind of tricks her mind was trying to play on her.

Akane was forced to reassure her father and sister several times before they departed as well. Soun still had tears running down his face as he left. Cologne left with them with the admonishment that she should take her own advice and rest up. At last she was left alone with Darien.

"I just wanted to thank you," she told Darien.

"For what?"

Akane turned away. "For not telling them about…about what happened."

"Oh, that," said Darien dismissing the event with a wave of his hand. "An accident, nothing more. Certainly nothing worth talking about."

Akane gave Darien a warm smile. "Well, thanks for nothing then."

Darien chuckled. "Rest," he said. "Next time the demon’s won’t be so lucky."

Akane watched as Darien departed and then returned to her room and bed. She was going to take off her dress, but that brief amount of exertion had sapped her strength and she fell into a deep sleep. A sleep filled with dreams of a tall, handsome young man in silver armor.

Rei rifled through the mounds of scrolls stored in the back of the shrine glancing hastily at the seal on each one before casting it aside. She wasn’t sure she could find what she was looking for, or even if she wanted to find it. She had to look though.

Finishing with the pile before her, Rei moved to one of the racks against the back wall. None of those were what she was looking for so she moved on to the next rack. There, at the very bottom, she found the scroll she was searching for.

Only the seal distinguished it from any of the other scrolls filling the room. It was a symbol of warding, a warning to those who wouldn’t otherwise know what they held. For a minute she just stood there holding the rolled up paper in her hand, wondering if she was doing the right thing.

Ever since the fight three days ago, Rei had been having premonitions that something terrible was going to happen if action wasn’t taken. She knew that even prepared she and the others didn’t stand a chance against Sailor Saturn and Shadow. They were simply too powerful.

The scroll might hold the key, might give them the ability to win.

"Rei, are you in here?"

Rei’s breath caught. If her grandfather caught her with this scroll… Hastily she tucked it away in her pocket and grabbed up another scroll. The door into the room opened and she turned to face her grandfather.

"Ah, there you are Rei. What are you doing in here?"

"I was ah…just looking for this scroll on how to um…" she glanced down at the scroll’s title, "…cook fried chicken."

"Well now, I haven’t had fried chicken in quite a while. I’m looking forward to such a meal."

Rei smiled, hoping that the heat rising in her face didn’t giver her away. "Well then I’d better get to work if we’re going to have it for dinner tonight." Throwing her grandfather another smile she hastily departed, breathing a sigh of relief when she had reached the relative safety of her own room.

Rei’s grandfather watched her go and then returned his attention to the room full of scrolls. Everything was still in good order; Rei was a neat girl. Moving to the back of the room he came to one particular scroll rack and scrutinized the contents. One scroll was missing.

For an instant he considered finding Rei and forcing her to give it back. But he knew far more about his granddaughter then she ever would have guessed and knew that she was a responsible girl. If she thought the scroll was needed then it was needed and he would not stop her.

As he left the room he silently prayed that it would not be needed.