Sailor Moon Millenium - The Rise of the Stellar Scouts Chapter # 9 - Kurai-ki's Query : Serpent Struggle - Created May 15th, 2000 By K.W. Isenor (sailor_sun_@hotmail.com) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Kurai-ki!" The eerie voice of the beast rang throughout Emperor Valico's quarters. "You failed again! And you did a lot more harm then good!" The beast looked up at Emperor Valico. "I told you so!" "I won't fail you again." Kurai-ki slowly made his way to his feet, the beast put a powerful paw down on his chest. A burning sensation could be felt where the beasts paw lay. "What? What are you doing?" Kurai-ki looked down at the burning spot on his chest. "Teaching you a lesson. So be sure not to fail next time because the pain you are feeling right now is nothing but a small fraction of my power!" The beast lifted his paw off of Kurai-ki's chest. The imprint was left there with a swirling back and gold print. Kurai-ki stood up quickly. "Yes, I will not fail you again." Kurai-ki did a quick bow then left the presence of the beast and Emperor Valico. Once he had ran down the twisting tunnels he came to a whirlpool of water. He breathed in the revolting air that surrounded him. "Why must I live in such a fowl smelling place like this? We should be on the surface with the humans, not hiding here like rats." "And besides I don't even know why I must get these six Heart Stones." Kurai-ki walked along through the tunnels all looking very similar to the others. He then heard voices. "You must get those Heart Stones if you want our plan to work out. We need all six to come together to bring the Eternal Darkness to this system. So remember you have to get your little servant to carry out this if we want everything to go as planned." 'Oh like that will help me much. Eternal Darkness.' Kurai-ki slammed his fist onto the near by wall in frustration and confusion. Emperor Valico and the beast heard this. "What was that?" The beast questioned as he walked over to where he had heard the pounding. Nothing was there, the only thing that he could see was a swirl of wind. He shook his head and walked back over to Emperor Valico. "We need to get those Heart Stones all together, so you had better start pushing that minion of yours and get him to carry out the plan! Or you will have to suffer the consequences." The beast disappeared into the dark water in the fountain. * * * * * "So let me get this straight, we used to live in a time known as the Golden Millennium. Our life and family was destroyed. We were then transported to a new time of life." Alissa looked from Jessica, to Kevin then to Eclipse, they all nodded in agreement. "Then that life was too destroyed, and we were sent again to a new place and a brand new time." Alissa took in a deep breath. "Then you and the other sailor scouts from Japan were attacked by the same evil that had destroyed the Sun Kingdom." "My aunt." Jessica quietly said. Everyone went silent and sat there not knowing what to say. "What happened to her?" Alissa asked. "You kind of left that part out." Alissa looked to her friend, Kevin pulled Jessica in closer so her head was resting on his chest. "I'll tell you later." She replied softly. "Just go on with what you were saying." Alissa nodded her head and continued. "You once again had to fight for your life, that is when you found hat you were Sailor Sun, after being attacked. You fought with the five other Sailor Scouts. You guys all became friends." Alissa took a big drink from her pop. "Then a mysterious warrior came, whom ended up being Kevin. Then you two actually got to go to the Sun and relieve your memories of the past. Then it came time to battle Queen Hecate. And you guys won." "That sums everything up pretty well Alissa, at least you took everything in. Now maybe we will explain to you what happened since we got her to Nova Scotia." Eclipse walked over at sat by Alissa on the floor. Alissa nodded her head eagerly. "Alright, Jessica was attacked by a villain named Kasumi, she has been destroyed, but she came in search of an item which are called Heart Stones. They contain the person's soul and will make them the exact opposite of what they are if they have their Heart Stone taken away from them." "That is what Kurai-ki tried to take from me right, that is how I was awakened, as you three call it." Alissa interrupted. "Yes that is right, we don't know very much about the Heart Stones other then that there are six powerful ones. They hold the key to something, but we have not been able to figure out what yet." "One thing that we do know is that we have to find these Heart Stones before they get into the evil hands of whoever Kurai-ki is working for." Jessica said as she looked up. "Well that is a given." Eclipse said turning to Alissa. "Jessica and Kevin were having these weird dreams, have you been having any?" Eclipse asked as he turned to face Alissa. "Nope, nothing other then regular dreams." Alissa replied. "What were your dreams about Jessica?" Jessica looked up from the rug, which she was playing with. "Basically they were just telling me to awaken the four other warriors, princess. Former members from my court back on the