Legal Stuff

1) The Characters and Stories of Ranma ½ and Sailor Moon are Copyright © Rumiko Takahashi and Naoko Takeuchi respectively, and are used here without permission or license.

2) No claims to the above copyrights are made by the author of this work.

3) This is a work written for non-commercial use ONLY, and is written for the purpose of the enjoyment of fans.

4) This work is the expression of the author, and the depictions of the characters of Ranma ½ and Sailor Moon herein are in no way represented to be a part of Ranma ½ or Sailor Moon as depicted by the original authors and copyright holders.

Beginning Notes: Merry Christmas Everyone!

And for those of you who will undoubtedly have nit-pics about continuity of story and causality and certain things not quite making sense for certain parts of this chapter, please see to my End Notes.

The Dark Side of the Moon

By: Almech Alfarion (Child of Fire)

Chapter VI: Storm Rise

-o-o-o-o-o-

Hotaru gasped as she and Ranma slid unceremoniously out of the shadows under the cot in the safe-house she had used the previous night. Ranma let out a hiss of pain as her back impacted against an equipment case (driving a few crystal shards further in), but she suppressed it in favor of more important things. Her arms were still around her friend and could tell that the Saturnian Princess hadn't taken to the unexpected shadow shift well judging by the shivers wracking the smaller girl's body nor the fact that she had promptly fallen unconscious from the rough exit despite Ranma taking the worst of the impact.

She stood quickly, lifting Hotaru and gently laying her on the cot before loosely wrapping her friend in a blanket so as not to make her injuries worse. Ranma brushed some hair from her friends face before retrieving her data-pad and dialing Nabiki and Setsuna. While she waited for her comrades in arms to connect the line, she dove into the mess of cases littering the space and pulled one out seemingly at random.

Cracking the seal revealed the case to contain medical supplies; tweezers, bandages, gauze, antiseptics, and a pair of charged healing crystals. Without ceremony the redhead unbundled her friend before taking the tweezers and beginning the tedious process of extracting crystal shards.

The data-pad chimed, signaling an established connection.

"Firefly, I've got a situation here!" she yelled, not wasting any time, "The entire night's gone tits up and I need you here ASAP! I won't be staying where I'm at for any longer than I need to, so home your teleport on me!"

"Right! At current distance between Terra and Saturn I can get there in just under two hours! Just hold on, and don't do anything stupid."

"Hold on Firefly! Ghost, what's the situation." came the forced calm of Setsuna's voice over the line.

"It's not good, Mother." Ranma said, using her and Nabiki's codename for their boss. Her concentration on pulling shards of crystal out of her friend never wavered. "One second I'm about to start telling Hotaru about us, the next I'm reversing a knife into the side of one of those Assassin Golems. After that, things get crazy as the serving staff turn into more golems and they start shooting at everything! I shadow shifted the both of us out to one of my safe-houses when they dropped the chandelier on our heads!"

"Firefly, Home-port to Ghost's location, but make sure to come in someplace you won't be seen." The Senshi of Pluto snapped off. Nabiki's crisp 'Yes Mam!' came over the line before Setsuna gave Ranma her new orders. "Ghost, hold tight for now. In an hour, return to Cronus Tower and assess the situation. I'm authorizing full license if you think you need it. That goes for you as well, Firefly. Your new mission is to ensure the safety of Saturn's entire Royal Family. The Cronian and Lunar forces still present in the tower should be more than a match for a few of these golems if your previous assessments are accurate, but the Scouts are going to want to blame someone, and Saturn's Royal Family will be at the top of the list. "

Ranma gulped at the mention of 'Full License' while Nabiki and Amaterasu's images froze. If Setsuna thought things could get that bad...

"Understood, Mother..." she quietly confirmed before cutting the line from her end. Ranma scratched the back of her head in frustration, idly noting that the pins that had held her crimson mane in its bun had fallen out somewhere. The rest of her thoughts were preoccupied with how things had come to this. The question was largely rhetorical, of course, but lingered none-the-less.

"Ranma...? What...? Where...?" Hotaru weakly asked, startling the redhead from her thoughts. Her friend's shivering had subsided somewhat, for which the Senshi of Eris was thankful. The princess of Saturn hissed, flinching as Ranma gently pulled a particularly large flake of crystal from her arm.

