Millennium II
Journey to the Past
Chapter 6
By Hikari Tsuki Chi
Disclaimer: (glares at readers) I know that I don't own these shows, and so do you.
Note: Talk about creativity boom. Go me.
Review Responses:
Princess moon shadow: It'll come in time.
Hoshiko Megami: Oh yeah, just wait until they start annoying Seto…
Flame Ivy Moon: (blushing) I'm flattered.
allieb 13: (blushing) I'm flattered. And here's more.
Chapter 6The next day dawned bright and far too early for Serena and Yama. They started back up with their work where they had left off the day before, with the usual routine of bugging Seto (Serena) and rolling eyes (Yama). Grumbling under her breath at Seto's foul mood, Yama headed for the door. Looking up, Serena asked quietly, "Doko ni ikimasu ka." (Where are you going?)
"Tsukai ni ikimasu. Seto-houshi no 'meirei' desu." (I'm going on an errand. Priest Seto's 'orders'.)
"Ki o tsukemasu." (Be careful.)
"Tatta no tsukai desu yo." (It is ONLY an errand.)
Hearing the grinding of teeth, they turned and blinked at Seto. They spoke in Nihon-go for the sole purpose of annoying him. Snickering, Yama went on her errand, passing Hikami in the hall. "He's in a bad mood."
"I wonder why?" Hikami questioned, looking at Yama while she just blinked innocently.
Hikami merely shook her head as she entered the room. Looking at her, Seto said, "Vision?"
She nodded. "Last night." She said as she handed him the papyrus.
What catch his eye the most were the strange symbols she had seen on the disc. "I've never seen-" he was cut off as Serena snatched the papyrus out of his hands. "Do you mind?" He said, tapping his foot in annoyance.
"Would you mind if I said I know what the symbols are?" she retorted, glaring at him.
"You do?" "What symbols?" Said Hikami and Atami, who had just come through the door, simultaneously.
"The symbols from the vision I had last night. Serena knows what they are."
Turning the papyrus around so that everyone could see, Serena began to explain. "These symbols are part of a writing system called kanji. Kanji represent ideas, and then in turn represent syllables in words when written. Every kanji has at least 2 pronunciations, and some have as many as five, depending on if they stand alone, where they are in a written word, and what other kanji they are combined with."
"Sounds complicated."
"It also doesn't help that there is over 2,000 kanji for my language alone, not counting new ones invented for names."
'What do the ones in my vision mean?" asked Hikami.
Serena pointed to the one on the right side of the papyrus. "This one is called hikari in my language. It means light, brilliance, or just anything dealing with light or shining." She pointed to the one on the left. "This one is called yami in my language. It means darkness." Looking down at the symbols, she commented, "Considering that you only saw them once and you don't know stroke order, you did a pretty good rendering. You saw them on opposite sides of a disc?"
"Yes. The one meaning light was carved in silver, and the one meaning darkness was carved in gold."
"Maybe it's something to do with opposites."
"Opposites?" questioned Seto as he grabbed the papyrus back.
"Serena would you know what a circle with a curved line in the center means? One with black with a white dot in the thickest part on one side of the line and white with a black dot on the other side?" asked Atami, remembering the symbol Isis had seen.
"That's known as a yin-yang symbol in my culture. Yin, representing darkness and yang, representing light, shows the balancing act in life."
"Balancing act? Like between a baa and kaa?"
"Something like that. Like between female and male, the moon and sun, darkness and light, and evil versus good. That sort of thing." Serena shrugged, then gave Seto a dirty look as he grabbed the papyrus back, which he promptly returned.
"What about the leopardess and the housecat?" asked Hikami.
"Could refer to the dual personalities of Sekhmet and Hathor. But I don't think that's it." Said Seto.
"Is there anything in your culture that would apply here Serena?" asked Atami.
"Cats…really don't play that big of a role, at least as far as I know. And the closest association with the moon in my culture is a legend about a princess from the moon who gave her suitors difficult challenges and winds up returning to the moon without marrying any one of them."
