Ronins Interrupted
By: Ghost of the Dawn
Chapter Eleven: Into the Darkness
As the circle of warriors powered up, two pairs of eyes were watching from a near by roof top.
"You said they would never make it to the Other Side!" Katara accused of her older sister. "You said not to worry about it! Lady Ebony told us not to let them near her!"
The larger of the Amazon Duo looked tense as she struggled to formulate a plan of action. She honestly didn't think any of the group had the power to transcend dimensions. Now they had to act fast or feel their mistress's wrath when she found out they had failed.
"I think I have an idea," Katana announced. "All we have to do is get to the Other Side before they do, come on."
She grabbed her younger sister's wrist, and the two disappeared as the Sailor/Ronin power circle shot up into the sky.
Sailor Mars twitched an eyebrow as she slowly regained consciousness. What had happened? She remembered traveling to the other dimension using the planet power. Then, she vaguely recalled feeling another power upon them half way through their journey. Then nothing.
She slowly sat up and looked around. The atmosphere was dark. There seemed to be nothing around her or her fallen comrades but blackness. A blackness that felt solid but hardly looked it.
"Is everyone okay?" she called to the pile of scouts.
"Ooh, I think so," Sailor Venus moaned as she pulled herself to her knees and adjusted her crooked tiara. "What happened?"
"Some kind of power source hit us and threw us off," Sailor Uranus stated seriously. "I'm guessing where in the Out World, but not necessarily in the spot we wanted to be."
"Hey, what happened to those guys?" Sailor Jupiter asked as she looked around.
The other members of the group did the same. There was no sign of the Ronin Warriors anywhere.
"Didn't they come with us? What happened to them?"
"That's my fault, I'm afraid," came a deep, calm voice. Out of the shadows stepped the older of the duo, Katana, her yellow eyes shining menacingly in the darkness.
"YOU!!" Sailor Uranus spat as she suddenly jumped to her feet, ready for a fight. Sailor Neptune followed in suit.
"Wait," Katana insisted calmly. "I'm not here for a fight. I was the one who interfered with your powers and brought you here. I did it to help you."
"Help us?! You attacked us back in Tokyo!" Uranus accused.
Katana hung her head. "Yes, we did, and I apologize. My sister and I--we have done some horrible things under Lady Ebony's control. I have managed to free myself of that control now and I want to help you fight her and the rest of her followers. It may be hard to believe, but those warriors you traveled with are not your allies." The cat creature looked at them all seriously. "They are the real threat to your world."
Cye woke up to a buzzing in his brain. He could still feel the stickiness of the drying blood down the side of his face. He stirred and moaned and became aware of something heavy on his chest. Opening his eyes, they instantly grew wide when the first thing they saw was a furry face with burning yellow eyes glaring back.
The bearer of Torrent was frozen in shock to see the pink haired cat creature straddling his waist. She had her arms folded over her chest as she leaned over idly until they were practically nose to nose.
"It's about time you woke up," Katara purred. "I was starting to get bored."
Cye looked up into the feline face and he was frozen. His entire body was suddenly over come by the heebee geebees and his skin felt like it just wanted to slither away from the offensive creature and go hide in a dark corner.
"What's the matter, warrior?" Katara asked in an amused tone. "Don't like cats?" She slid her body up his very sensually and then licked his nose. "Or is it just me?"
Cye could feel a bloody nose about to come when he caught a glimpse down her cleavage. He closed his eyes, the bile in his throat beginning to rise. This was just so wrong!
Luckily for him, a pair of arms stretched out of the darkness and, with a familiar looking bladed staff, yanked the creature off him. Katara spat and struggled at her capture as Kento pinned her to him by holding his naginata across her mid section.
"Let go of me!" the pink haired creature spat. She slashed at Kento's face with her claws. He dropped her and dodged out of the way before his eyes were gouged out.
Cye jumped to his feet, though it was clear he was still trying to get over his too close encounter with the creature.
"You okay, buddy?" Kento asked as he moved to his friend's side in a defensive stance.
"As long as that thing doesn't touch me again," Cye said with distaste. He looked very unsettled as if he had found a spider crawling in his shirt.