"Shhhh... Rest now, my friend" the redhead soothingly said as she sprayed the heavily bleeding gash with antiseptic and slapped a bandage over it as a temporary fix before moving onto a three inch long sliver that had become lodged just above Hotaru's hip. "The situation at the ball will be taken care of, and answers will come, but you need to rest for now..."

The Princess's struggles calmed with the reassurance and Ranma worked quietly for several more minutes before she had her friend turn over so she could get at her other side. Hotaru complied quietly and did her best to refrain from any sudden movements even when the redhead had to pull out a particularly jagged piece stuck under her shoulder blade. Finally the last piece was out and Ranma took one of the healing crystals from the case and held it up so her now slightly more lucid friend could see.

She asked, "Now, I know you usually could heal yourself, but do you know how to use one of these to augment that?" Receiving an affirmative nod she handed it to the young princess.

"Now it's my turn..." the redhead muttered unenthusiastically. Foregoing the tweezers she instead opted to simply pull the larger ones out quickly.

"Ranma!" Hotaru cried out in alarm.

"No! You stay where you are and keep healing yourself!" Ranma bit out through the pain as her friend made a move to get up. "Trust me, I'll be fine." Contrary to what she said, sweat was already rapidly beading on her forehead and she was trembling nearly uncontrollably, but years of training kicked in and her body stilled through sheer force of will. Hotaru watched in horrified fascination as she worked, forgetting her own injuries until the last of the easily accessible shards were out.

Stumblingly, she roughly grabbed the remaining crystal from the first aid case and lurched to her feet. Hotaru made another move to stand, but Ranma forced her back down and pointed from the crystal that had fallen limply from her friend's hand and then at her friend, in too much pain to speak as she bled freely.

"Let. me. help. you!" Hotaru almost growled, but Ranma only shook her head and pointed at the crystal and her again before staggering towards the glowing panel next to the door and slamming the side of a fist into it.

Instantly six panels of blue magic flashed across the four walls, floor and ceiling. The force-field completely sealed the space, and Ranma wasted no time.

Hotaru could only watch in terrified awe as the redhead flared with a bright gold aura flecked with specks of black before feeding the magic directly into her healing crystal. The delicate construct shattered instantly, the pieces seeming to hover in time as the power dissolved them into nothing before she flared even brighter.

When the light dimmed, Ranma was doubled over in obvious pain and smoking slightly, but otherwise completely healed. The only real anomaly was that she was also completely covered in short red fur, but that quickly dissolved into scattering gold tinted mana.

"Blood and Hellfire, I'd forgotten why I hate doing that!" she managed to croak out. Sucking in a deep breath Ranma chanced a glance up to see Hotaru backed all the way to the wall on her cot. Fear was pooling in her eyes and Ranma swallowed a sudden lump in her throat.

"W-why? What? Who- WHO Are You?!" the Princess of Saturn yelled in panic, trying unsuccessfully to crawl up the wall before wincing as she aggravated her own injuries and slumping back down.

Ranma forced a smile saying, "I told you: 'I can finally tell you everything' Princess." as she leaned against the wall opposite her charge. "You're going to have to believe me when I say that for the entire time you've known me and even now, my number one priority has been your safety."

"And if I don't...?" The dark young woman hedged through a pained wince. There was uncertainty in her voice, though, and Ranma had to clamp down on her emotions to keep her relief from showing.

"Then we'll pass that bridge when we get there." She said instead, smiling softly now that the initial pain had faded. The Saturnian Princess didn't smile back, but that didn't deter Ranma. Checking her timepiece she noted that there was still three quarters of an hour left before she could return to Cronus Tower.

"Let's start at the beginning, shall we? You can start healing yourself as I talk..." the redhead said as she settled in a bit more, and received a nod as the dark young woman picked the remaining crystal up again before her hands glowed white and did as suggested. Ranma smiled in relief as she continued, "I was born on Luna; in Selene to be specific-"

And so it was that Ranma told the youngest Princess of Saturn about everything. Nothing was hidden, from her scared friend; from what she knew of the fall of the Lost Kingdoms, to how her parents died for being descendants of survivors from that atrocity. About how she barely survived on the streets with a few other kids who had lost their homes (or never had one to begin with) before they all died one by one until it was just her and Nabiki left when they were picked up by 'Sailor' Pluto. How the Time Guardian was actually an adherent to the 'olde ways' of the Guardian Senshi, and how the enigmatic woman had trained her and Nabiki to become Senshi themselves. She explained about how under the current rule, they were seen as traitors, but under the edicts put forward by Serenity Lunis, the first Moon Queen, they truly possessed the authority to take the actions they were, up to and including her current mission of protecting her and her family, even if it meant attacking agents of the Lunar Queen...