"What does black and white mean in your society?"
"White is associated with death and also innocence. Black…mainly dark magick. I'm not exactly sure." Before Serena could add anything, a youma chose to appear at that moment, conveniently cutting off any means for Serena to run off and henshin. Or for the others to escape. This REALLY wasn't looking to be a good day.
With Yama…Yama had hidden herself in an alcove in the shadows between the ceiling and the walls once she sensed the youma. It was about 15 feet from her, and she could already hear the sounds of the other priests and at least one guard fighting it. Preparing to transform, she was distracted as Serena contacted her. (Yama?)
(( Yeah? ))
(There's a youma that just appeared where I am. I can't get anywhere to transform.)
(( Hold on. There's another youma. The other priests are fighting it. Who's with you? ))
(Seto, Hikami who came in about a vision she had last night, and the queen. We're all in Seto's 'office'.)
(( Sit tight, I'll try and hurry this one up. ))
(Ki o tsukemasu yo!)
(( Hai, hai. ))
At that, Yama called out her transformation phrase.
With the other priests and Jouno…This youma seemed weaker than the other ones that had attacked. At least, they were able to destroy this one, unaided by the Sailor Senshi. "We don't need their help after all." Said Jouno.
"Even a senshi in training would have been able to deal with a weakling like that." Said Sailor Millennium as she leaped down from wherever it was that she had been hiding. She and Sailor Moon seemed to specialize in appearing and disappearing at sudden moments.
Before he could retort, a man appeared, floating a good four feet off the ground. He seemed to be of mixed Egyptian/Asian origin to Millennium. "Who are you?"
Smirking, he replied, "My name is Imhotep, third general to my lord."
"Where's one and two?" asked Karimu.
"The first was recently killed and the second was given his assignment. I must say, we weren't expecting Sailor Senshi here."
"Well we weren't expecting your lord to drop the bottom out of our lives either so fair's fair. You just come here to gloat? Or to die?"
"Dieing is a condition I'd rather like to avoid. But I'd like to see just how far the trust goes between all of you. I'd suspect that it isn't far, is it?" with that, Imhotep disappeared.
Turning to the other priests, at least the ones that were there, and Jouno, Millennium said, "You may not have required my help, but I know require yours. The queen, Priest Seto, one of his assistants, and Priestess Hikami have been attacked by another youma."
"Where's your better half?" questioned Jouno. It had been observed that Sailor Moon was more powerful than Millennium. In fact, they had never seen Millennium really use her power.
"Sailor Moon has other business to attend to. I'd be a fool to expect any kind of trust from you, but I'll ask you to help me, even if it's only for one of your own and your queen."
Narrowing his eyes, Mahaado gauged her. "Fine, we will help you, if only for Queen Atami and the others."
"I expected nothing less."
Back with Serena, the others, and the youma…They had put up a good front. Seto attempted to control it with the Rod, and when failing that, he unsheathed its hidden dagger and started attacking it that way. Atami proven to be very good at what Serena knew as sais. If Atami was Yama's past self, then that explained why it really didn't take all that much to train, or retrain, Yama in the future. Hikami was using her skills as a priestess of Ma'at. And Serena…
She was still trying to find herself a weapon. She noticed a shaft of wood leaning in one corner of the room, about the same length of her jo staff, which she just couldn't pull out of nowhere because all those assembled had already seen that same trick used by her and Yama as Sailor Senshi, so unless she wanted suspicion to be drawn on her, she couldn't pull it out. Absently wondering WHY Seto had a shaft of wood in his 'office' as she had termed it, she grabbed it. It was better than nothing.
Happy to have found herself a weapon, Serena turned back to the youma. While Seto, Atami, and Hikami were good, their skills were close-quarters fighting. Grinning internally, she entered the fray.