"Okay, who are you?" Sage demanded with no-datchi outstretched. Rowen and Ryo were right behind him.
"And what did you do with those girls that were with us?" Rowen demanded.
The cat-woman just smiled. "They have turned against you, warrior. They never meant to help you. They just needed your powers to get to this realm."
The Ronins were taken aback by that statement. They were more used to lines such as "We have kidnaped them and will kill them if you don't surrender your armors."
Kento scratched his hairline beneath his helmet. "Well guys, what do you think?" he asked his comrades.
"I think it's a lie!" Rowen accused as he aimed an arrow at his new foe.
Katara hardly seemed bothered by it. "Believe what you want. It makes no difference for it is the truth."
Rowen, stubborn as ever, was about to argue the matter further when Ryo stepped in. "It doesn't matter. We didn't come here for them. Tell us where Robyn is and we won't hurt you."
The cat creature just threw back her head and let out a shrill hyena-like laugh. "You? Hurt me? In my own world?" She suddenly fell serious. "Not possible!"
Katara reached for the whip at her side. She hurled it out to its full length and snapped it in the air. The weapon sizzled and crackled red with energy.
"Now boys," she purred as she crouched in a fighting stance. "This is the part where you die."
"What are you talking about?" Ami announced. "They're not evil. They're fighting with us."
"No, you are wrong," Katana insisted. "They have tricked you. Everything has been set up to get you to trust them. It is they who want to bring darkness to the world. It was they...." she paused to clench her fists angrily. "...who killed my sister."
"So it was them!" Sailor Jupiter announced. "Why? How could they do such a thing?"
"Because we were trying to stop them," Katana replied mater of factly. "Because we were the only ones who knew who they were and what their plans were. They wanted us dead before we could warn you about them. They killed Katara when she was trying to find you."
"Oh, how awful," Sailor Moon sympathized. "We had no idea."
Sailor Uranus furrowed her brows. This story didn't add up somehow. Her first encounter with these creatures was still fresh in her mind. They seemed so heartless and unforgiving in their attacks. They didn't seem at all that possessed to Uranus. Was it really possible for one to change so drastically?
"How can we be sure that you're different now?" Sailor Neptune completely spoke her thoughts. "Just because you were under someone's control and you aren't now doesn't automatically make you a person to trust."
"I know. None of you have any reason to trust me," Katana replied humbly. "But this isn't about me. This is about evil forces wanting to destroy your world. I don't even live on your planet. Why would it make any difference to me what happens to it? Shouldn't the fact that I want to help you save it be enough?"
The scouts all looked at each other as different doubts played with their decisions.
"Okay, one more question," Sailor Venus spoke up. "What makes you think these armor guys are bad and why would they want to destroy their own world?"
Katana's mouth pressed itself into a firm line as she stared down Venus with her yellow eyes. "I don't know why they would want to destroy such a beautiful planet," she admitted. "All I know is that this isn't the first time they've tried it."
Several members present were taken aback at that statement.
"What do you mean?" Sailor Mercury asked, almost floored by this new information.
"They once worked over an evil and powerful master named Talpa who also tried to conquer this world. He was the one who gave them their armors. Thousands of years ago he used the armors to lead his army of dark followers to ravage this world. But he was stopped and the armors were taken from him. A few years ago he was able to regain his powers and the armors and bring them back under his control for a second attempt at conquest. Here, I will show you."
Katara turned to the blackness and waved a clawed hand. The scouts gathered around as a visual portal appeared and relayed to all a great, and fearful figure riding a black horse with burning red eyes.
"I am Talpa," a sinister voice boomed. "I shall conquer this world and ravage all life from existence! Everything in it shall be mine!"
He raised his mighty sword as an army of darkness stood at ready behind him. Talpa gave the signal, and the army attacked. At the point of the masses were five familiar armors that decimated everything in their paths. Trees, houses, even people were cut down like weeds in their wake and blood flowed like rivers through the devastation. Women, children, the elderly; nothing was spared. Individuals were made to endure horrible, agonizing deaths and the bearers of the evil devices seemed to revel in it. Their true powers were exposed as the cries of their victims rang through the chaos.
