Sailor Moon: Destiny of the Stars
Chapter 10
O'mashki and Va'trini both trembled with fear as they knelt in the presence of the holographic image of their commander and captain in front of the large black and swirling vortex. Captain Shak'rani looked down on them with disdain and disgust. Once again, the two Vishtri soldiers had to report another failure, and Shak'rani was not taking it well.
"IMBECILES!" screamed the captain as another streak of lightning flashed around the vortex opening, his large red eyes flashing with rage and frustration. "How dare you bring me another weak excuse for not capturing that brat! I should have you brought back here and die a thousand deaths under the sting of the Tsumati beetles!"
"Please, Captain!" begged out O'mashiki, his tongue lashing out with distaste at the thought of those vicious insects from the planet they conquered so long ago, "It wasn't our fault, really! Those...Sailor Senshi! They came and ruined everything again! If it weren't for them, we surely would have gotten the child!"
Shak'rani looked at the older Vishtri with outraged eyes, and just as he was about to shout more, Va'trini dared to speak up. "Yes, it's true! Those human warriors always appear just as we are about to accomplish our task." He bowed again in respect. "Please, allow us to continue our mission and seize the human princess!" The younger alien looked up with hopeful, bulging eyes. "We..we've new information, Sir. The child...she changed into one of those senshi things, right before our eyes! We were right to think that she holds great power!"
The captain's eyes flew wide open once again in outrage, "What! Changed into one of those...humans fighters?" He narrowed his eyes in contemplation for a moment. "AH! The piece of the Sirius Star Stone! I knew it! If only a portion of it can wield that much power, imagine what it can do when they are together again!" His eyes were deep red with greed. Sha'krani looked down at the cowering aliens below him. "But how did it happen? What brought about this change?"
"We're not sure, Sir! All we know is that she was near the one called..errr...Sailor Sirius, and the next thing we knew, she was one of them!" stammered Va'trini, fear nearly wiping away his ability to speak. At the mention of the name, recognition flashed across the captain's green face.
But..the piece the hatchling has can only react if it's near the original Sirius Star Stone the Sirius Queen had. Could it be, that this Sirius warrior carries another peice of the Sirius Star Stone? Or rather, the one of the past? A second later, Shak'rani's eyes flew open once more, this time in shock. Then if it is so, then could it be? Is she ...is this Sailor Sirius actually the...is she...?
The large Vishtri grunted softly and shook his head to clear his mind from the ridiculous thought. It can't be! But if it's true, then she WILL be destroyed here and now! "Enough of this foolishness! This could only mean that this "Sirius" senshi carries that past Sirius Star Stone, and I mean to have it!!" He stared down into the eyes of his subordinates, sensing their confusion at how he would know that this warrior Sailor Sirius carried the powerful Star Stone..or crystal as the humans sometimes called it. A sinister lop-sided grin played across Shak'rani's face. He wasn't ready to tell them of his suspicions yet. He had to make sure if this warrior who calls herself Sirius was indeed somehow connected to the Sirius Queen in the future. Until then, he would enjoy being one step ahead of them.
"Find her AND the child, and destroy them! I tire of your excuses and failures. I'll give you another chance, but I warn you..keep this up, and death will be too good a punishment. This time, I will be watching you!" The captain's eyes flashed red with warning, his long red tongue streaking out over his tiny razor sharp teeth. He raised his hand, saluted, and with a bright flash of lightening and strong wind, the hologram and vortex disappeared. Once again, the large factory building was dark and quiet.
Both soldiers stood up, wiping the dirt from their uniforms and turning to each other. "Commander, what are we supposed to do?" squeaked the younger alien in despair. "If we fail again, we'll be striped of our stations and more! We have to come up with something!"
"Calm down, Ensign!" shouted O'mashki, eyeing his partner with a growing distaste for his cowardness. "If you would stop shaking in your boots for just a moment, you'd realize that the Captain has given us a splendid idea." An evil smirk curled up the stiff, green lips of the alien, and his eyes flashed a deep red as a plan began to form in his head.
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Juuban Senior High School Auditorium
One week later:
Tanya's dark head jerked up, then went down again as she desperately tried to keep her eyes open and her head up to listen to the principal as he gave another of his speeches. She jerked her head up again, but soon it lowered once more, and her eyes slowly closed in sleep. Naru, her green eyes flashing with mischief, saw Tanya's eyes close, and she nudged the dark-skinned girl next to her with her elbow. When Tanya still didn't wake up, Naru jabbed Tanya with her elbow harder, and this time, Tanya eyes flew open with pain, "OWW!" she yelped softly. She turned to look beside her.
"Wake-up, sleepy head! You're almost as bad as Usagi!" Naru whispered as she winked. The red-haired girl giggled softly and pointed up to the stage where the principal was still speaking behind the podium.
Umino, glasses now gone from his eyes and replaced with contacts, turned to look at Tanya and Naru. "SHHHH!" he whispered, placing a finger over his lips. Tanya groaned and rolled her eyes, then faced forward. Oh man, it's too early for this! she thought. School had finally started again at Juuban Senior High School, this time starting Fall term, and as much as Tanya was looking forward to it, this boring speech was not what she wanted to face first.
