Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon!
PSSM: Rise of the NeoMoon
Please note this Chapter is all in Chibiusa's PoV, and the next 4 chapters will be in 3rd person PoV.
Episode 21: A Gorgon Assasin? The Death of Diana!
4 Days have passed...
So far, we have nothing new about Kurounmo's whereabouts...
Peruru has returned...He and Diana have been spending a lot of alone time lately...I think I know why, heh heh...
We were all in Mom and Dad's Meeting room when we were discussing the growing threat.
"Mom and Dad haven't Come back...And it's been a month..." I told them "I'm getting very worried."
Indeed I was...This wasn't like Mom and Dad at all...
Well, then again, my mom was Usagi Tsukino. The klutziest idiot around...Well...Okay...As NeoQueen Serenity, She changed...A little...She had her moments...But...She's a little more...Elegant...But she still can't cook to save her life.
"I've tried contacting Endymion, but something is interfearing...Normaly, I could contact him with no trouble at all..." Helios informed us all...In a very worried tone, might I add.
Okay...Now that worried me...
He spoke again, glancing down, there was an onimous air that filled the room...It seemed like the air before a storm...Gloomy and it told of bad omens...
"What if Kurounmo attacks again? There have been many that tried to fight him...But they all died...The last person to fight him managed to seal him away...And yet she risked her life to seal him away..."
"Who?" asked Diana in concern.
"My Sister...Priestess Phoebe..." he explained, trailing off. "Many People were lost in the war against him...When it was found out that he murdered High Priestess Ivictus..."
I could tell he didn't want to say anymore...As he looked on the verge of tears.
"Shh...It's okay..."I placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping I could comfort him "We can beat him..."
"No." he stated as clearly as possible. "You're not strong enough...None of you are."
"True." replied Juno, who stood up at that single word. "Alone, we don't stand a chance." She gave a nod of acknowledgement and turned to Ceres as if she was waiting.
"But together...Anything should be possible!" Ceres also stood from her chair and gave an encouraging smile, giving a nod and she motioned toword Pallas.
"Yeah! We've delt with this type of threat before!" Pallas called out, also standing on those words, smiling brightly.
"We can all help!" Sugested Vesta, also standing and adding to the growing encouragement, giving Helios a thumb's up and a grin.
"We're willing to help too." Lady Haruka started as she stood, smirking with confidence.
"For this threat needs to be stopped." Lady Michiru finished, also standing at this point, joining her partner, smiling softly.
"He attempted to steal one of my time keys...He attempted to travel time, which is...For the most part...Taboo unless vital." Lady Setsuna's voice was deathly serious as she stood. "Kurounmo attempted to break that Taboo, therefore, he must be punished."
"Unnecessary deaths aren't something to sit back and watch, I am the Soldier of Silence, and I cannot forgive such an evil creature." Lady Hotaru joined in, also begining to raise, she seemed just as serious as Setsuna.
"Mom and dad always told me to believe in myself and my abilities...Although I cannot fight, I am willing to help in any way possible." Diana chirped, she too was no longer sitting, her joy did seem to be masking a little pain though...
"If you give up, then that means we've all lost. So don't give up...No matter what." Peruru encouraged, as she stood about the same time as Diana, giving him a confident look.
"When NeoQueen Serenity gets back, I'm going to have to have a word with her anyways...I wish I could fight, but I can only help in spirit." Luna told all as she scampered into the room, with Artemis following.
"If we were human...We might have been able to fight...But we're able to help in any way we can!" replied as he landed nimbily onto the table.
The Amazon Trio was also surrounding Helios at this moment in time, all encouraging him with smiles and warm comments.
"Hey, we want to fight too!" Tigers Eye was beaming widely at him, it was easy to tell he wasn't ever going to pass up the chance to help his friend.
"Yeah, you can't just keep us out!" Hawks Eye grinned as he said that, obviously he wanted to fight as well.