"Yes," came Talpa's voice again. "My Warriors of Darkness. Your power is mine! Use it to crush this world and I will rule it all!"
The familiar armors raised their weapons high, each one dripping with the blood of the innocent, pledging their loyalty and power all to the Dark Master.
"Eww, scary!" Sailor Moon whined. "And we have to fight them!?"
"That's it," Sailor Mars announced, getting everyone's attention. "That's what I saw in my vision. And whatever force that is, we must stop it."
"But, are you sure it's really them?" Sailor Venus pressed. She still remembered the handsome young man with the beautiful green eyes. He seemed so kind. How could he possibly be evil? "We couldn't see their faces. What if it was someone else wearing the armors."
"It doesn't matter," Sailor Uranus cut in. "We will simply fight who ever tries to stop us from saving the planet and we will stand up to whoever gets in our way," She glanced over at Katana. "No matter who they are."
The other scouts nodded.
"Come then," Katana said with a smile. "Follow me."
"You're going to take all of us?" Rowen asked dubiously. "You must be joking."
"And you must be a fool," Katara shot back. "For sizing up an opponent before you've even seen their power. YAH!"
She hurled her vicious whip at them. The end of the weapon seemed to grow a life of its own in mid air. It split into five different parts and moved lightning fast, like a striking snake; catching each Ronin around the neck. Katara gave a feral grin as she watched her prey struggle to break free. Ryo was slashing at the whip with his katanas, but they could not break through the enchanted weapon.
Katara gave her usual shrieking laugh as she tugged on the whip. The whole thing started to glow and crackle and each warrior cried out as black energy coursed through their body with the intent to break them all.
Sage fought to even keep an eye open. The pain was so immense. Just like being back in Talpa's torture chamber. He could barely hold himself up as the cries of his comrades and that creature's horrible, shattering laughter echoed in his ears. He had to stop this! As the Warrior of Light, he had to do all he could to defeat the darkness and push it back where it came from.
Concentrating all his strength, Sage took his no-datchi and jammed the whip between the small handle blade near the hilt of his sword. He forced himself forward to loosen the slack so he could wrap it around the blade further. Then, he began to call all his armor's power into that sword.
"What do you think you're doing?" Katara demanded over the screams.
The other Ronins were starting to fail as pain was overtaking them. Sage stayed still, forcing his mind to forget his physical agony. His eyes stayed closed tight in concentration until they suddenly flashed open and stared hard at the cat creature. Katara tried to listen above all the noise to decipher what this green warrior was saying.
"Thuundeeeer Booooolt CUUUUUUT!!!!"
Light energy spilled from the glowing blade and slashed through the darkness that was pouring from its foe. It jetted like lightning up the whip to its holder. Katara could only watch with wide eyes. There was no time to react before the attack hit her. Her weapon exploded in her hand and she was sent flying.
There was a collective sigh of relief from the Ronins as the ends of the whip went dead and limp. Rowen winced as he slowly slid the thing off from around his slightly burned neck. Next to him, Cye coughed as he fought to regain air back to his lungs while Kento threw his end off like it was a snake. Ryo regained his fallen swords before slowly approaching Sage who was down on his knees and panting heavily.
"Boy, you sure saved us that time," Wildfire said as he put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"I--I'll be okay," Sage responded, still a bit out of breath. He used his sword to help pull him back on his feet. "It took almost all my strength to over power her dark energy. She's powerful, Ryo."
"You haven't seen the half of it," a sinister voice hissed.
The Ronins looked to the source to see two eyes glowing red in the darkness. A feral growl emanated from the same direction as the thing in the blackness slowly stalked forward.
It was Katara again--or was it? This creature, though still with the bushy, pink hair, looked far more animal now. The Ronins almost couldn't help themselves in stepping back as this new form advanced. She crept on all fours and, as Katara got closer, Sage could see his handy work. One of the front paws was horribly burned and a black, blood-like ooze dripped from the wound.
"She looks hurt," Cye whispered to Sage nervously. "That's good, right?"
"Yeah, but I poured all my energy into that attack and that's all the damage I did to her," Sage replied.
