Chapter 13
Lying in Wait
"Metallia's making her next move." Germatoid's off-handed comment caught the attention of his master. Turning his single great eye on his subordinate, Pharaoh 90 rumbled a reply, which, though unintelligible to a human ear, Germatoid easily translated as, "What move might that be?". The diamohn shrugged his human shoulders, a gesture which he knew to mean apathy or unknowing in human circles. In his case, he very much hoped it accurately conveyed his indifference. Metallia's actions were unimportant to them. If Pharaoh 90 misinterpreted his still-clumsy human gesturing, however, he may become anxious. And Germatoid had no desire to see his master anxious.
"Oh, she is trying again to awaken the Promise Child," he said nonchalantly. Just to be safe, he added, "It's nothing of great importance." Pharaoh 90 rumbled skeptically, invoking a slight smile from the diamohn.
"Why do you smile, Germatoid?" the one-eyed creature asked darkly.
"Why should I not smile, Master?" Germatoid replied. With a snarl, Pharaoh 90 set about telling his impudent henchman exactly why he should not be smiling. Germatoid was the only one of his species known to have survived their humiliating defeat at the hands of Serenity's outer guard. The three talismans that the Sailor Soldiers possessed continued to elude the diamohn, as did the Holy Grail that was to be the result of the talismans' union, an item that Germatoid had repeatedly insisted was necessary to awaken the Messiah of Silence. Now, a dark goddess was trying to awaken her own messiah of sorts, and in doing so, was drawing ever closer to acquiring the power that rightly belonged to Pharaoh 90. And Germatoid asked why he should not smile?
"The Promise Child is under Selene's protection," Germatoid reminded his master. "It will be quite awhile before Metallia is able to overcome that and awaken her powers, if she succeeds at all." He did not acknowledge the comments about his own failures, a fact that was not lost on his master. Pharaoh 90 responded with rude remark questioning Germatoid's intelligence.
Playfully curling his human lips, the diamohn spread large, rough hands in a pose of mock surrender. Pharaoh 90 eyed the hands with mistrust.
"Put those away," he ordered with surprising clarity. "The sight of your shell sickens me." Germatoid raised an eyebrow, but obediently put his hands behind his back, looking down at himself. After fleeing the battlefield, he had chosen a healthy young male human in the blue and gold uniform of a Uraniun soldier for his shell. At first, as with any shell, it had taken time to become used to his new form, but before long, he had grown quite fond of it. He liked the sense of power instilled in him by the strong chest and heavily muscled limbs-not to mention the glistening sword strapped at his waist, inscribed with the emblem of Serenity and the Uraniun royal house. He fairly loved the facial expressions he could make with this bearded man's strong jaw, straight nose, and pale, diamond-hard eyes. That Pharaoh 90 could be displeased with his choice fascinated him.
"You dislike my shell, Master?" he asked. "I found this man to be reasonably attractive for a human."
"For a human, perhaps," Pharaoh 90 replied. "And therein lies the problem. He may be an attractive human, but he is still a human. And therefore, he is a sickening sight." Germatoid threw back his head and released a deep, throaty laugh. His chest rang pleasantly with the effort.
"I suppose you are right, Master," he chuckled, shrugging helplessly. "But alas, I cannot be of much use to you without a shell to work through. And it is easiest to conquer humans in their own form, am I right?"
"Once the cosmos is wrapped in our darkness you shall have no need of shells," Pharaoh 90 answered flatly, ignoring his subordinate's question, "which brings us back to our original point. How would you propose that we achieve our goal now? Our time to acquire the three talismans is running very short. Every minute brings the Plutonian closer to claiming her post as the Time Goddess. When that happens, the Garnet Orb will be lost to us forever. Another attack on the outer guard is out of the question. They are well aware that we desire their precious talismans, and will be expecting it. Furthermore, we both know that we have not the resources to launch such an assault. Thus far, I have entrusted the awakening of our Messiah to you, but you have failed even to secure the talismans through your initial methods. You can understand how I might question your worth to me. I wonder if you would continue to fail me were I to give you another chance."
"Not to worry, Master," Germatoid answered. "Your cause is safe with me."
"I certainly hope so. Otherwise, I may be forced to take steps against you." Not even a human would have been left with any doubt about his meaning.