By the end Hotaru was properly wide eyed and the fear had all but disappeared.

"So, how did you heal yourself?" she asked as Ranma wound down. The redhead blinked before chuckling slightly. "'Chaos' and 'Darkness' don't sound like they'd be very good at healing..."

"It's a trick with my Chaos Magic." She explained, "Since it has no form in its natural state by its very nature, when I channel it into something enchanted for a specific purpose it latches onto that form and amplifies the power by a factor of five, only there are also some random side effects." The redhead nonchalantly waved off the mention of 'side effects'. "Aside from that, when I do it, it burns out whatever I use. Most magical foci are too general and/or fragile for it to be useful for making anything other than an explosion happen, but medical crystals work well enough for a one hit burst use."

"What about the Talismans?" Hotaru asked, hiding a gulp.

"Worried about what I could do if I got my hands on the Silence Glaive?" the redhead asked understandingly, "While a talisman would be sturdy enough to withstand the feedback, it wouldn't work in the first place. They're bound to both their planets and the Senshi magic specific to them. They wouldn't accept the magic of Eris even if I tried."

Hotaru sighed in relief and quiet visited the safe-house. Ranma checked her timepiece and scowled. It was almost time...

Heaving herself to her feet the redhead stripped off her ripped and bloodstained clothes before diving into the footlocker at the foot of the cot for something more serviceable.

"Here, put these on." She said, tossing a pair of black pants and an equally dark shirt to her friend. "They're a little larger than your size, but should fit well enough until things are settled." She explained with her head back in the footlocker to retrieve a second set for herself.

"What happens now?" Hotaru finally asked as she pulled her own ruined clothing off and began changing.

"Now..." Ranma sighed, scowling at the wall. "Now we go back to the tower and make sure the rest of your family are alright." She would rather leave her friend here, where she knew the princess would be safe, but also knew that her friend's character wouldn't stand for it.

Once they were both changed, the Senshi of Eris looked at her friend once more. Idly noting that dark colors really suited her, Ranma activated her ZERO Armour. Hotaru swallowed heavily as the wireframe boxes manifested around the redhead and quickly actualized.

"So you were the ones who...?" Hotaru asked tentatively, recognizing the form in front of her instantly.

"We were there to make sure King Endymion didn't end up like his father." Ranma explained as her helmet folded back into compartments hidden in the breastplate and she began grabbing equipment from the scattered piles around her. "Nothing more, nothing less. Most of the information about us that's floating around is pure fiction anyways."

"Most of?" Hotaru prompted as she stood.

"Here, take these." Ranma cut in, tossing her friend a pistol and a bandolier of pulse grenades. "When we get there, I need you to stay hidden and only use them if you need to. Otherwise let me handle things until I say otherwise."

"But-" the youngest Princess of Saturn tried asking again but Ranma shot her a pleading look and she stayed quiet.

"Now, take a deep breath and stay calm." The redhead said as she wrapped her arms around the smaller woman. Hotaru did as asked and for the second time that day the pair fell into the world of shadows.

Eddies of darkness twisted around them as Ranma pulled her friend along, careful not to let go. Deftly navigating through the tides of shadow and light it didn't take long for Hotaru to realize that they had actually been under the tower the entire time! Moving upwards at an alarming rate they quickly reached the level where the Ballroom was located.

Ranma assessed the sight before her. With the destruction of the main light crystal in the center of the room, the area was now practically a sea of twisting shadows with only dim light for anyone outside her realm to see by. It was nearly a perfect environment for her, and she quickly pulled her friend back towards the center of the room where they had first left from and a particularly dense patch of darkness waited.

When they emerged from the Dark-Realm, Ranma had to cover her friend's mouth to keep her from gasping at the sudden shift. Looking around she nodded in satisfaction to see that they were in a cramped gap formed from larger pieces of the surviving structure leaning against eachother. Thin beams of muted purple light filtered through the cracks in the structure and provided a minimal amount of light.