"And they say wounded animals can be the most dangerous," Rowen just had to put in.
"Thanks Rowen, that just made us all feel a whole lot better," Cye shot back sarcastically.
"Any time," the bearer of Strata grinned back.
"You will all perish here," Katara said, her voice rising in power. "And then, so too shall your world!" It didn't sound like her usual high pitched voice. Almost as if this other creature she was turning into was taking over.
Katara opened her ravenous jaws and a great beam of energy shot from her mouth. Not wishing to be caught in its path, the Ronins hurried to dive out of the way. Ryo couldn't get far enough away in time and was forced into no other option but to try and deflect part of the blast. He crossed his swords in front of him, channeling his armor's power into the blades to make a shield. But even then, the force of the blast threw him backwards hard into a part of the blackness that somehow solidified into a wall.
"Ryo!" his comrades cried as he was engulfed by the energy.
The attack faded and Ryo still stayed in the same defensive position. For a moment, he looked okay before he slid painfully down the wall into a sitting position with his weapons at his side.
"Ryo, are you okay, dude?" Kento asked as he and the others ran to his side.
Ryo grunted as he cracked open one eye. "Man, that thing has some major juice," he breathed.
"That wasn't even a direct hit," Cye worried.
"You don't think....she's stronger than Talpa was," Rowen voiced the fear on everyone's mind.
"It's hard to tell Rowen," Ryo admitted as Sage and Kento helped him to his feet. "Her powers seem to come from a different source than Talpa's did. Whether she's stronger or not, I don't know if we'll be able to defeat her the way we defeated Talpa."
"Still, we've got to try," Sage insisted. "One thing we Ronins don't do is give up, even if we don't know what we're doing."
"Ain't that the truth," Kento agreed with a grin.
"You don't have the power to stop me here," Katara growled.
The Ronins instantly put up a fighting stance protectively on the still battered Ryo as she stalked closer. The cat creature hardly seemed worried about the number of foes she had to face.
"My powers are ten times greater than they ever were in your world. And they will continue to grow, thanks to the energy harvested from your little friend."
"What is she talking about?" Kento wondered.
"It's Robyn," Sage relayed to them. "They're using her like some sort of power generator so they can spread this dark world to our own."
"That's right," Katara gave a throaty laugh. "And we'll drain her dry until there's no life left in her and then discard that thing like an old battery. And there's nothing any of you can do about it!"
With that, she spewed forth another great energy blast from her mouth. The Ronins all rushed to dive out of the way.
"Ryo, what are we going to do?" Cye worried. "We have to get past this creature and find Robyn! We're running out of time!"
"Yeah! Let's use the White Armor on her!" Kento agreed.
"Hold it," Rowen cut in. "Every time we use that thing it zaps all out powers. If we use it on her, we'll be too spent to fight the other one and Lady Ebony."
"Right," Ryo agreed. "We have to save Inferno until there's no other choice. We can beat her without it if we work as a team."
"Let's combine sure kills on her, maybe that will work," Sage suggested.
Cye was about to comment on a strategy when another blast exploded in the midst of them. Each Ronin was sent flying. Cye hit the ground with a bone jarring thud as something heavy landed on top of his chest.
"You're the funnest to play with," Katara cackled. She was on all fours on his chest, holding him down. She opened her jaws and Cye could see the energy building up deep within her throat. He was going to loose his face--make that his entire head--if he didn't think of something quick!
Cye groped for his yari and pointed it mere inches from the beast's chest.
"SuperWaveSmasher!" He called out quickly.
His weapon didn't have time to build up enough power for a full sure kill, but the stream of energy it shot out was enough to jettison the younger of the Amazon Duo off of him.
Cats may always land on their feet, but this one didn't get a chance to reach the ground. In mid air, Katara was caught in another energy blast coming from above.
"ARROW SHOCK WAVE!"
Katara's body shot to the ground and was pinned there for several seconds before the energy blast subsided. The Ronins all watched tensely as the body remained where it was.
"Did we get it?" Kento wondered.