"Senior students of the Juuban 10th District Senior High School, I welcome you back with open arms and an open mind." continued the principal, flashing a big smile. "Be assured, that this year is the most important year in your life. You have much to prepare for, much to accomplish, and much to dream about in your future. Many of you have already prepared and taken the test to enter very prestigious colleges and universities. Others are taking the road to start in the work world, and continue in your families traditions. No matter what course you have taken, know that right now, you have very bright futures ahead of you.."
"Yada, yada, yada!" whispered Tanya to herself as she laid her chin in her hand. Sitting to her left, Usagi put a hand to her mouth and tried to stifle a giggle. Ami, sitting in front of them, turned around gave them a disapproving look. Tanya shrugged. She groaned and tried to stretch out the tight collar of the white starch uniform shirt she was wearing. Why do these collars have to be so tight?
After a few more minutes, the principal finally ended his speech, wishing them all good luck and best wishes for the rest of the year. At the same time, all the students rose from the chair, stood straight, and bowed together in respect to the principal and staff. The students then turned to the right at the same time, and started to file out of the large auditorium. Soon, the school building was filled with many students, going to their lockers, taking out books, and trying to find their classes. As soon as Usagi, Tanya, and the rest reached the halls, Minako and Makoto rushed up. "Hey Tanya-chan, you and I have the same gym class this morning!" said Minako cheerily, flashing her class schedule.
"Oh no! Now I'm going to be knocked silly with a big volley ball all morning!" groaned Tanya. She laughed softly as she saw the crestfallen look on the blonde's face. Smiling, she walked over to give her a hug. "Minako-chan, it was a joke! Lighten up!" giggled the slightly shorter girl as she lightly punched her on the arm. Minako rolled her eyes and chuckled softly.
"Well, I should be off to Anatomy and Physiology. I want to get there early so I can study." said Ami, swinging her book bag over her shoulder.
"AMI-CHAN! Classes just started today! What are you going to study for?" shouted an outraged Usagi. The blue-haired girl blinked her eyes as she realized that Usagi was right, and laughed nervously.
"OH! That's right!" she said, her hand behind her head.
Everyone sweatdropped and laughed along quietly. Right then, the bell rang, and Makoto reached over and grabbed Naru's hand. "Now THAT means we should go! Come on Naru, math class isn't going to wait!" Naru barely had time to wave to her boyfriend Umino before she was dragged off.
"M...Mako-chan, wait up!" the red-head gasped, barely keeping up with the muscular girl.
The now handsome Umino shook his head as he turned to Usagi. "Well, we might as well head to English III. Come on..." He gave Usagi a sly look, "Odango Atama!"
"OOOHHHHH! Why won't everyone stop calling me that? It's getting old!" fumed the petite blonde, following behind the taller young man.
"Come on!" shouted Minako, grabbing Tanya's hand and dragging her off at the second bell. They quickly made it to the Girl's Locker Room, and hurriedly changed into their P.E. clothes amidst the flurry of many other girls.
"So are you and Tilly gonna make it later?" asked Minako as she pulled her shirt off over her head, then dragged on the P.E. tee-shirt.
"Sure! It's not everyday that I get to actually see a movie set! Tilly's gonna to love it!" Tanya nodded as she slipped off her skirt and shoved her long slender legs into a pair of dark blue shorts. She smiled at the long-haired blonde. "You are SO lucky you got that part in the movie Minako-chan!"
"I know! Aino Minako, the idol hopeful, does it again!" Minako flashed a grin and put up a "V" for victory sign as she winked. The two laughed, then Minako gave Tanya a concerned look. "Are you alright...you know, with what Haruka said. I know it's been a while since she talked to you, much less apologized." she said.
"Hai, daijoubu." Tanya nodded. "Haruka's not going to run my life. I might even stop by and see Yaten later today, if he's not still too hurt," There was a mischievous glint in Tanya's eyes as she grinned. Just then, they stopped talking as the locker room suddenly became too quiet. They looked around them curiously and found the whole place empty. An instant later, the sound of someone clearing her throat came from behind them.
"AHEM!"
When the two girls turned around and looked up, they were suddenly staring into the very angry face of the large gym teacher, her hands on her hips as her foot tapped loudly on the floor.
"OUTSIDE, NOW!" shouted the big woman. Tanya and Minako shrieked with fright, then ran like a gunshot outside to the gym, large sweatdrops over their heads and smoke trailing behind them from how fast they were running.
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Sighing loudly with relief, the young stuntman carefully placed his costume on the bed inside his trailer. It was another hard day shooting, and the big heavy costume didn't make it any easier, especially in this weather. It was unseasonably hot, and he was also mad at the director for yelling at him. What did he expect? The costume weighed a ton!