The sound of something heavy meeting flesh from outside drew their attention instantly and both moved to try and see what was happening through the openings.

Signs of the earlier battle were still visible in the limited space that they could see outside; piles of dust littered the floor which was pockmarked and scored from the weapons and magic-fire. Discarded weapons were scattered about the area while a few bodies still lay here and there.

As for the Sailor Scouts; Mars had been revived and she and Jupiter's injuries had since been healed though they still bore the occasional bruise or scuff. Both held down the bound and bloodied Sailor Saturn while an equally disheveled Sailor Mercury oversaw the lunar agents holding blasters to the heads of the remaining three princesses and surviving Royal Guards. More agents formed a tight outer perimeter to keep the crowd of guests from interfering within the small space just beyond their crystalline hiding place...

"I will not ask you again, your 'Highness'. Where Is She!" the voice of Sailor Venus pierced the quiet and drawing their gazes to the tableau happening not too far outside.

The enforcer of 'Love' was clearly angry and the sarcasm practically dripped off of her voice when she addressed the kneeling form of Queen Yuna in front of her. Said woman was quite the worse for wear, her once fine clothing now battle damaged from the earlier conflict and they could see several bruises forming on her face, most likely from Sailor Venus' 'interrogation'.

"I told you girl! We don't know where my granddaughter went," the Queen of Saturn spat out defiantly after a moment to collect herself, "and even if we did, I'll die before I allow you to have her for tha-Urk!"

It happened so fast that Ranma hadn't even had time to react. All around them, the subdued surviving guests from the Gala gasped in shock, screamed, or fainted outright as Venus' crystal sword pierced the Queen of Saturn's chest. As it was the redhead was only able to hold Hotaru back from running to her dying grandmother's side as lifeblood slowly drained out of her.

"You Bitch!" Sailor Saturn screamed, attempting to lunge at Venus despite the glowing chain of hearts that bound her. Jupiter kicked her in the head, knocking her to the floor where she began sobbing. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!"

Sword still held piercing the old Queen, Venus intoned, "Let it be known that here today, Queen Yuna of Saturn in the act of defying an agent of Her Majesty Queen Serenity during official duties, stands accused of High Treason. The punishment for such crimes is death, and has already been carried out."

With the end of the proclamation, the Leader of the Inner Scouts yanked her blade from the now dead woman and turned to the weeping form of Sailor Saturn. Triumph glowed in her eyes, but her face remained stony. Ranma took this as her queue to begin wriggling through the larger gaps, her helmet quickly folding over her head as she did so.

"Now, dear princess..." Venus drawled, "I hope you will be more cooperative, if only for your daughters'-"

"Pitch Black" Ranma intoned as she finally freed herself, her voice carrying throughout the hall. Complete darkness fell instantly, causing more than a few screams of terror.

"What is this! Agents! Be ready for anything!" Sailor Venus yelled, her sightless gaze darting in every direction. The other Scouts were likewise startled and didn't notice as Saturn began shuffling in the rough direction of her daughters.

The Senshi of Eris grabbed the Silence Glaive, which had been lying on the floor nearby, and moved quickly through the shadowy environment towards her unknowing charges. She didn't have much time. The darkness was already beginning to recede as her ZERO Armour fought against the spell. She reached the New Queen just as color began to return to her vision, and with one deft stroke of Saturn's Talisman severed the chain of hearts that bound her.

The ringing crackle of de-actualizing magic split the air, and Ranma wasted no time as every eye in the room turned in her direction. Dropping the Glaive next to its true owner, she drew several charge-knives and one of Dr. Stanhope's 'Party Favors' from subspace and hurled them towards the agents standing over the rest of the royal family and their guards.

The weapons struck true, the knives sending a lethal shock through their targets on impact while the 'Party Favor' hit Sailor Mercury and detonated into a golden burst of localized chaos energy. Her Fuku's protections took the brunt of the suddenly visibly warping space, but were left shredded in its wake as the blue haired woman coughed up blood and passed out.

This entire action took place in a matter of seconds, and only as Mercury began to fall did anyone begin to react. The spectating crowd started screaming in panic again, trying to run for the locked down lifts. The agents that had been holding them back were quickly trampled under the oncoming rush of bodies, and Ranma used the opportunity to help Sailor Saturn to her feet.