The body didn't twitch. Sage held up the glowing blade of his sword so they could see the creature better. Smoke sizzled up from the charred fur. By all accounts, the creature appeared to have been vanquished.
Rowen carefully inched his way up to the smoking form and poked at it with the tip of his bow. Nothing. He turned to his friends and smiled.
"We got her guys!"
"Rowen, look out!" Ryo cried.
Before the bearer of Strata could react, the creature sprang up behind him and gave him a mighty swipe across the helmet. Rowen was knocked over as Katara sprang to the next nearest Ronin with a snarl. Kento jumped backwards before his eyes could get clawed out while Cye tried to come up from behind. But Katara was too quick and Torrent ended up with an equal blow like Strata.
Katara was dodging every swipe of Ryo's katanas while Sage stalked over to them.
"I'm getting a little tired of this," Halo growled. "Of all this darkness."
His raised his sword above his head. "Everyone, close your eyes."
They all did just that. Ryo, luckily having a bit more smarts that just to follow suit, suddenly stopped the fight and moved a safe distance from Katara before shielding his vision.
Confused as to why her fight had suddenly ended, Katara looked up and growled in rage as she was instantly blinded by a searing light. Having lived in this dark world for so long, her eyes could hardly bear such a light and that was what Sage had been counting on. The cat creature screamed her fury as she was forced to turn away from the brightness.
"Now, creature of darkness," Sage announced to her. "You will fall here. Your mission to spread eternal darkness into our world will not succeed. THUNDER BOLT CUT!"
The mighty no-datchi cut through the darkness like no other blade could and the light zagged forth to its master's foe. Though still blinded, Katara still managed to lunge out of the way. Sage growled when his energy blast missed. He took his blade and arced it over him. The head of the sure kill followed the same curve and arched around to catch the creature in the back before she could land on her feet. The creature screamed again above the waves of energy. She hit face first on the ground again. But this time, she was back on her feet instantly; looking even more worse for wear.
"Bugger," Cye cursed. "What does it take to beat this thing?"
Rowen ran forward and swung at the creature with his bow. Even though wounded, Katara's cat-like reflexes were still with her and she easily dodged and blocked each swing before getting a few of her own in. Within seconds, Rowen was knocked down; and before Cye could react, he was down with him.
With a growl, Katara turned to her next victim. She would break these clowns down one by one if that's what it took. Whatever was needed to keep them from reaching the throne room.
Kento's eyes grew to twice their size when he saw he was next in line for a pounding. With the scream of a jungle cat, she lunged at him. Kento saw the monster flying towards him, but at the same time, the images of Katara having taken all that beating thus far stayed in his head. Though always up for a fight, Kento's gut instinct told him he was badly out powered. In a last second attempt to avoid the attack, Kento backed up several paces--only to trip the in the bulky armor and fall on his backside, naginata still in hand. Now unable to flee, Kento's last resort was to hold his staff tightly and close his eyes.
He opened them again when he felt a jerk on the weapon in his hands, but no other attack. A small, squeaky noise slipped out of Katara's surprised mouth before a trickle of black blood oozed from the corner. The creature coughed and staggered in her place. She couldn't move much, however, for the blade at the tip of Kento's staff had embedded itself right in her midsection. All Kento could do was sit there in shock as the twitching animal body hovered over him. He stared at the black ooze dripping from where the blade had entered flesh.
Katara blinked and then shook her head. Kento began to panic again. After all that, she was recovering! She now had a hold on his staff as well and was attempting to pull herself off it.
"Do something Kento. If she gets her claws on you, you're finished," came a voice in his head.
The bearer of Hardrock didn't have much choice at that point. He tightened his grip on his weapon and stared the enemy down.
"Iron Rock Crusher!"
Kento had never used his sure kill that way before. He wasn't sure what would happen. The entire ground started to shake from a tremor that felt like it was right beneath him--or it was him. Katara's burning, yellow eyes went wide as she could feel the power build up. She tried desperately to claw at the source of the attack, but the naginata put forth a sudden burst of power and she was thrown off the blade as if it had exploded inside her.