Hikami saw Serena lunging the youma with a stick of wood as she, Atami, and Seto were thrown back like pins as the youma parried her strike with some sort of stick of his own. Serena leaped back as it swiped at her with its claws, and she used its moment of exposing its side to strike. Landing a solid blow there, she put her full strength into it, and managed to force it right through the youma's middle.
Serena breathed heavily from her effort. Forcing an object without any semblance to a blade, let alone one not intended for the purpose it was now being used for, was just not something she did on a regular basis. She sighed, and Seto, surprised, asked, "Where did you learn to do THAT!"
"I refuse to be a target. Why do you-" Serena was cut off as she heard a hissing sound.
The goo from the insides of the youma, seemed to be acidic. Why else would it be currently starting to melt through the wood? She wisely tossed the stick towards the youma, which was now reforming itself, before the goo worked its way up to her hand. If it reacted that way to wood, who knew what it would do to human flesh?
Serena backed up, joining Atami, Seto, and Hikami where they stood. "We are in serious trouble." Said Seto.
"Ya think?" deadpanned Serena.
Thankfully, Millennium, the other priests, and Jouno choose to arrive at that moment. "Its insides dissolve things, so it cannot be hacked into pieces." Warned Atami.
'It' chose that moment to reveal a hidden power: the ability to paralyze those it chooses to. Significance? Not only were the priests, Hikami, Atami, Serena, and Millennium unable to attack it, they were unable to go get help.
Clenching her naginata in her hands, Millennium could only grit her teeth in frustration as the youma seemed to be doing meani ninni mynni mo to decide which one to attack first. If only she could use her attacks! All of her attacks were based on shadows, at least the ones she knew of. And she couldn't use her shadow magick because of the binding spell, as to not arise suspicion. We're running out of time… And my number just came up. She thought, as the youma choose her to attack.
Serena bit her lip. If only she could get away to transform…
Millennium squeezed her eyes shut as she prepared for the blow. Time seemed to stop. I can't die; will the Crystal even allow me that? Would it just claim me again to use for its torture for the rest of Time? But I can't die. Hikari-aibou needs me. If I die, the others will be killed and their items stolen, and the future changed. But how can I…? Yama saw a gold light, pulsing within her soul. What is this? Is this my power as Sailor Millennium? My true power as a senshi? Without my shadow magick to overshadow it, I can now use it. I can fight. Wait, this power is from the Crystal! Hikari says that her Silver Moon Imperial Millennium Crystal is her Sailor Crystal. Is the Millennium Crystal mine? Or is this power from myself? The Crystal has become apart of me, or me apart of it, whichever it is. Whatever this power is, I can't think about its origins or source. Not right now.
In the real world, a gold light began to glow around Sailor Millennium. She opened her eyes as an unnatural wind began to blow around her. The youma sensed this and paused its attack. "Watashi wa Sailor Millennium desu. Kore o kyoka shimasen deshita!" (I am Sailor Millennium. This is not permitted!) She declared, bringing her naginata into a ready position.
Executing a complex series of strikes, Millennium shouted at the end of the series, "Rage of the Millennia!"
The strikes she had executed before declaring her attack appeared as gold lines on the youma's body. These poisoned the youma, turning it to gold dust, as if the wrath of a thousand years had been concentrated on the youma itself. She smirked, banishing her naginata.
The power the youma had over their movements disappeared when it was destroyed, but Jouno, the priests, Hikami, and Atami were in a slight state of shock. Okay, they were in a HUGE state of shock. They had believed her without significance power. They had believed her to be the worse fighter. And with one attack, she had blown those notions away, just as easily as she had blown away the youma.
Coming to his senses quickly, Jouno managed to come up behind Millennium and grab both of her arms. "What the- leggo!"
"Like you said, we don't trust you. We want answers." Said Akunadin, coming within working range of the Eye.
"Akunadin stand down." Ordered Atami.
He refused. "I said stand down."
"Stay back. Who knows what she can do." With that, Atami realized something that she had long suspected. What she said or did didn't matter to Akunadin. He would never obey her orders.