"You helped us, so why can't we help you?" as Fish Eye asked that obvious rhetorical question, he was also getting ready to fight.
"I've delt with greater threats before, I've been posessed by a manipulating spirit, I've had my heart stolen, I nearly had my Dream Mirror shattered to peices, I nearly died from a lethal fall, and there have been countless times in the past where one of my parents was in mortil peril and I began to fade from the timeline, or was in danger of doing so." I told him as I stood. "This threat is nothing new to me."
Everyone began to link hands suddenly...Forming a circle around the table.
"Everyone..." Helios finaly spoke...He seemed shocked...He grabbed my hand as he stood, then grabbed Fish Eye's hand. Helios had a confused look painted on his face as he noted the unusual gesture.
"Hey, seven former circus freaks, a lesbian couple, The Guardian of Time, the Soldier of Silence, two talking cats, a humanoid that has a cat tail, a lovesick sugar fairy, a pacifist unicornboy and a ditzy, glutton of a pink albino rabbit princess. What better team could you ask for?" The senshi of fire laughed as she said that...I really didn't think the 'ditzy, glutton of a pink albino rabbit princess' comment was necessary...But she was very much right about that.
"Although I don't appreciate the lovesick fairy comment, she's right." Peruru responded to Vesta, with a slight, emphasis on appreciate. "I don't know you very well, but you seem to be friends with Chibiusa, so you can't be all that bad."
"Thank you...Everyone...But..." the Priest trailed off, before finishing, leading us all into concern.
"But?" I asked.
"We can't really do anything now...Kurounmo's whereabouts are currently unknown." he reminded us...As much as we didn't wish to be reminded.
"For now." Setsuna acknowleged, nodding. "But he won't be forever."
"Yes..." Ceres mused silently, and said what else she was about to say "The Tarrot Cards say that he will attack one of us today...But he'll get what he doesn't want as well."
"Ceres...Your fortunes NEVER come true!" Juno complained with a loud groan as she nearly fell over in disgust. "Don't bother."
The circle linked by joined hands broke on those words...But everyone still stood.
Diana stood. "Um...I have to go..." she excused herself as she left the room.
Diana stood up and left, but me and Peruru followed her out, worried.
"Diana wait!" I cried after her, but before I left, I glanced at Helios, and he glanced at me from across the room.
I smiled at him and gave him a slight nod to make him feel a little better
"Diana!" Peruru and I called out at the same time, trying to follow Diana despite her protests of "Leave me alone!"
She stopped when the three of us were on a Balconey...She looked right about to cry.
"What's wrong?" I asked with everlasting concern for my friend..."You turned 16 today! It's your birthday! You should be happy!"
"No...No I shouldn't be..." she whispered...Clearly she was upset about something.
"Why?" asked Peruru
"Peruru..." she whispered faintly, glancing up at his sudden concern, simply surprised. "I'd...Just rather not talk about it now...But...I won't be human for much longer..."
The smile painted on her face was sad...I wonder what she meant by that?
"Diana..." Peruru put his arm around my depressed cat-turned-human.
We all turned our attention to the dark, summer, nightime sky...It seemed very bright and beautifull tonight as stars shimmered in the sky like diamonds...
"Summer is over" I mused aloud without thinking.
"Yes..." Diana whispered, slowly cheering up as she noted that. "It's such a beautifull night..."
"It is..." the Sugar Fairy replied softly...But I could hear quite clearly those words. "Not as beautifull as you, Diana..."
I smiled, and watched a star shoot past the moon.
It was almost the first of September...
Diana's birthday was slowly comming to an end...
I wonder what it's like being 16?
I could have sworn I heard a neigh...It was much...Different from Pegasus's neigh...For it sounded...A little younger...Maybe it was my imagination...
...Or was it?
Oh well...I may as well leave Peruru and Diana alone now...