Kento had to almost consciously will the ground to stop shaking before the attack would die down. The whole thing left him a bit bewildered as he stood. The rest of the Ronins joined him in carefully approaching Katara's body once again. Their weapons were drawn in caution, but it looked as though she was not out to trick them again.
Katara's eyes stared without focus. Her shallow breathing sounded flooded with the blood pooling up in the back of her throat. On her stomach, where the blade had gone through, was no longer a stab wound, but a great gaping hole also pooled with blood that spurted with her heart beat. A few of the Ronins had to turn away from the gruesome site. Cye had to go throw up his lunch. It was Ryo who dared get the closest this time. The look on his face was set firm as he pointed a blade at her throat.
"Now," he said to her. "Tell us where Robyn is and we promise not to let you suffer any more."
Katara seemed to regain her senses at that point, for she sneered and spat at them.
"You can't destroy me," she insisted. "Even now the dark forces of this world are working to make me whole again. I am a part of it, you see. You cannot ever defeat me here."
Sage's eyes widened as he looked at the gaping wound. It did indeed appear to be growing smaller before his eyes.
Ryo, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. He growled and raised a sword as if to run her through. He brought the tip down and it stabbed the ground a hair's distance from Katara's body.
"Tell me where she is!" he demanded with more force in his voice and the other sword ready.
Katara just smiled as she bit back some of the pain surging through her. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but was cut off from the fluids gathering in her lungs. Ryo leaned closer to hear her whispers. What he got was a clawed hand around the neck while the other one punched him in the stomach. Now it was Ryo's turn to cough and fight for air. The force of the punch even reached through his armor and Ryo fell to his knees over her, Katara's deadly grip still on his throat. How could she still have so much power after being so badly wounded?
Katara laughed through the blood as she pulled his face closer.
"You should be thanking us for sucking the life out of her," she rasped to the gasping Wildfire. "If she were to live, your little precious could one day destroy you and all your world more than we ever could."
Ryo clawed fruitlessly at the grip on his throat. The other Ronins just watched helplessly, afraid she would snap his neck if they tried to interfere. Rowen noticed Ryo's hand grabbing his sword and planting it in the ground on the opposite side of the first one. Katara didn't seem to notice, however. She was too busy taunting Ryo and enjoying the look on the young man's face as he fought to regain air back into his lungs.
"You cannot protect her and the rest of humanity at the same time. What do you have to say about that, hero?"
Ryo struggled to speak. "F-f-f--"
"What was that?" Katara asked, a bit amused. She loosened her grip a little, curious as to what kind of retort he had after her accusations.
"F-f-flare..." Ryo rasped weakly. "...up....now..."
Katara froze as she suddenly felt a power skyrocket. The two swords embedded in the dirt on either side of her instantly ignited and a spiral of pure fire shot from the ground, engulfing them both in flames. The other four Ronins were forced to retreat several paces from the searing heat of the inferno. In the middle of the burning hurricane, Katara's silhouette could be seen. Her high pitched screams echoed in their ears as the form burned away into nothing.
With the threat gone, the fire died down, leaving only one form where there had been two. Ryo was crouched on one knee where he stayed still for several seconds. Finally, he reclaimed his swords from the ground, standing as he did so. His friends ran up to him to see if he was alright. He looked a little winded and, perhaps, a little bothered. But physically fine.
"Wow Ryo, that was amazing," Rowen shouted. "How did you know that would work?"
Ryo, for his part, ignored the question. He sighed outwardly as he returned his weapons back to their sheaths on his back.
"Come on guys, we still have more to do," he announced and started to lead the way.
The others, a bit thrown off by his reply, followed after him. It was Sage who finally got enough nerve to walk up beside him.
"Ryo, what did she say to you?" he asked lowly.
"Nothing," Ryo insisted, though he sounded almost disheartened and confused in a way. "It doesn't matter. The important thing is to find Robyn right now."
Sage let it go with that. Yes, that was the important thing. There would be plenty of time for more questions if needed after this was all over.
Luna sat on a bench between Artemis and Darien as she looked worriedly to the sky.
"Everything is getting so black," she voiced her concern out loud. "Almost the entire city has been swallowed up and soon we will, too."