The young man sighed again and went into the kitchen to get something to drink. Just as he opened the refrigerator door, a crashing sound came from the bedroom. The man straightened up quickly, looking around to see what the sound was. It was suddenly too quiet. The actor stuntman slowly closed the refrigerator door and tip-toed towards the room where the noise came from.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" he whispered. There was nothing but silence. He stood outside beside the door for a few moments before peeking in. Nothing. He walked inside. Suddenly, the door slammed shut, and from behind it, the man screamed horribly. A few seconds later, he was silent, and the lights in the trailer went out.
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"Tilly! Over here!" shouted Tanya as she waved her arm over the crowd of smaller, elementary school students. All around the Juuban Elementary School front yard, children were running around with each other, shouting, playing, and meeting their parents.
Tilly saw Tanya waving to her just then and rushed over to her, waving her arm in greeting. When she reached her, Tilly gave Tanya a big hug, then turned to grin at Minako. "HII!" she said. "Guess what I learned today?
"What?" asked Tanya, crossing her arms over her chest and smiling with anticipation. With a energetic child like Tilly, anything could happen! "Not to draw over the teacher's notes again?"
"NOO! Not that!" The little girl rolled her eyes upward, clearing wanting to forget that episode in school where she mistakenly scribbled on the teacher's notebook when she stepped out for a moment. The teacher was definitely not happy about that, and quickly put her to stand outside in the hall. Tilly cleared her throat and stood tall. "H..Hello. My n..ame is...Tilly." she said in shaky English.
"That's great Tilly! You're learning fast!" said Minako back in English, ruffling the girl's black hair. Tilly smiled and bowed gracefully.
"Yeah Tilly! I'll be sure to tell Papa when he comes home!" smiled Tanya, grabbing her in a hug. "But right now, let's get going to the movie set! Everyone else should be there by now."
"When IS he coming home?" asked the Tilly, looking up at Tanya with large eyes. Tanya felt her heart sink a little at the question, but she smile brightly for Tilly's sake.
"Soon! He'll be here soon, I promise you," she said. Her eyes lowered with sadness for just a second, remembering the times when she cried for her father, but she straightened up and gave a thumbs up sign, clearly not wanting to dwell on that memory. "Come on, what say we go see a movie being made, ne?"
Tilly immediately brightened. "HAI! Let's go!" she cheered, running ahead of them. The older girls rolled their eyes at each other in amusement, already so used to Tilly running ahead of them, and ran to catch up with the energetic child.
About half an hour later, they arrived at the movie set in front of a small building in a closed off section of downtown Juuban. Makoto, Ami, and Rei met them beside a large, gathering crowd behind a ticker tape, their faces showing slight annoyance. But Rei was the most annoyed of all. "Usagi's late! Probably got detention!" grumbled the black-haired Shinto Priestess. Her T.A. Academy For Girls high school uniform hugged her perfectly shaped body snugly, giving evidence as to why she was still the most popular girl in the highly popular Catholic high school.
"Well, whatever it is, it can't keep her from this for too long. Usagi wouldn't miss this for the world!" chuckled Ami. The girls giggled and talked with each for a few more minutes, excited about actually seeing a movie being made. Just then, the director...coming out of his trailer and sitting in his high chair, signaled to Minako when he saw her among her friends. She nodded back and ran off to another large trailer to get into costume. "Catch you guys later! I got work to do!" the blonde called over her shoulder.
"Good luck, Minako-chan!" shouted Tanya and the rest of the group of friends. About an hour later, every actor and prop that was to be used in the scene was set in place. Minako, wearing fake blood on her face and a torn dress, calmly laid down on the ground, ready for filming to begin. The cameras moved in close, and lights flashed on. "Okay everyone, places!" yelled the director. When all was ready, he turned to the scene in front of him. "And...ACTION!"
Minako started screaming, using all her voice and facial features like she learned in acting class. Hardly a second later, a giant monster, resembling a mutated beetle with large pincers, a dull greyish coloring and six hairy, spidery legs, jumped out of the sky and landed right in front of her. The monster hissed loudly and advanced toward Minako. The girl screamed louder, backing away slightly. The director raised his bullhorn then, satisfied with the scene.
"Alright, CUT!" But the monster slowly kept walking forward, hissing deep in its throat and chomping its pincers. The director frowned slightly and raised his bullhorn again. "I said CUUUT!" he shouted.
Suddenly, the monster lashed out an arm and fired out a beam. Minako screamed, this time for real, and rolled out of the way. The energy beam hit the ground where she was just laying and a loud explosion erupted.
The girls, watching from the side in front of the crowd, all gasped with surprise. When the dust cleared and they looked up, the blonde girl was nowhere to be seen.
"MINAKO-CHAN!" yelled out Tanya in despair. Instinctively, she held Tilly closer to her body. She felt a tapping on her shoulder, and looking behind her, she saw Rei motioning her to follow herself and the others to the back of a building to transform. Tanya looked back at the raging monster, gulped loudly, then turned and rushed off with the girls, Tilly close behind. This was not going to be good.
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To Be Continued.
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