Sun." "So I'm a princess! You guys left that part out! This scout stuff is getting better then I thought." Alissa said cheerfully as she hugged Eclipse close. "And even if there are talking dogs I still love this." "Alissa, you must realize that this isn't a game, you are fighting not only for your life but for the life of every living being on this planet. And you can not tell anyone. That is a big no, no. We have to keep ourselves secret, everything would be much easier for Kurai-ki if he knew our true identities." Eclipse stated in a very stern voice. "Oh." Alissa said softly, the smile fading from her face as she looked down at her lap, the room went silent until Jessica spoke up. "It isn't that bad, I have always looked at this as a curse which has been put upon myself, but it isn't I get to save people lives, I'm a Princess of the Sun. I want to make everything right so the future will be peaceful. And maybe someday when Crystal Tokyo comes to be, I can go back and live on the sun and rule a peaceful kingdom like my parents did." "Now that I think of everything, being a Sailor Scout isn't too bad because I get to kick some bad guy butt, and if I may say so I do it good!" A smile spread across Jessica's face. The smile returned to Alissa face. "Come girls why don't we go and raid the freezer for ice cream." Kevin stood up off the floor, he then helped Alissa and Jessica get up. The two girls and the two guys made their way out of the room and down the stairs to the kitchen freezer. * * * * * "This is just great, first I end up doing more harm then good, and now I must go and destroy not one but two female Sailor Scouts and one male Senshi. I don't know what I am going to do anymore." Kurai-ki walked through the dark tunnels of his home. He kicked a few pebbles into a gutter close by. "Come on think, I need a plan." Kurai-ki continued to make his way along in the direction to where he was heading. "I have to make a distraction which will get the stupid scouts confused long enough for me to make my attack, I will have to attack them one, by one." A snake slithered over Kurai-ki's foot. He glanced down at the serpent. "Excellent." A wide grin spread across his face. He reached down and picked up the animal, he held it around its neck. The frightened animal tried to bite at Kurai-ki's hand. "None of that my sweet pet, you must help me with my next task. And you will work perfectly." Kurai-ki patted its scaly head. It flicked its tongue out to smell the air. "Yes you will work wonders." * * * * * "Alright mom, be back in a bit! We are just going to walk Alissa home, we might stay for a little while, but not long." Jessica called through the house as she stepped out the front door. "Make sure you are home in time for supper!" Mr. Walker called from the living room. Where the rest of Jessica's family sat watching a movie. "Five o'clock on the dot, no later!" "Yeah dad no problem." She yelled in reply as she shut the door. She turned to Kevin and Alissa, well lets get moving. We don't want to end up late or dad will have a fit." Jessica walked out onto the sidewalk, the road ahead was busy, cars driving this way and that. The motorists were trying to avoid rush hour traffic as much as possible. "Oh Jessica I have one more question, I hope you don't mind." Alissa turned to Jessica then back to the sidewalk ahead. "Mind, why would I mind? Ask away, I don't mind answering any questions that you might have." Jessica continued down the sidewalk until they came to the crosswalk. There they waited until the light's turned red. "Well I was wondering how I would know if someone needs my help? Will I get this gut feeling or what?" Alissa asked as the four walked across the street. "Oh we must have left that out, there are about three ways to know. One being usually we would sense it if we were close by, or just hearing it would usually tell use that there is bad guy butt to be kicked!" "And the other?" Alissa questioned softly as a man walked by, she was trying to be extra careful not to let anyone know about their little secret. "The other, well back in Japan we all had communication devices. But Luna gave them to each of the scouts. Mine doesn't work over here anymore." Jessica turned down the big dog that walked on the end of a leather leash. "Eclipse would you be able to make anything?" The dog looked up at Jessica. "Well last night while you two girls were chatting about girls stuff, Kevin and myself decided to design some new devices." Eclipse cocked his head around so he could face Kevin. "Did you bring them?" Kevin reached into the pocket of his coat. He fumbled around until he griped the new items in his pocket. "Yup, I've got them, we can give them out once we get to Alissa's." "What are they?" Jessica's voice eager to find out what new device Eclipse had made this time. "Watch's, earrings, clips?" Jessica ran through all of the possibilities in her head as they neared Alissa's house. "None of those, they are just a small adjustment to each of your transformation medallions." Jessica quickly reached into her pocket where she usually kept her medallion. "You should be more watchful for that Jessica, if you were to lose