"We need to get the Civilians out of here!" She yelled over the noise.

"There's a service stairwell to our right, if we can breach the wall!" The woman shouted back before she looked in the direction her daughters had been and her eyes went wide. "Hotaru!"

Ranma's head whipped around just in time to see her friend draw the pistol she had been given and drill a hole in the head of one of the agents that hadn't been incapacitated by the crowd before he could grab one of her sisters. Quickly, the small woman darted through the press of bodies to their sides where she began helping them to their feet.

"Oh Hotaru, thank the stars you're alright!" Her mother cried as she and Ranma reached them, sweeping her up in a tight hug.

"While I can appreciate your relief, your highness, Now's not the - Get Down!" the Senshi of Eris shouted as she threw herself into the five Royals, knocking them out of the way of a blast of fire. Bodies flew in every direction, and the only thing that saved Ranma from being badly singed was her Armour.

The smoke cleared, revealing Sailors Venus, Mars and Jupiter approaching them from where they had regrouped on the other side of the Hall. The three were already charging up their next attacks.

"Your Highness, I know we just met, but for now you're going to need to trust me." Ranma said cautiously. She was charging her own counter-spell, gold flecked dark mana only just beginning to visibly manifest around her in a potent Aura. "When I say Run, take your family and remaining guards and open those Service Stairs so the civvies can evacuate."

The redhead received an affirmative nod just before their three opponents released their attacks.

"Crescent Beam Shower!"
"Burning Mandala!"
"Sparkling Wide Pressure!"

"Umbral Bulwark." Ranma intoned as the attacks sped towards them. Thrusting her hands forward the charged mana released in a wide arced shield between them.

"RUN!" She shouted as three impacts reverberated off the other side and shook the hall. Cracks were visibly forming on her defense as more spells impacted it, but the Royals did as she suggested and made a b-line towards the nearby wall with her right behind to maintain their cover. Purple mana sparked off the Silence Glaive as Sailor Saturn charged her own attack and thrust the tip of her weapon into a panel seemingly like any other just as Ranma's bulwark shattered; blowing her backwards with the release of barely contained chaotic mana from her unfiltered power while scattering the Royal Family in all directions.

The wall around the Silence Glaive's point of entry had instantly disintegrated in a five meter radius though, revealing the maintenance shaft behind. Soon the frightened guests were pouring through. Ranma shook her head from where she had impacted with the wall and quickly dodged out of the way of an incoming bolt of Lightning courtesy of Sailor Jupiter before the Jovian found herself dodging the Silence Glaive's business end as Saturn drew her attention. Checking the timepiece on her HUD as she ducked under a Crescent Beam, the redhead groaned at seeing that there was still three quarters of an hour before her backup would arrive.

'Time to shake things up.' She thought, 'Offensive spells are out at the moment no thanks to my armor, sooo...' With that thought, the redhead pulled a heavy grav-hammer from her subspace pocket, twisting around on the draw and smacking an agent who had been trying to sneak up on her, turning his innards to paste as he went flying across the room into Sailor Mars, who had been about to strike Saturn from behind.

Across the way, Sailor Saturn was holding up a Silence Wall against Sailor Jupiter as Mars recovered while behind the impenetrable barrier Hotaru helped Princess Yuki to her feet. Princesses Hitomi and Subaru were recovering on their own a little further away with a contingent of the Royal Guards who weren't helping to heard Civilians into the now open escape route.

'Let's dance.' The redhead thought, smiling grimly as she twirled the hammer through the air, visible distortions following the pan-headed heavy weapon's arc. The room was rapidly clearing and she had a straight line of sight to her opponents.

Her weapon's head came to a rest on the floor with a clang. She and Venus stared at eachother, the scout circling the waiting senshi of Eris as they sized up their opponent. Ranma was more than willing to wait, as the longer they took to reengage the lower the chance of collateral casualties among the fleeing civilians.