Seto is the High Priest and the one that is silently acknowledged leader of the Priests, after my brother. Will he…? Thought Atami.
Seto didn't seem to be keen on either helping or stopping Akunadin. Neither did any of the other priests.
"Look, all of you are already at risk because you have the very things that the enemy wanted. Knowing the civilian identities of Sailor Moon and myself would put you in even more risk. And that is something neither one of us is willing to allow any of you to take."
"Why should we trust you? For all we know, you could be working for the enemy and are just trying to lure us into a false sense of security. "
"Why would we side with him? We are also on his hit list. I understand why you're cautious, but paranoia will just get you killed." Millennium glared at Akunadin. "Sailor Moon lost her family because the enemy learned her civilian identity. He killed them in cold blood while he sent a dog to distract and stall her. By the time she got there, only her mother had clung to life long enough to give her daughter her final words. Neither she or I will side with him."
"You don't exactly give us a reason to trust either one of you." Said Seto, speaking up for the first time.
She rolled her eyes, grumbling under her breath, mainly about Akunadin's preferences. Glaring her glare of death, she continued. "We are not about to make any one of you causalities in a war you can't even see, let alone understand!"
As Shaada walked forward to enter into Sailor Millennium's soulroom, Atami said, "For the last time, Stand Down, Akunadin, all of you."
Millennium's eyes flicked over to her. What is she planning? Wondered Atami.
Smirking, Millennium decided to taunt Akunadin. "My partner won't be happy about this. Had a good night's sleep lately?" With that, Shaada paused. "You know, Akunadin, she has access to the spirit world. I'm sure it wouldn't take too much enticing to provoke the spirits that torment you already to up their assaults. Whatever you did to them, I'm sure you deserve it."
How does she know? Wondered Serena.
Having angered Akunadin enough for one day, and having succeeded in halting the priests, she decided it was time to go. "Sorry Jouno. This might hurt a little." The words came out casually, as if she said them all the time.
Atami and Jouno were surprised. Taking advantage of Jouno's distraction, she easily twisted out of his hands. Following that, Millennium delivered a swift knee to the family jewels. As he bent over from the pain as the males in the room winced in sympathy, she brought her elbow down on his head, sending him crashing to the ground. Satisfied, Sailor Millennium ran out of the room, being sure to step on Jouno on her way out. "If only there were other guards around to chase her." He managed to say through his pain.
"Is she not a warrior like yourself? If she is, isn't better to allow her to retreat with her honor for now, to fight another day?" asked Serena, as she helped Jouno stand.
"What would you know of honor?" he glared. Hey, he had just had his ego deflated by being beat up by a girl he didn't respect.
She returned the glare. "You ask that of a person whose culture teaches death BEFORE dishonor?" Leaving Jouno to stand on his own, she began to straighten up the room.
"What happened here?" asked Yama, coming through the door.
"There was another attack." Answered Serena.
"Weren't you supposed to be back before now?" asked Seto.
"I think I made a wrong turn on the way back. It felt like I was going in circles."
"Did you see a girl dressed in gold and white with black hair and a very short gold skirt?" asked Shaada.
"Huh? No. Why would anyone dress like that? It sounds like a male fan service." Said Yama, confused.
"We've got to go report the attacks to the Pharaoh." Said Mahaado.
With that, the priests, Atami, Jouno, and Hikami walked out of the room. When they were alone, Serena turned to Yama and scolded, "I thought I told you to be careful."
"I was."
"How…how did you…?"
"How did I what?" questioned Yama as she helped Serena return the room to some semblance of order.
"How did you know that I can talk to ghosts in Shikai?""Is that what that place is called? I don't really know. I guess deep down that I always knew. There were always people around you, dead people, that seemed to be protecting you. There's not as many as back home, but they are still there. I just always figured that you would tell me when you were ready. I wasn't lying about spirits tormenting Akunadin, was I? I said it to throw him off, but it's true, isn't it?" Asked Yama.