I was about to leave as the two of them were leaning in to kiss each other, but just before that could become reality, something shot through the balconey floor and grabbed them both as they yelped out of surprise and fear. Two vines that resembled serpents...Maybe eels...But their tails wrapped around Diana and Peruru, restraining them as tightly as possible.
"Diana!" Peruru called out barely with distress.
"Peruru!" Diana cried out in a pained shout.
The two of them managed to touch fingertips...Just Barely...
"Peruru...I know you're still torn over Chibiusa...But..." she comforted him...Her voice sounded somewhat labored.
Wait...What did she say?
"It's not her I love...Diana, it's YOU I love!" He replied, their hands linked on that note...Symbolising the newborn love.
No matter. Time to transform, I pulled out the Pink Moon crystal and hoped it would work...
"Pink Moon Eternal, Make Up!"
Ribbons and feathers flourished around my body to form my fuku.
"Well, well, well...It appears I was right the last time we met...You ARE Sailor NeoMoon, aren't you, bitch?"
That Voice...No way...
"Yes, I'm back...But I'm not here for you. I'm here simply to gain payment on a debt that was long overdue...16 years overdue..." It was Kurounmo.
"What do you mean?!" I inquired, half-shouting...Doesn't really matter, I'm going to fight him anyway.
"Watch carefully." he replied simply...Leaving me curious.
What was he doing?
It was so sudden, yet a scream, as sharp as thunder, and of distress lingered out of Diana's distressed throat as she was being electricuted as Kurounmo laughed maniacly...
That twisted laugh...It reminded me of Esmeralde, only masculine. All I could do was simply watch in shock as a glowing object floated out of her body and landed gently into Kurounmo's hands.
"I got what I came for..." he announced aloud, glancing at the glowing ball... "Now there's two ways we can do this...The hard way, or the harder way."
I tried to gulp down a lump in my throught that choked me terribly...But I regained my courage.
"I will fight." I stated, pulling out Peruru's flute...
Hey, he IS a gorgon, and these were serpents...So why wouldn't this work?
I took a deep breath and began to play.
Suddenly the eel like creatures stopped just as they were trying to electricute Peruru and they released their grip on the two lovers. Both fell, motionless to the cold balconey floor.
Kurounmo screamed wildly, obviously in pain as I continued to play the flute
"YOU BITCH, STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!!!"
Everyone's a critic...But it seems to be subduing him, so of course, I continued.
I got so absorbed in plating my flute, I wasn't quite listening as he swore at me.
So many cuss words...Some, I hadn't even heard of...But most of them were enough to make an actual sailor look like a saint.
I didn't realise what happened, but suddenly, as I was playing, the flute was ripped from my hands at an instant and thrown to the side, Kurounmo's slytherin yellow eyes were like daggers as they pierced right through mine. A bitter, freezing, coarse, scaly hand gripped my chin roughly.
"Bitch." he said with a low voice full of malice. "I told you to stop."
His cold hand that gripped my chin whipped across my face rapidly, my cheek felt like it was bleeding from the blow.
"This is why I believe all women should be in the kitchen making me sandwitches where they belong." He snarled at me...Every last strand of hair on his head transformed into a snake, his hands became webbed, more scales formed on his body...Kurounmo's nose dissapeared, his face was flat and snakelike, his eyes were a cold, sharp orange.
"And if you don't like it...Hisss...Than I sssssugessst that you jussst bend over and take your punishment..." he hissed at me...A forked tongue poked out of his lips for a brief moment.
Bend over? For him? Ew.
"No." I replied in a defiant tone, my eyes didn't falter as I said that, but after I did, he slapped me once more.
"Well then...I guesssss I'll have to kill the sinfull one, now won't we?" he replied, his cold, scaly hands gripped onto my neck, making it nearly impossible to breathe as he lifted me with incredible strength over the railing of the balconey, then he dropped me, but I was smart enough to grab onto the railing...
As more of the Serpent Spawn was summoned and sent out into the Palace, Kurounmo slinked up to my face yet again.
