Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sailor Moon T: Titans Hunt ❯ The Maggot Lair ( Chapter 16 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

*Theme song: Never Surrender, by Stan Bush*






Reuisu: Our primary goal is to eliminate Duriel before he can get to Kurast and bring his Eternal to the other two remaining Prime Evils.

It was several hours since the Titans had arrived in Lut Gholein, and they were now meeting with Jerhyn and Tal Rasha in private chambers.

Michelle: That's going to be tough enough as it is. The last time it took four of us plus Tyrael to defeat him. Now it's only two of us with Tyrael and that was operating on reactions to what he's already done. No doubt Duriel is already making plans to leave the Lut Gholein area and head to Kurast without worrying too highly on attacking us.

Reuisu: Which is why we can't just react this time. We need to make an educated guess on his location and go there ASAP.

Tal Rasha: I have a theory on that. Even if Duriel is slightly older and wiser than he was when you first faced him, he'll no doubt still be using the same tactics as before, which means he'll be returning to my old chamber deep in the Canyon of the Magi.

Reuisu: I'm assuming the Canyon is not reachable by foot?

Tal Rasha: Mystic barriers are still in place even after all this time. No one may enter using natural methods.

Tyrael: I helped put in those barriers. There is no way of putting them down again.

Reuisu: Then we need to use mystic methods. Would a town portal be possible?

Tal Rasha: Such simple magics are still being blocked. No, to enter the Canyon, we must use an ancient relic. It is called the Horadric Staff.

Tyrael: How do we obtain this staff?

Tal Rasha: In the event that we'd need to reenter the ancient place, the three necessary elements to create the staff were separated and placed within three locations. The three elements are the Horadric Cube, the Staff of Kings, and the Viper Amulet.

Michelle: The nearest?

Tal Rasha: The Staff of Kings. The only problem is that it is stored in underground caverns.

Reuisu: That shouldn't be a problem. We should be able to use some of our abilities to burrow down into the caverns-

Tal Rasha: Accessing the caverns is not the problem. The problem is what is within the caverns.

Reuisu: And that would be?

Tal Rasha: Sand Maggots.

The group all winced. They had encountered Sand Maggots before, the last time having been in Lut Gholein, as well. They had just arrived in the city, and Duriel had sent a group of weak Sand Maggots to try to attack the Titans. Duriel had serious underestimated the Titans, and the Maggots were destroyed within a minute of their appearance.

Reuisu: It doesn't matter. Whatever the challenge, we shall fight if off!






Mina: With all due respect, your majesty, maybe you should just get off your high horse and give the damn speech?

Serenity: It's not that I don't want to give the speech, Mina, my problem is that we have to give a speech in the first place! By giving the speech, we're implying that the people of the world are stupid and we're smarter than them. What makes it worse is that because we need to give the speech, it proves we ARE smarter then them and that they're stupid!

Mina: And maybe, your majesty, you should just give the speech and make sure that we can make Education the silver bullet in the world instead of having to argue about whether or not to do the speech at all!

Serenity: And, as usual, my Senior Staff knows all the answers. Look, I've got to go do this stupid thing, now.

Mina: Thank you, your Majesty.

Serenity sighed and stood up, leaving Mina's office and walking down the hallways of Crystal Tower.

Serenity: Honestly, there's a reason I'm the Queen... And furthermore-

Serenity stopped when she passed by Lita's office. She blinked briefly as she heard brief sobs coming from inside her Domestic Advisor's office. Serenity walked to the door and slowly opened it, seeing Lita on the ground in a fetal position, crying into her hands. Serenity kneeled down beside her.

Serenity: Lita, what's wrong?

Lita: It's Seinko...






The underground caverns had air come into it thanks to dozens of holes coming up all over the deserts of Lut Gholein. However, what little air was there didn't smell all that well thanks to the droppings that the Sand Maggots left as they crawled through the caverns, and the slime that the Maggots excreted from their mouths when they attempted to paralyze their enemies. The Maggots didn't mind, however, because they did not have a sense of smell.