On the other side of the room, Sailor Saturn was trading blows with Mars and Jupiter as she held them off from her daughters. The Silence Glaive was a blur as she spun it in a rapid dance, tearing into the less experienced pair, erecting the occasional Silence Wall when they attempted to pincer her and deflecting their attacks with her polearm when unable to simply dodge. As it stood the only reason she hadn't already driven them off was the combined factors of the pair's teamwork and the Cronian Queen's need to cover Hotaru and Yuki as they fought the remaining lunar agents alongside their guards, the elder sister having scavenged a weapon from one of the fallen golems. Princesses Subaru and Hitomi had made it to the exit point and were assisting what few civilians remained with their evacuation and directing the guards as best they could.

Ranma's attention snapped back to her opponent as the princess of Venus summoned her chain, golden energy forming around her arm before coalescing into glowing heart shaped links. The redhead assessed the situation instantly: what her opponent's weapon lacked in stopping power it more than made up for in speed, reach and the ability to shred through most non-physical magical defenses. Her gravity-hammer, on the other hand, while shorter and slower could rain down blow after stunning blow of gravity enhanced pain.

The sound of the battle raging around them faded away for a moment, time hanging by a thread, before both opponents struck simultaneously.

Venus brought her chain to bear, swinging in a wide arc and hoping to catch the dark armored figure in its coiling links but with a deft move Ranma jumped at the same time she swung her hammer at the floor. The marble surface cracked under the head as rebounding force flung her in the air higher than she would have otherwise achieved, the links passed harmlessly beneath her. The arc turned into a summersault as the Senshi angled herself to close the distance, bringing her hammer to bear on her surprised opponent.

Venus was no amateur, however, and recovered quickly enough to dodge out of the way as the fall assisted blow sent tremors throughout the whole ballroom and cracks spider-webbing outward from the point of impact for several meters.

Ranma ducked under the next arc the chain made for her, spinning on her heel from her prone position and shifting the hammer in her grasp to bring it into a spinning arc and using the resulting momentum to corkscrew herself upwards. At the top of the final turn she converted all of that momentum into another summersaulting jump, using it to carry her towards her opponent again, who had once more opened the distance between them.

Back and forth it went for some time. Venus dodged and spun her chain, trying to keep as much distance between them as possible and occasionally throwing in one of her lancing magical attacks in for good measure. In the meantime, Ranma was doing her best to close that distance in order to land a decisive blow. Occasionally a lunar agent would be stupid enough to try attacking the redhead from behind; they were all quickly reduced to boney pulp but the openings they created did afford Venus the occasional glancing blow.

By the time the half hour mark for Nabiki's ETA ticked by, they were both panting heavily from the exertion and covered in injuries; while her full armour protected Ranma from sporting a collection of cuts and scrapes like Venus currently possessed, it didn't stop bruises from forming underneath or her long braid from fraying into red tangles.

As they broke apart to collect themselves once more, Ranma took the opportunity to again assess the status of her allies. The Saturnian Royal Guards had managed to dig into defensive positons. Queen Saturn and her daughters had regrouped with them and had begun directing their efforts to better effect. Mars and Jupiter had managed to collect Mercury and drag the downed Scout behind their side's defensive line before in turn seizing control of their forces. Both sides had reached a stalemate and reinforcements were slow in coming due to automated security protocols placing the tower into lockdown. Thanks to the dossier on her mission, Ranma knew that communications outside would likewise be cut off, so no help would be coming from anyone not already stationed inside the tower.

Between the two lines but still separated from everything else stood Sailor Venus and Senshi Eris, steadily circling eachother once more. Ranma needed to be mindful of her footing more than ever now, as in addition to the countless crystal shards scattered over the surface, her own devastating hammer-blows had reduced several sections into rubble and loose slabs that stood up at odd angles.

The side of her foot came into contact with one such chunk, and she paused. Venus likewise froze in place and widened her stance in anticipation for whatever the redhead might try next. Easing her stance until the foot in contact with the loose masonry was toed underneath it, Ranma made her play.

Kicking upward, the chunk of rubble flew into the air at the same time the Senshi of Eris twisted a full three hundred and sixty degrees, leveling her hammer with it as it fell. The gravity enhanced strike disintegrated the large marble stone into hundreds of tiny fragments and sent them blasting towards Sailor Venus in an unforgiving hail of shards.

The Enforcer of Love tried dodging, but still caught a few pieces as they shot past her. In retaliation she loosed an underpowered crescent beam which Ranma was able to nimbly sidestep, but the redhead's luck ran out as she tried dodging the follow-up chain attack only to slip on a crystal shard the size of a dinner plate that she had somehow missed.

