"Hey! I know where we are we're right by the kitchens now!" Usa said happily.
"Good I'm hungry." Ranko said smiling as Drask breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been afraid he'd gotten it wrong. There was a crash behind him and a dark form emerged from the window shards of glass pieces of wood flying everywhere as his eyes widened in fear.
"Die!" The man shout and he dropped to the floor and rolled to the side just in time for a burst of energy to come from both Usa and Ranko as he launched off a shadow arrow. No effect.
"Arrgh!" Drask shouted taking off like a rocket with Usa and Ranko just ahead. He didn't see the man pull out a strange gun with an eclipse on it but he did hear whatever it shot impact something, violently.
"Where are we going!?" Ranko demanded Usa who was slightly in the lead, when she had reason to she could RUN.
"To the guard rooms, a few hallways ahead!" Usa shouted the symbol on her and Ranko's foreheads pulsing. Unlike what most people would suspect Ranko actually had the symbol of the sun a circle with a dot in the middle.
Drask spared the briefest of moments to look back. "He's gaining!" he shouted just in time for a bolt to tear up the ground near his feet throwing him utterly off balance and into a wall with splinters in his side. The shockwave was large enough to knock Ranko clear off her feet and trip Usa. The man readied his now obviously magic based weapon and shot again just in time for the Shadow Emperor to appear catch the blast and crush it one handed.
"Dead Scream!" Pluto shouted blasting the Assassin off his feet and he picked himself up in time to be completely disabled and held up by the Ginzuishou's power and utterly helpless.
"It appears these enemies of yours are quite desperate Lady Serenity. If you'll allow it my wife is quite capable in the arts of learning an enemies secrets. Then breaking them for their transgressions." the Shadow Emperor said and Serenity raised an eyebrow.
"Certainly, but she is not to break him until we know just who this man is, why he attacked and who hired him." she said and the Shadow Emperor nodded then picked up his now unconscious son. "Now let's get him to a bed, I'd imagine your stay was just extended."
"Ranko! You aren't hurt are you? Small lady are you alright?" Setsuna asked in a worry tone but aside from a slight scrape from Usa and possible a twisted ankle they were fine. She let out a sigh of relief.
A few hours later...
Usa and Ranko were listening at the door to the peace talks with Usa having waved the guards off by saying that they were not allowed in, they weren't going in just listening.
"So it's as we feared, the Black Moon Clan will now be targeting all three children and attempt to provoke the masses into attacking each other." Ami said and the Shadow Emperor sighed.
"To make matters worse the attempt today has shown us that the palace, a place with hundreds upon thousands of guards and wards has weaknesses they can exploit. Furthermore the Eclipsed Tower has even less in the way of guards and wards, the hostile terrain of the Shadow Dimension won't be enough of a deterrent. They've only identified Drask though so the rest of my children will be easily hidden. So once again the greatest concern is my third born." the Shadow Emperor said.
"Problem child?" Makoto asked.
"No a challenge, he's never developed a few key social skills but has been borderline obsessed with magic making him learn to use it much earlier then the norm. As we saw on the security tapes when Serenity the Second and Princess Ranko used instinctive magic tied into their celestial powers Drask used a fully formed shadow arrow. A weak spell, but fully formed magic at his age is rare." he explained.
"So the question is now where can we keep those three so that they'll be safe..." Rei asked. With all the excitement all the Senshi along with the Shadow Emperor and the Shadow Empress were in the conference room.
"Miss Pluto you said that soon you will be sending the two girls into the distant past to aid the younger version of the queen correct?" The Shadow Empress asked and both Usa and Ranko looked at each other in shock.
"I will not. The risks of sending someone not tied to planetary magic are enormous." Pluto said and Ranko could just see her standing up and glaring at the taller woman.
"If my child dies because of some obscure unwritten untested rule there will be no peace between us!!" the Empress shouted at her her chair slamming into the floor. Both Usa and Ranko cringed.
"Marrarn please! Calm yourself, your temper won't help us!" the Shadow Emperor said.
"You be quiet Zephyre! I will not risk my children for anything!" Marran shouted at him.
"Enough!" Endymon shouted and there was a silence. "Now, we're all scared and excited. Our children were attacked within a place of peace by our mutual enemy. Yet shouting at one another is exactly what that assassin wants us to do." he started playing the peace maker.
"Actually at this moment he's probably wanting a warm blanket." Marrarn said cackling a little.
"Yes that was good work, but back to the subject at hand. We need to keep those three safe, the Crystal Palace has been proven unsafe, and as all three are identified hiding them amongst the populace is out as well. As you said the Eclipsed Tower is not a viable option because it is likely to be even more easily penetrated." Endymon said.
"Now since Lady Pluto claims sending him back in time with the other two is too great a risk perhaps she has some other, less risky suggestion." Zephyre offered and Ranko started listening that much harder vaguely aware that the older two of the Shadow Emperor's children both girls were listening at the door above them.
"I'm afraid I don't know any other options, but sending someone not imbued with planetary energy through the Gates of Time is akin to sending them to die. The energies will tear him apart." Setsuna said and although Ranko and Usa couldn't see it Marran paled at the thought.
"Setsuna, is it possible to attune him to a planet or moon on a temporary basis will that work?" Minako suggested and there was a silence.
"It... would but it would also alter his current form of magic for however long he is bound to that power source, but... yes it would allow him to journey through the gates." Setsuna said thinking it over. "However the celestial body he aligns to must match his physical alignment as well and frankly only three celestial bodies match, which are Saturns largest moons Titan, Rhea and Iapetus. Even with that though his star seed could still refuse the merger to all three because he comes from a pocket dimension." Setsuna explained and silence again descended.
"I'm alright with it myself, he looks like a nice kid." Hotaru said.
"Alright then, we appear to have an option. With your permission of course Lady Serenity." Zephyre said.
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(Posted Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:14)
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