Two Sailors and an Archangel on the other hand...

Moonshine: I am going to KILL Tal Rasha for this!

Angel: Sailor Moonshine, we have been in worse situations than this.

Moonshine: Oh, so you don't smell it, oh wisecracking British man who's supposed to be a gentleman, yet ignores foul odors?

Angel: With all due respect to you as my second-in-command and my close friend, Michelle, shove it.

Tyrael: Please, be quiet, you two! I can sense that we are quickly approaching our goal.

Moonshine: All I sense is some weird green stuff that I just stepped in. Ugh...

Angel: As much as I would love to hear about the happy goo that you stepped in, Michelle, I'm sensing the same thing Tyrael is, too.

Moonshine: Do you think that the Horadric Staff was imbued by holy energy?

Tyrael: It's possible.

Moonshine: Then how could demons possess them? The same goes for the Eternals? I thought they were supposed to burn them, like what happened when Davros tried to get your Angel staff, Reuisu.

Angel: There are ways around that. You could wear armoring, protective stuff, or just have a really big plastic bag covering it. Anyway, I think it may be in this chamber up ahead.

The three stepped more cautiously as they approached a very large chamber, with only the flame of Tyrael's sword lighting the way. As they entered the chamber, the bad aroma that had been in the caverns suddenly intensified. The three were caught off guard immediately, even Tyrael, who placed his hand over his covered face.

Moonshine: Oh, NOW you choose to hate it!

Angel: Bloody hell, that's awful!

Voice: HA! Prepare yourselves, heroes! Prepare to meet your horrible doom!

Angel: Is that Invader Zim? HOLY LIGHT!!!

Sailor Angel raised his staff upwards, and it immediately sent out a flash of light, illuminating everything within the chamber. And now, the three were more disgusted by the sight before them then by the smell. It was a sand maggot, but considerably larger and fatter. It was so large that the tiny legs at its side could not even hope to provide any kind of movement for the creature. It was colored orange, and it's head had been flattened as well as it's fangs dulled.

Maggot: Welcome, Titans! WELCOME TO MY-

Angel: Oh for crying out loud!

Tyrael: Is this what the denizens of Hell resort to for battle in this day and age?

Moonshine: An oversized paperweight shaped like Marlin Brandau?

Maggot: Insolent, mortals! I am Czark the Burning! And you have fallen victim to my-

Angel: Honestly, why even create a demon like that? Or any kind of sand maggot, for that matter! They're not very strong, they're not very good thinkers, and they're not very scary!

Moonshine: At least demonic spiders actually carry some fear with them. They're fast and they bite and they tear things apart.

Tyrael: And these poor creatures can barely burrow more than fifty feet beneath the ground.

Czark: You will listen to me, or I shall unleash my legions upon you!

Angel: Oh go chew on some bones, Jabba! It's embarrassing to even have to be in the presence of a homicidal fat slug that wants to unleash legions of MAGGOTS at us. I mean, come on!

Moonshine: REAL maggots are scarier than demonic ones. I can kick a Sand Maggot and it'll be on its side, crying like a little girl.

Tyrael: It almost wants me to put this foul creature out of its misery.

Czark: I am not miserable! In fact, I shall now command my legions to tear-

Angel: Screw it's misery, just shut it the hell up!

Tyrael nodded and promptly walked up to Czark and slammed Azurewrath through a section of it's belly. The creature roared in pain, it's legs flailing wildly as green blood oozed out of the wound. Sailor Angel looked over and saw a golden, misshapen staff hanging on the opposite wall.

Angel: Is that the Staff?

Tyrael: Yes, Reuisu.

Angel: Then take it and let's get out of here. Michelle, call Lut Gholein and tell them I want showers ready for us for when we get back. Honestly, we couldn't have fought a big winged thing, or a zombie, or God forbid, something a hundred feet tall...





To Be Continued...