'Oh, fuck.' was all she could think as the chain wrapped around her torso. An instant later she felt herself being jerked towards Venus, forcing her to release her grip on her hammer and all she could do was twist in an effort to avoid the worst of what was to follow before pain flashed through her abdomen.

Venus' crystal sword was piercing through her gut, blood steadily dripping down its silvery length. Pain lanced from the wound, less than an inch from piercing anything instantly fatal, and Ranma internally directed her magic to contain the poison she knew was beginning to spread through her system even as she fought to stay conscious.

The world around them seemed to have come to another standstill as the golden chain disintegrated and Venus kicked her off of the blade. She landed hard and rolled a few times, coming to rest with her back against the larger remains of the crystal chandelier. She coughed at the impact and blood spattered the inside of her HUD, forcing her to retract the helmet. Gulping down deep breaths as red liquid dribbled down her chin, Ranma wrapped an arm around her bleeding stomach, fighting the oncoming lightheadedness from her improvised magical truncate. She was steadily winning the fight against the poison, as the blood in the area her magic contained drained from the wound, but the dizziness from bleeding out was leaving her open for the steadily nearing Sailor Venus.

The battle continued in the background, though a few seemed to pause to watch and the redhead dimly noted that Hotaru had to be held back by one of her sisters as she tried rushing to her friend's side. Ranma struggled to a sitting position and glared as defiantly as she could at her opponent. Venus smirked, her blade rising for an overhead blow to finish the redhead off.

'Not today', Senshi Eris thought, forcing her body to move through sheer force of will and summoning her first trump-card to her hands as the sword arced downward. With a ringing clang, the silvery blade suddenly stopped as it came in contact with the onyx black shaft the downed woman held above her head.

Lashing out at the surprised scout, Ranma kicked with what strength she could muster, catching the flat-footed Venus in the stomach and sending her sprawling away.

With a supreme effort Ranma planted the maul of her talisman on the floor and used the shaft to support herself as she stood even as more blood drained from her wound. Venus was likewise shakily regaining her feat, shooting wary looks between her and the artifact she now held; for only another talisman could withstand a blow from the Silver Sword of Justice's molecular edge.

The words Full License reverberated through Ranma's mind as a grim smile twisted her bloody lips. She had hoped to get through tonight without carrying through with the contingency Setsuna had given her, and thus exposing their existence, but now she didn't really have a choice. Venus must have caught an inkling of what was about to happen, for in that instant the enforcer of Love charged with fear writ across her face even as golden glowing darkness engulfed the wounded redhead.

This time the battle really did stop as the rushing Sailor Scout was violently flung across the battlefield streaming trails of gold-warping blackness.

Ranma breathed in deep as she lowered her outstretched, gauntleted hand. Her Senshi Armour's inbuilt matrices were already beginning battlefield countermeasures to her more serious injuries and she could feel her stomach and back beginning to knit together. The internal damage would take longer to heal, but for now she was swimming in a heady cocktail of magical pan-antivenin and anesthetic to help with the pain and what poison remained.

Venus was slower to recover this time, and the look of shocked horror on her face was shared by her fellow inner scouts. The Royals of Saturn save Hotaru were equally stunned by her Armour's transformation, though her friend still showed her surprise mixed with the relief at seeing that Ranma was fine for the time being. They all Knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what her armour represented; each of their families possessed a similar suit after all, even if none of them used it anymore.

"I am Senshi Eris." Ranma intoned, her voice carrying through the suddenly quiet hall. Her entire demeanor shifted before words flowed from her mouth in an archaic form she knew by heart, learned specifically for when they became exposed and carrying the weight of genuine conviction, "By the authority vested in me in this station under the Olde Oaths passed down from the time of Serenity Lunis, First Queen of the Moon, I stand before you in the capacity for the dispensation of Justice."