"You're cute." flirted he. "Bye."
He leaned in to kiss my lips, but luckily, I let go of the railing just in time.
Euuuurghhh...Snake lips. I'd rather eat a snail.
Well, okay, I admit it...I kissed a horse, but he's human too! Still, better a horse who can become human than a gorgon.
Speaking of the Unicorn boy...Where is he? Is he safe from the snakes? Kurounmo appears to be after him, and that worries me a tad.
I realised that I wasn't falling anymore...My body felt nothing but the cold wind around me.
I felt two new limbs on my back, flapping through the wind.
I was floating again.
Was this Helios's doing? Did he cause this?
...No...It's my power.
Silently, I flew back upwards behind Kurounmo's back...I had then noticed that the certian unicornboy I was talking about earlier was already out on the balconey at this moment in time.
"What did you do to her?" my princelike priest demanded.
"I took out the trash." The gorgon replied.
"Where. Is. She?" he demanded once more...
I had never seen Helios angry before.
"Why do you care?" Kurounmo spat. "You're a priest, you can't hold affection directed at anyone."
"That's not the point." The Priest was slightly sharp, but subtle...Calmness still reigned through the phrase. "What happened to her?"
The gorgon roared with laughter at my priest. "Gaia's might! You are ignorant. You know nothing, you are but a simple pacifist, what can you do to me?"
He changed into a Pegasus after he said that.
"Pacifist, yes, but when not only a traitor has broken countless laws and codes, but also your loved one is either dying or dead, then there's no excuse not to fight."
"You're mad!" he shouted in surprise.
A wand appeared in my hands, it was a pink rod with a cresant moon at the end...There was a small place for something small...
The pink moon crystal floated to the wand and placed itself onto it.
"Moon Eclipse Flash!" I cried, striking Kurounmo in the back, causing him to stumble backwards, cussing loudly.
"What the..." He grumbled.
I heard voices from down below right after he said that.
"Looking for us?" I reconized who said it.
It was Vesta. "Where's the Pinky Albino girl?"
"Dead!" Kurounmo spat at them. "And soon the rest of you will be too."
"Memory Anihilation!" cried Saturn as she summoned a purple ball from her glaive and it flew at Kuroumno.
"Space Turbulence!"
Uranus slashed at the air, sending a wave of wind Kurounmo's way, but he sidestepped out of Saturn's attack and ducked under Uranus's attack.
"Heh...Pathetic."
At that point, I landed down below, behind Pegasus...
The Astroid Senshi were rather surprised I lived...Shouting random things like "Pinky!", "Chibiusa!" and "We thought you died!"
"Maiden...? You...You're alive?"
Pegasus was rather surprised at the fact that I was alive.
"Hmph...Well, at least I got what I came for...Toodles." Kurounmo said as he took the essence, then raised an arm as a serpentlike dragon came at his side and carried him away.
"Damn it!" Uranus shouted as we all ran to the edge, the Amazon Trio came outside as well...They saw everything that happened.
"You coward! Trying to take a life in cold blood, then won't even fight afterwards?" Tigers Eye shouted at him.
"You did it all the time when you fought the Pumpkin Patroll" reminded Fish Eye.
"Well...Uh...That's different." he replied sheepishly.
I ignored their fighting as I turned all attentions toword Diana. Peruru had awakened and came to her side as well.
"Hey...Is she okay?" he asked in full concern.
"Per...Peruru..." she whispered low, her voice barely had the strength to be heard. "I'm sorry...But...It was destiny...This is destiny...I am a mere cat in reality...But..."
She coughed lightly, her eyes closed softly. "Kurounmo must be destroyed."
He nodded in agreement and his soft gaze caressed her. "Diana..."
"I love you...Peruru..." she whispered, and a light overtook her...As it dematerialised away, all it left was a dead, small, grey cat...