Lying in Wait
"Metallia's making her next move." Germatoid's off-handed comment caught the attention of his master. Turning his single great eye on his subordinate, Pharaoh 90 rumbled a reply, which, though unintelligible to a human ear, Germatoid easily translated as, "What move might that be?". The diamohn shrugged his human shoulders, a gesture which he knew to mean apathy or unknowing in human circles. In his case, he very much hoped it accurately conveyed his indifference. Metallia's actions were unimportant to them. If Pharaoh 90 misinterpreted his still-clumsy human gesturing, however, he may become anxious. And Germatoid had no desire to see his master anxious.
"Oh, she is trying again to awaken the Promise Child," he said nonchalantly. Just to be safe, he added, "It's nothing of great importance." Pharaoh 90 rumbled skeptically, invoking a slight smile from the diamohn.
"Why do you smile, Germatoid?" the one-eyed creature asked darkly.
"Why should I not smile, Master?" Germatoid replied. With a snarl, Pharaoh 90 set about telling his impudent henchman exactly why he should not be smiling. Germatoid was the only one of his species known to have survived their humiliating defeat at the hands of Serenity's outer guard. The three talismans that the Sailor Soldiers possessed continued to elude the diamohn, as did the Holy Grail that was to be the result of the talismans' union, an item that Germatoid had repeatedly insisted was necessary to awaken the Messiah of Silence. Now, a dark goddess was trying to awaken her own messiah of sorts, and in doing so, was drawing ever closer to acquiring the power that rightly belonged to Pharaoh 90. And Germatoid asked why he should not smile?
"The Promise Child is under Selene's protection," Germatoid reminded his master. "It will be quite awhile before Metallia is able to overcome that and awaken her powers, if she succeeds at all." He did not acknowledge the comments about his own failures, a fact that was not lost on his master. Pharaoh 90 responded with rude remark questioning Germatoid's intelligence.
Playfully curling his human lips, the diamohn spread large, rough hands in a pose of mock surrender. Pharaoh 90 eyed the hands with mistrust.
"Put those away," he ordered with surprising clarity. "The sight of your shell sickens me." Germatoid raised an eyebrow, but obediently put his hands behind his back, looking down at himself. After fleeing the battlefield, he had chosen a healthy young male human in the blue and gold uniform of a Uraniun soldier for his shell. At first, as with any shell, it had taken time to become used to his new form, but before long, he had grown quite fond of it. He liked the sense of power instilled in him by the strong chest and heavily muscled limbs-not to mention the glistening sword strapped at his waist, inscribed with the emblem of Serenity and the Uraniun royal house. He fairly loved the facial expressions he could make with this bearded man's strong jaw, straight nose, and pale, diamond-hard eyes. That Pharaoh 90 could be displeased with his choice fascinated him.
"You dislike my shell, Master?" he asked. "I found this man to be reasonably attractive for a human."
"For a human, perhaps," Pharaoh 90 replied. "And therein lies the problem. He may be an attractive human, but he is still a human. And therefore, he is a sickening sight." Germatoid threw back his head and released a deep, throaty laugh. His chest rang pleasantly with the effort.
"I suppose you are right, Master," he chuckled, shrugging helplessly. "But alas, I cannot be of much use to you without a shell to work through. And it is easiest to conquer humans in their own form, am I right?"
"Once the cosmos is wrapped in our darkness you shall have no need of shells," Pharaoh 90 answered flatly, ignoring his subordinate's question, "which brings us back to our original point. How would you propose that we achieve our goal now? Our time to acquire the three talismans is running very short. Every minute brings the Plutonian closer to claiming her post as the Time Goddess. When that happens, the Garnet Orb will be lost to us forever. Another attack on the outer guard is out of the question. They are well aware that we desire their precious talismans, and will be expecting it. Furthermore, we both know that we have not the resources to launch such an assault. Thus far, I have entrusted the awakening of our Messiah to you, but you have failed even to secure the talismans through your initial methods. You can understand how I might question your worth to me. I wonder if you would continue to fail me were I to give you another chance."
"Not to worry, Master," Germatoid answered. "Your cause is safe with me."
"I certainly hope so. Otherwise, I may be forced to take steps against you." Not even a human would have been left with any doubt about his meaning.