that then everything would turn towards the worst!" "I have it Jessica, I have yours too Alissa. I hope neither of you mind, I just pulled them out of your coat pockets while you were talking about whatever you both found so funny last night." "Well what do they do?" Alissa asked, she wore a wide smile across her face as they turned the last corner before coming to Alissa's house. "Well they are little chips which have been attached into the back of your medallions. You can't see them. But what they do is whenever a evil force is felt close by they will blink." "But not too bright." Kevin added. "Yes and in the chip is a radio signal which only you three can tap into, I also have one on my collar. Anyway with these you can communicate back and forth easily." Jessica and Alissa nodded their heads as they took everything in. "Alright all of that sounds easy enough to remember. I think I will be able to handle this!" Alissa said with a big smile. As she turned towards her driveway. "Well this is my stop." Alissa looked to Kevin. "Can I have my medallion?" She asked as she held out her hand. "Oh yeah, no problem." Kevin reached into his pocket, fumbled around then pulled out two medallions. He handed the appropriate ones to each of the girls. "There you go." "Thank-you." They both said in unison. The shared a quick giggle then Jessica had to cut it short. "We would walk you up but we really must be getting home, I really don't feel like being grounded for two weeks." "Oh yeah sure no problem. I'll call you later tonight." Alissa said as she turned and began to walk up her driveway, but she was suddenly stopped but Eclipse's voice. "Alissa remember not to tell anyone, and to take you medallion everywhere you go. You don't want to get caught in a situation without your medallion." Eclipse said as he stepped forward. "Don't worry your little doggy head, I won't tell anyone, and I will take it everywhere I go." Alissa said as she walked over to Eclipse, she placed her hands on each side of his head. "Now you be a good talking doggy." Alissa talked in a baby tone. "Bye Alissa." Jessica waved as her friend walked up the driveway. "Bye." She called back. * * * * * "Time to get this plan underway." Kurai-ki held the snake out with one hand and waved his fingers around from the other hand. The snake's eyes went a deep red then faded back to the dark black pools. "There where can we put you so you get lots of attention. Citadel Hill. Should be just the place." He turned to face the large grassy hill with the old historic fort on the top with the large wall, which surrounded it. Kurai-ki disappeared from the Clock Tower, on which he stood and reappeared, by the Center Square. "This should be a perfect place." He set the snake down on the cobblestone. "Now go my little pet and reek havoc on all of these poor and unexacting people. Making enough alarm so that those Sailor Scouts will come and you can do my dirty work for me." Kurai-ki threw back his head and laughed. His figure disappeared but the laugh could still be heard. The snake slithered into one of the near by buildings and screams filled the early evening air. * * * * * On the other side of town Jessica, Kevin and Eclipse walked away from Alissa house towards home. Jessica's medallion suddenly began to blink in her pocket. She looked around making sure no one was there to see her. She pulled it out of her pocket and held it up to her mouth. "Alissa?" She asked quietly. She waited for a response from the other end. "Jessica get up to my house right now, I got home and turned on the TV, and there is something that isn't very normal is going on up on Citadel Hill. There is being a news report about people being affected by what appears to be a snake's bite." Alissa replied from the other. "We will be right there, meet us in the barn up in the hay loft." Jessica turned to face Kevin and Eclipse. "So much for being home in time for supper!" Jessica grabbed Kevin by the arm, Eclipse had to run extra fast in order to stop from being strangled from the leash which Jessica held onto tightly. They finally made it to the barn, they ran up the stairs to the hayloft, the sweet smell of freshly cut hay filled their noses. There Alissa was waiting impatiently. "Good, now transform because we have to really get there now and find out what is going on. "SOLARIS STAR . . . . . POWER!" Jessica then closed her eyes. The Solaris Medallion disappeared into many little orange and gold sparkles, this caused her body to shimmer the colors of the sparkles as they fell onto her body. Then her silver tiara appeared with the red jewel in the center. The jewel then emitted a blinding flash of orange light that surrounded Jessica giving her the feeling of the bright morning sun on her body. Then a swirl of orange and gold sparkles warped around her body moving upward as it spun around her body. The body suit of her uniform then appeared. And the bows came out of the heart in the center of her chest. Sparkling golden rings then went around her feet forming boots. Then more sparkling rings went around her arms forming her gloves. Soon afterward the golden sparkles went around her waist forming her skirt. At