"I'm sure Sailor Moon and the scouts can pull through," Darien assured her. "They'll beat them right in the nick of time as they always do. I have faith in them that they won't let us down."
Luna took in a deep breath. Her tail still twitched with agitation even as she tried to calm her fears. "You're right Darien. I will keep my faith in them, too. I just wish there was something we could do to help."
The three of them looked over when there was movement next to the big cement building. White Blaze was over there. He had stayed near the place where the warriors and scouts had disappeared to journey to the next realm. The big cat had flopped on his stomach and there waited loyally for his master to return. When the tiger suddenly got to his feet, he gained the attention of the only other three present in the city.
"I wonder how they got away with keeping that animal in the city," Darien wondered as he watched the tiger. "I would think it would be dangerous to the public."
"He seemed very well mannered to me," Luna insisted.
"Sounds like someone's got a crush," Artemis teased.
"Oh really now," Luna huffed and lifted her nose indignantly into the air. But she glanced with concern back to the tiger who was beginning to pace restlessly.
White Blaze circled the place where the warriors and scouts had stood a several minutes before. Then he moved over to the wall of the building and pawed at the place that still held Cye's scratch marks. He pressed his nose against it and then let out a catish whine.
"I hope that doesn't mean trouble," Luna worried.
"Relax Luna, everything will be fine, you'll see," Artemis tried to comfort her.
Despite what the white cat said, Luna continued to look worriedly as the tiger began to pace again.
I hope they're okay. Please hang in there Scouts, the world is depending on you.
"Where are you taking us?" Sailor Uranus demanded for the third time. They had been following the eldest of the Amazon Duo for far longer than she felt they should have. Where ever they were meant to go, they should have been there by now. This was starting to smell really fishy. It almost felt like they were going around in circles.
Katana bit back a growl. In truth, Uranus' suspicions weren't that far off.
"I told you before," she insisted. "We're going around the back so we can sneak into Ebony's chambers and catch her off guard."
In reality, she was stalling for time for her mistress. That was the plan, to merely hold the two groups off until Lady Ebony had gathered enough energy to fully execute the plan and get rid of all these meddlers. In the meantime, Katana hoped her battle happy sister was doing the same thing instead of confronting the group of male warriors in combat which was what she was no doubt doing anyway.
"How can she tell? Everything looks the same," Jupiter whispered to Mars, who nodded. "We could be walking right into a trap and we would never be able to tell."
Katana's sharp ears easily picked up the comment. She would have to do something fast to win back the scouts' confidence or the plan would be ruined.
"Look out!" Sailor Mars cried as she grabbed Sailor Moon and forced her to the ground.
A black ghost-looking figure swept over their heads mere milliseconds later.
"What is that?" Sailor Jupiter cried as she went to a defensive stance.
"It's the Black Banshee," Katana explained. "A guardian of this realm."
It looked similar to the shadow monsters they had fought earlier in Toyama, though this one looked more ghost like and had a far more foreboding presence.
"Death to all outsiders who enter here," relayed the banshee in a high voice. And she began to scream.
It was a high pitched, brain shattering screech and the scouts all fell down in abject pain, clutching their skulls as if they would explode from the pressure. Katana stepped calmly past the writhing, crying bodies and up to the banshee, unaffected by her attack.
"Stop it!" she cried as she flung an energy blast at the creature.
The attack ceased as the Black Banshee reeled in surprise.
"What?!" the banshee hissed. "You are one of us! How dare you betray the Mistress!"
"Her evil manipulations control me no more!" Katana announced self-righteously. She gathered a larger amount of energy, ten times greater than the one before. The creature of the darkness shrieked its last as it was engulfed in the attack.
The Sailor Scouts stayed down where they were, marveling at the mere power Katana wielded on their behalf.
"The plan will not be completed!" Kanata yelled over the roar of energy. "You and your mistress will fall!"
The Dark Banshee and all her fearful powers were snuffed out as Katana calmly walked over to the nearest scout--Sailor Uranus--and offered her a hand.
"Come," she said. "Were getting closer."
There was still skepticism is the blonde's eyes, but there was also doubt. And perhaps even a little bit of acceptance.
