Taura let out the breath she'd been holding, and stepped back to an at-ease posture before walking up and taking the shield.

Then she leaned closer, her lips only inches away from the now-still Sphinx's ear. "You're trapped here, aren't you?" Her voice was a low whisper, though she didn't care if Rita and Goku could hear her. "You, um, don't have to try to answer that. I just wanted you to know that, if there is a way out -- I know, I know, you can't tell us...I just wanted you to know I'll be back. Or..." she trailed off, delicately. "Someone will." There, that covered death, dismemberment, and pint-sized one-way wormholes. Taura didn't make promises she couldn't keep. "I'll make sure. If that's what you want."

Then she held the shield out for Rita's inspection. Such a tiny thing, but they had both keys now, and Taura had a feeling she knew what the sacrifice might be. So many deaths, of late. She was living on borrowed time, in a borrowed body; would it even count? Only one way to find out.