that point there was a large burst of golden sparkles that flew up into the air, when the sparkles fell to the ground Sailor Sun was then revealed fully transformed. She did her transformation pose. She stood there with one hand across her forehead and the other across her stomach with her legs together. Her long red hair then blew to the side. "DAYSTAR COSMIC . . . . . POWER!" The mist wrapped around counter clockwise around his body covering him from the eye. When the mist faded away Kevin was only a shadow. Then was an explosion above his head and small glittering yellow and maroon sparkles fell over his shoulders and his long cape appeared around his shoulders. Then with a bright flash of golden light his armor appeared. Then he held his right arm to the sky and opened his eyes. Once his eyes were open a large powerful silver sword appeared in his hand, he then slid the saber into it's proper spot on his belt. "POLLUX STAR . . . . . POWER!" Alissa shouted out the phrase as she held her transformation item above her head. Alissa then closed her eyes then her transformation wand disappeared. Her hair was then lifted off of her shoulders. I strong gust picked up and swirled around her. Then her silver tiara appeared with the white jewel in the center. The jewel then emitted a blinding flash of gray light that surrounded Alissa giving her the feel of a warm spring breeze blowing through her hair and across her face. Then the swirling air divided into rings and two rings went around her body moving upward as it spun around her body. The body suit of her uniform then appeared. And the bow came out of the heart in the center of her chest. Gray rings of air went around her feet forming boots. Then more gray rings went around her arms forming her gloves. Soon afterward the gray air went around her waist forming her skirt. At that point the wind picked up greatly, her hair was blowing wildly. From above a tornado came down and circled around Alissa blocking her from view. When the tornado died down and her hair slowly dropped back resting on her shoulders. Sailor Pollux was reveled fully transformed. She did her transformation pose. Her pose was her standing with both of her hands on her cheeks, looking very innocent and harmless. Her head was tilted a little bit to the side. Her legs were apart, one was a little ahead then the other. "SUN BUBBLE . . . . . TRANSPORT!" The Golden ball surround them and they were instantly transported to the center square of the Citadel. Everything was quite, a bit too quite. The all looked around in every direction looking for answers. There were small fires here and there, but other then that there was nothing out of the ordinary. Suddenly a mans scream filled the air. Sailor Sun, Sailor Pollux, the Daystar Knight and eclipse looked up into the sky to see a man's body being flung out of a window and out into a trough full of water. Sailor Pollux ran to see if the man was okay, he had bite marks on his arms. Sailor Sun, and the Daystar Knight took fighting stances. A large snake's head appeared from the window. It's long red forked tongue flicked out. Its large eyes scanned the area. Its eyes fell on the four figures standing in the square. "A snake, it had to be a snake." Sailor Pollux said as she stared up at the large snake like monster. It had a large head like a snake, red eyes, extremely large scales and a long tail with spikes at the tips. It hissed loudly and smashed through the window. Glass and wood went everywhere, a few back flips got the warriors out of danger's way, for now that is. The snake like monster was about eight feet tall, it had arms, but no legs, it slithered closer to the three warriors. The Daystar Knight was the first to step up to the large serpent. He pulled his sword from his side, he pointed it at the monster grunted loudly as he ran full force at the monster. He jumped high into the air and sliced off the serpent head. A green blood oozed from the end of his sword. He shook it off and walked back over to the two female warriors. "There now that wasn't that hard." He said as he slid the sword back into its spot at his side. "Um, Daystar, look . . . look behind you." Sailor Sun managed to mumble from her lips. Quickly turning around the Daystar Knight's eyes grew wide. The serpent started to get up, from the spot where its former head was grew two others. "Oh great just what we needed a Hydra type of monster. Where is Hercules when you need him?" Sailor Pollux joked as she tried to make herself feel better in the situation. The large serpent hissed even louder, it charged at the two female warriors, it grabbed them around their necks with its long sharp claws. It flicked its tongues out from either of its heads. Sailor Sun and Sailor Pollux struggled to get free of its deadly grasp. Kevin attempted another attack at the serpents back with his sword, but it was in vain. He was knocked to the cobblestone road. Kurai-ki laughed in triumph as he abruptly appeared above the serpent. His arms were crossed over his chest. Upon his face he wore a smug smile. "For once everything is going as planned." He stated arrogantly. Sailor Sun slowly looked up with what little