Katana smiled to herself as they continued on. That was perfect. She had earned enough trust now to keep them following her until all preparations were complete. And then her Mistress of the night would come and destroy them all and how glorious their conquest would be!
"I hope prolonged exposure to this place doesn't result in permanent eye damage," Kento commented after the Ronins had been traveling for several minutes. "After all this black, we might never be able to face the brightness of day again."
"Wow, where'd you get the vocabulary, Kento," Rowen elbowed him playfully. "I think you've seen too much of the learning channel. Maybe you should--Ooof!"
Rowen was cut off as he ran into a large rock that was protruding out of the ground about chest height.
"What is it, Rowen?" Ryo stopped and turned around to see what happened.
"Ouch! There's some dangerous obstacles hiding in this place," Rowen replied. "We're going to get killed just because we can't see where we're going."
"What kind of rock is that?" Sage wondered as he stepped closer to it.
It looked semi transparent. He lifted his no-datchi to reflect a bit of light on the find. Some of the closer Ronins jumped back as the silhouette of a figure inside the crystallized object was illuminated.
"There's somebody in there!" Kento exclaimed.
"Robyn!" Cye cried, pressing both palms on the enchanted object.
In the dim light he could barely make her out, but there was no mistaking who it was. She was curled up inside with her arms crossed over her folded up knees. Her face looked placid except for her eyebrows which seemed to be furrowed as if she were having a bad dream. The Ronins all stared at the figure in horror and bewilderment. She seemed frozen and untouchable within that crystal shell. Like she had always belonged there and that was where she would always stay.
"Back out of the way," Sage ordered as he approached, no-datchi still in hand. "I think I may be able to get her out."
The others moved back obediently. Sage put a hand on the crystal rock and clenched his jaw. He could just feel the energy pulse throbbing from that thing. Was this Robyn's energy? Was this how they harvested it from her? Sage had no doubt in his mind that this crystal prison that held her was also meant to be her coffin. He had to get her out of there.
Sage stood back and positioned his sword right in front of him with the blade pointing upward. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the energy that would be needed to free his friend safely. He reached out to the energy beacon before him, feeling it's power and weak points. To free her, he had to do this attack perfect.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," came a smooth, slimy female voice from the darkness. "Not if you want your little friend to survive."
The Ronins turned instantly to the defensive as none other than Lady Ebony herself stepped into the dim light. All three pairs of arms were folded as she looked the ronins down with a confident grin.
"Your rescue attempt, though noble, is hopeless," Lady Ebony continued. "That crystal is her life now. Shattering it will kill her in the process.
"Then you had better get her out of there fast," Ryo threatened, brandishing his katana. "Before we shatter you."
The Dark Mistress hardly looked worried at the threat.
"If you wish to be reunited with your friend so badly, then I suggest you join her!"
Quick as a snake can strike, one of Lady Ebony's arms hurled a dark cloak at the surprised warriors. Before the Ronins could even react, they felt themselves sucked into an everlasting darkness from which they would never return.
"Wait," Sailor Mars called to the group. Everyone paused and looked her way. "I sense a dark power coming in that direction. Come on!"
Oh no! Katana thought. It's still too soon! They can't find the mistress yet!
The scouts were quick to follow after their comrade as Sailor Mars ran off to follow her instincts. Something dark and sinister was definitely close. Katana ran fruitlessly after them. But it was too late now. She may have to turn and fight the group if they found the throne room.
Sailor Mars, indeed, seemed to have stumbled upon some sort of chamber. She paused at her find as her friends gathered around her. This was it. They had finally found what they were looking for. Right in the midst of the chamber stood a slender silhouette.
"So, you've finally found me," Lady Ebony chuckled.
"You bet Lady, and now you're going down!" Sailor Jupiter retorted. "We're not going to let you destroy Earth!"
"We'll see if you can stop me," Ebony replied calmly. "But first, you will have to defeat my personal bodyguards."
From behind her, in the darkness, five pairs of eyes glowed red. The scouts all gasped as five forms wearing familiar mystical armor stepped forth with the intent to kill anything that got into the path of their new mistress.