"Diana!...No..." Peruru couldn't stop the tears that fell at that moment. "I couldn't...I couldn't protect her..."
Diana...I couldn't believe it. She was my best friend. One of the only friends I had after I had to go back to the thirtieth century...Why did Kurounmo have to kill her?!
I thought for a moment and had an Idea...
"Peruru...Set Diana Down gently for a moment...I'm going to try something."
He nodded and set the grey cat down and stepped back a moment, giving me a look of confusion as I angled my wand towords Diana...
I think I remembered a story mama told me...About Sailor Moon and how she fought Queen Beryl with the same wand I grasped in my hand...
...What were the words though?
"Moon Healing...Divination!"...Nothing.
Shit...What were those words?!
I cleared my throat and shouted "Moon Healing Escalation!"
There was a flash of pink energy that blinded me for a moment...But after it passed, I stumbled...For just a small burst of energy...It took a lot of energy out of me.
I glanced at the dying cat to see if the spell had any effect...
Nothing...Nothing happened!
"Eh?!" I shouted. I bit my tongue to keep from swearing at that moment.
But damn! Why didn't it work?!
"What did I do wrong?" I asked.
"You're still inexperienced..." Pluto told me. "You said it right...But...You don't have enough power to revive her."
"I have to try." I replied. "I felt something...I believe I almost have it."
Helios was examining Diana's condition and replied. "Maiden, please don't...Even if you could generate enough power, you'd kill yourself in attempt to revive her when it's impossible without her essence."
"Essence?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Her life force...The very fragment that makes up a starseed...However...Unlike starseeds, you don't have to be born without an essence. Essences can be granted to lesser guardians...However, when they're taken away, the owner of the essence looses the powers they had before they recieved the essence and dies." Explained my princelike priest. "Senshi, sailor or otherwise, are born with Starseeds which already contain an essence. Lesser guardians are mostly made and granted essences by senshi, sailor or otherwise."
Peruru picked Diana up and whispered slightly, failing to mask his impacting sadness. "May I be alone...? Please?"
He flew off after a nod from the rest of us as quickly as possible.
Wow.
I had never seen him that upset...Never that sad.
I felt really bad for him...And even worse that I couldn't do anything.
I excused myself to head to my room after everyone dehenshined simultaneously. I needed sleep...I needed to think things over. Without a word, we all left for our rooms.
When I got to my room, I had gotten into my PJs, Peruru's flute now sat it on my desk. Luckily it didn't break, for it was important to me, and important to him as well. I placed the long, thin plastic stick with straight hairs into my mouth and brushed vigorously, letting the strong minty flavor fill my mouth...After I was finished, I rinsed my mouth and the toothbrush, then walked into my room grabbing the brush meant for my long pink locks. Letting down my long hair, I grabbed my brush and attacked the stubborn knotts. The deed was done after a while and I went out onto my balcony to get some fresh air.
The air was cooler than it was durring the day and I couldn't help but remember the lullaby mama sang to me when I was a small child.
"In the moonlight that shines down so bright, the stars look so pretty like tiny jewels...I'm overflowing, can't you see? Can you see how I love you...?" I sang softly to myself, but then halted when I realised I was singing out loud. Although it was so quiet and nobody was listening, I felt rather embarrassed and stopped instantly.
I felt a raindrop land on my middle finger...It was very warm...Almost like...
There was another...I felt my body tense up and my nose get stuffy...I was crying...I tried not to make a sound, but even I could not help the raging tears that fell that moment.
"I can't believe it...I have been training as a senshi for 5 years and I can't even get the stupid words to that stupid spell to heal a stupid wound or two." I said aloud inbetween sobs.
Hopefully nobody was eavesdropping, I assumed not and continued my teary tirade of self-inflicting negativity.
"I suck. I get it. Is that what this is supposed to tell me? I'm a crappy, second-rate Sailor Senshi who can't do anything except call for help, screw up and get posessed by malevolent beings. I'm a ditz, I'm a bitch, I'm a useless Senshi. I get it!" sobs shook my body as they got louder and louder. I couldn't help it. It was all true. Who am I to lie?