strength she had left, she could feel the walk behind her start to crumble from all of the pressure the serpent was causing. The Daystar Knight slowly made his way to his feet. His sword lay on the other side of the square. He walked over to the monster. He jumped high into the air, and landed a well-placed kick onto both of the monsters heads. Being surprised from the attack the serpent loosen its grip on the two female scouts. They continued to struggle, but it wasn't enough, but at least now they could breath. The Serpent maneuvered its tail around so it knocked the Daystar Knight off of its back and onto the cobblestone road again. It hissed and batted at him with it's tail. Sailor Sun seeing this got enraged and a sudden burst of energy erupted from her body. The serpents claw like hand let go of the Sailor Scout of the Sun. It looked down at its now burnt hand. Its eyes began to glow with rage. "Now what?" Sailor Sun asked as she dodged the serpent's attacks. "Well the cutting of the head doesn't work so we had better figure something out and fast!" Sailor Pollux said as she dodged one of the serpent's heads that lunged at her fiercely. "Well that is good enough, I need to know now, what don't snake's like?" Sailor Sun stated as she fell to the ground then quickly standing up to dodge another attack from the serpent's tail. "Nothing that I can think of." The Daystar Knight said as he thrust his sword towards the snake's gut. The sword couldn't make it through the strong scales that coated its body. "Okay that doesn't work." He turned towards Sailor Pollux. "What did Hercules do?" He questioned as he leapt back. He tied their heads together in the movie. But in this situation I doubt that is going to work." Sailor Pollux did a back flip up towards the roof of one of the buildings. But she was cut short as the serpents tail swept up and smacked her down to the ground. She let out a groan of pain as the stone around her crumbled. "Lets all try combining our attacks, but no cutting of the head." Sailor Sun said as she boldly stepped forward. Her two fellow warriors stepped up to her side. Sailor Pollux being a bit slower. Sailor Sun started her attack but was stopped by Sailor Pollux. The new scout raised her hand out. "What if it ha a weak spot? All villains have to have a weak spot. Maybe this guys is somewhere in a place we would least suspect it." She paused and looked at her two friend's faces. "I see where you are getting at, now only if Sailor Mercury was here." Sailor Sun said as she quickly ran around trying to distract the serpent long enough. Suddenly there was a males groan from behind her. Kurai-ki had managed to get the Daystar Knight in his grasp and held him around the next, time to give me that Heart Stone of yours, I know that it is one of then need six, just like that little blonde Sailor Scout down there. Each of you must contain one!" "Never!" the Daystar Knight managed to say with the last little breath he had left. Meanwhile Sailor Sun and Sailor Pollux had their hands full with the large serpent. Sailor Sun was cornered and the large serpent loomed over her, it lunged forward, she got thrown through the wall, the large snake's heads got trapped by the wall's and ceiling that tumbled down atop it. Sailor Sun crawled out of the rubble. She then noticed what was happening to the Daystar Knight. She silently spoke the summon phrase for the Sun Fire Saber. It appeared instantly in her hand, she leapt up into the air using one of the roofs as a stepping stone she did a flip over to where Kurai-ki hovered in the air. With the saber she cut into Kurai-ki shoulder. He dropped the daystar Knight as he turned to look at Sailor Sun who slowly was pulling a sword from his shoulder. She landed down on the ground beside the Daystar Knight. Kurai-ki put his hand to the wound. He looked over to the other side of the court, there his pet was piled under a pile of rubble. "Come now my pet!" The serpent's body slowly got smaller until it disappeared in the rubble. Then a few moments later the small snake peeked it's head out of the mess and slithered over to Kurai-ki. Reaching down then picking up the snake he disappeared in a swirl of leaves and small branches. "I will be back again you Sailor Scouts, so you had be ready for a fight at all times because you will never know where I will show up at next." His words echoed through the square. Sailor Sun turned to the Daystar Knight. "Are you okay?" She asked as she looked down with fear in her eyes. He slowly nodded his head and smiled. "I'll be fine, now lets get ourselves out of hear before police come. I'm sure that they won't be very happy and would most likely blame this mess on the three oddly dressed characters that stand in the center of all of this." Sailor Sun helped the Daystar Knight to his feet, then the three warriors walked off with the guardian pet trailing behind. They all had more then enough scrapes and bruises then a counted for. "Oh mom is going to kill me, we are going to be so late for supper." Sailor Sun hit her head as the disappeared over the large grassy green hill. A few giggles from Sailor Pollux could be heard in the far distance.