"You aren't. The spirits are of those killed to create the items. They've been tormenting him ever since they learned that the Pharaoh before Atemu didn't know just how the Items were created."
"The Pharaoh before…?"
"Yeah. He and his wife are the ones who've been protecting me pretty much since we got here. Ghosts can't travel back in time past the moment of their deaths, so my regular guardians couldn't come."
With Atemu and the others…
"There were two more attacks today?" asked Atemu.
Nodding, Jouno answered, "Yes. We were able to defeat the first without aid from the senshi, and Sailor Millennium destroyed the second one. A general of the enemy's appeared after we destroyed the first one and Sailor Millennium arrived."
"Seto, Hikami, Serena, and myself were pinned down by another youma in his workroom." Added Atami. "Jouno managed to get a hold of Millennium after she destroyed the youma, and Akunadin was keen on questioning her for information using the Items. He refused an order to stand down."
"You said to find out anything we can, and how could we resist such an opportunity?" said Akunadin as he defended his actions.
"Millennium angered him enough to distract him and Jouno, and she…escaped." Said Shaada tactfully.
"In short, she not only got out of his hold, but inflicted damage on him before running off." Said Seto.
"She…uh…kneed him and brought her elbow down on his head and when she ran off, she made sure to step on him on her way out." Said Mahaado delicately.
Sighing, Atemu said, "From now on, don't try and capture them. Let them tell us anything that they feel we need to know…but pay attention to what they say and how they act. That might wield some clues."
With that, everyone aside from Atemu, Atami, Jouno, and Mahaado left the room. Jouno shook his head and said, "I don't know if this is relevant or not, but right before she twisted out of my grasp, she said 'Sorry Jouno. This might hurt a little.'"
"That is the same thing I say right before I kick Jouno's butt whenever we spar. Even the tone is the same."
"What could that mean?"
"I'm not sure." Said Atami.
"It might have something to do with her aura." Said Mahaado.
"What are you talking about?" asked Atemu.
"I didn't want to say anything until I was sure, but Queen Atami's aura feels remarkably similar to Sailor Millennium's and Yama's auras. Yet Yama's aura and Millennium's aura still feel different." Explained Mahaado.
"How can that be?"
"I don't know."
Atami raised a finger. "Is it just a coincidence that Yama returned a few moments after Sailor Millennium left? Seto had sent her on an errand, but she could have easily completed that errand and change into Sailor Millennium in time to join our fight right after we defeated it. And Sailor Moon wasn't around today, and Serena was with the others and me. You said that Millennium said that Sailor Moon had other business to attend to. What if Serena is Sailor Moon and she couldn't transform in front of us without revealing herself?"
"But how do we prove that?" mused Mahaado.
"Let's keep an eye on Serena and Yama for now. We may be able to find something out." Said Atemu.
"Do we tell the others?"
"Not yet."
"Okay."
Back in the future…With a new general taking over where Set had left off, the attacks continued. Other than that, everything was normal. Though why are Kaiba-kun and Joey disappearing all of a sudden? Wondered Yugi.
Sighing as he looked up at the moon, he thought, Serena, Yama…be safe. Please don't let us down.
Theories are formed, but nothing is certain. Those in the past seek answers, but how far will some go to get them? How much will those actors risk to get what they want? How high a price will the gods demand of the actors?
End of Chapter 6This is the longest chapter I've written since…(checks around) Millennium I! Me think that this chapter will wrap up faster than MI, since what I wanna do in the next chapter is what happens before the chapter unknown I've been working on since MI. Though I'll have to change things around. And rewrite a few things.
Next time: Shaada enters Serena's and Yama's soulrooms; Hotaru and Hikami start to worry; and Yugi and Ryou start to worry about Hotaru and Hikami and devise a plan. Oh, and the people in the past are confused.
Please proceed to the purple/blue/lavender/periwinkle box in the bottom left hand corner of your screen. Maybe the 100-review treat will be a 50-review treat…