"I can't do anything right. I suck! I can't even save my best friends..."
Either Kurounmo was trying to attack me again, or I was being stalked...But suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me to another body.
"You've saved them before."
That voice sounds awefully familia-...Fuck...Please don't tell me...
"Don't say such things. You're not useless, you're not a screw up and you're deffinetly not second-rate."
Dammit! Why did HE have to hear me! Why did that damn good-for-nothing horned donkey with wings-turned-human have to hear that?!
"Uh...Well...Uh...That wasn't meant to be heard..." I replied, with my cheeks possibly red enough to make my eyes look pale.
"So I see..." he chuckled. "You're frusterated. I understand."
He gripped my chin lightly and brought my eyes to his.
"By the way, you have a beautifull singing voice." he told me before his lips lightly brushed my own softly...Soon his arms made it back to my waist, as my arms wrapped around his back.
He smelled so good. Like a combination of sandalwood, rain and cinnamon...I forgot the reason why I was upset with myself in the first place...But the kiss was over too soon...As I gradualy came back to earth.
And yet all I could ask was "How long have you been spying on me?"
He chuckled softly. "Not long...I heard you singing outside your balcony and was attracted to such a lovely sound."
Jeez he knows how to make a lady blush...I swear, if my cheeks were any more red, I'd pass out from lack of blood to other areas of my body. "Tomorrow we have to find and face Kurounmo."
"I know. I also happen to know where he fled to." he told me, still looking somewhat concerned.
"Where?" I asked him.
"Elusion." he said that and nothing more.
My heart sank. Did that mean he had to go?
"But. He's been quiet lately...So we don't have to do anything unless absolutely necessary." He reminded me, his face was begining to redden as he added to that statement. "And...Uh...Besides...There's something...More important I need to do here."
Curiosity killed the rabbit, but hell...I was curious, I wanted to know what he had planned.
"What is it?" I asked, causing the red tinge already on his cheeks to darken.
"I have to protect my maiden." he said...Obviously liking the fact that I was getting frusterated by how mysterious he was being...Though it was sweet when he then asked "May I stay here...Tonight?"
My heartbeat decided to play a mean trick on me and stopped for a brief second before speeding up a tad for a brief second.
"Sure!" I quickly told him at that moment.
"Then...Shall we get into bed?" he asked. "We have a long fight tomorrow."
The two of us got into bed...As I had noticed already that he used his powers to switch out of his traditional priest robe and into a pair of pajamas...I'm not even married and I'm going to fall asleep with some older guy...We planned to be together for a long time...And nothing...Er...Immoral would happen durring the night...
He wouldn't allow it anyways...I'd think he'd say. "No my maiden, some things are to be left for after marriage." or something.
Oh well...I wanted to wait for marriage too. So there was no problem.
Sleep overtook me quickly as he wrapped his strong arms tightly around me and turned out the lamp for me...
It'll be the best sleep I got in over 5 years.
While the two of them just fell asleep...There are two people outside the window.[
"You ready, Yume?" asked the little boy with light red hair.
"Yes. I am Taiyou." replied the older, but still young little girl with silvery blue hair.
"Tomorrow we perform the mission?" asked the boy.
"Why wouldn't we?" asked the girl.
"Let's get some sleep...Before they find us." the boy replied.
"There you two are!" Shouted a familiar voice, much older than the children. "Do you have ANY idea how worried your father and I were!"
"But mom, you said it yourself, if she isn't warned about the threat..." the girl explained.
"That's why I was going!" the woman replied. "I wanted you two to stay with your father! Not follow me!"
The two children looked down in shame.
"Sorry mom...We thought..." started the boy.
"Never mind. Too late now, and I can't send you back. Just stay out of the way and everything will be fine." replied the woman to her children.