Lifting her talisman and directing the pointed peeler at the now standing Sailor Venus she continued. "'Sailor' Venus: You stand accused of the wrongful indictment and preceding murder of the rightful steward of Saturn, as under the Olde Laws only a full tribunal of the Lunar Court may try a Steward in the event of Wrongdoing, and only then after sufficient evidence has been gathered and presented before said court. Furthermore, 'Sailors' Mercury, Mars and Jupiter stand as accessories to this crime while the four of you and the agents under your direct command are guilty of multiple counts of kidnapping, imprisonment of civilians without trial, and are party to the mass subversion of Free Will sustained under the reign of the current Queen Serenity which began during the reign of the preceding Lunar Queen."

"In times of old, these charges would be brought before the Assembly of Senshi with the Lunar Queen presiding only in the capacity to bestow insight on how to proceed and the ultimate decision would be brought to a vote among the Senshi not on trial. However, in the event of the ultimate corruption of the Assembly's purpose through illicit subversion of its members, or the forsaking of the oaths among a majority of their number, The Assembly shall be disbanded and those who stand true to the Olde Oaths are granted emergency license to bring the forsworn to justice.

"Where do you stand, 'Sailor Scouts'...? Will you submit yourselves to Justice? Or will you continue on the paths set before you by your forbearers?" Ranma finished, though she already knew what their answers would be.

Throughout her speech Venus' face had cycled from horror to incredulity and finally settled on rage. "Lies!" she shouted, summoning her sword to her hands once more and charging, abandoning tactics in favor of berserker fury. Ranma was ready though, bringing her talisman to bear and successfully parrying the attack.

Blue sparks skittered from where the two powerful artifacts connected as the silvery sword's path was diverted widely into the air with a twist of the enhanced racket, arcing backwards as it glanced off of the curved peeler. Ranma shifted to take advantage of her severely unbalanced opponent, bringing the lowered maul to bear and hammering a quick blow into Venus' stomach, knocking the wind out of her and further discombobulating the Scout. Capitalizing on the continued disorientation, the redhead enhanced her strength further from her armour's augmentation via internally directed mana.

Her whole body streamed trails of black and gold as she spun in a complete circle, arcing the maul around at the staff's full extension to build its momentum before redirecting all of that force upward to connect with the Scout's jaw. The woman's mandible audibly shattered, her Fuku's protective fields only inhibiting the blow enough to barely spare her life before they visibly failed in a flicker of light, and the orange clad enforcer smoothly arced high through the air.

The redhead's vision was beginning to swim again though. The maneuver had further aggravated her abdominal wound which was brutally reminding her of its existence despite the painkillers. Ranma distantly heard Mars calling for a retreat even as Jupiter rushed to collect the unconscious Venus in the stunned aftermath before sending a stream of overcharged lightning against the Saturnian Royal Guards defending the only exit. Ranma heavily planted the maul on the floor again for support as she swayed while Queen Hayate and most of her surviving guards gave chase to the fleeing lunar agents.

"Ranma!" she heard someone call as though from far away as her shaking knees finally gave way. "Please don't go." She heard the same voice say, pleading, now much closer, but still somehow distant. Warmth suffused her stomach suddenly and her vision swam back into focus to find Hotaru kneeling at her side, hands glowing with healing light. Her sister, Hitomi, was kneeling next to her other side, her own hands placed on Ranma's back.

"I don't know who you are, or why you're here, Senshi Eris, but thank you." The elder princess said in a shaky voice, her formal robes a mess of mana-burn marks and blood while her long, lavender hair was equally disheveled. The gratitude in her magenta eyes was genuine though, and Ranma felt herself relaxing into their healing embrace.

-o-o-o-o-o-

- End Chapter VI -

-o-o-o-o-o-

End Notes: Well, Here it is...

I honestly don't really know what to think of this chapter. The beginning is a bit rough, I'll admit. The transition between Ranma's Safe-house back to the Ballroom could probably be handled better, but that's to be expected, I suppose.

I know there are gaps in the sequence of events, but I assure you that everything has an explanation. It's simply that regardless of what Anime and Manga would lead us to believe, the middle of a heated battle is NOT the best time for these explanations to be forthcoming. There's also still another chapter or two to go before this sequence is complete and we can get back to strategy planning (*cough*exposition*cough*), and explaining how things ended up the way were when Ranma and Hotaru returned to the Ballroom.

To those of you who still have Questions about what's going on, please leave a review asking about it! While I may or may not directly answer any reviews, they will give me a better idea of what I need to cover when the story gets around to it in case I've missed/forgotten anything.

Thank you.