Karma

Chapter one: Riddled Pursuer

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story but the story line itself.

Complete Summary: One night, Rei is the recipient of a disturbing dream and wakes up with a tattoo of riddled Lunarian on her stomach as well as a bizarre map to a mysterious world. When she receives a strange box, she, Makoto and Ami are transported to the mysterious land, while Minako and Mamoru stay to guard Usagi on Earth, and are told that, to save all hope, they must open the gates for the queen of hell.

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Hino Rei tapped her tennis shoes quickly upon the fading hallway carpet in disdain. Her despise soon turned to worry as the door to the apartment in front of her had yet to be opened. She knocked harder again, looking around behind her, feeling as if somebody had followed her here. Looking at her watch she grimaced at the digital numerals that read '3:05 a.m.', and turned to look back at the door in front of her. "Come on…" she whispered, looking behind her once again, where she could see the moon through a window at the end of the hallway. Somehow, the satellites illumination that usually gave her strength seemed to diminish amongst the shadows of the city below and the sinking feeling within her stomach. "I know it's late, but come on… I know you're in there…" she whispered again, the prickling on the back of her neck getting stronger and stronger.

She raised her fist to knock again when a sleepy looking girl in boxers and an oversized t-shirt opened her door, almost ending up the recipient of a rap on the head. Rubbing her eyes and yawning, the girl held the door open and spoke groggily. "Rei-chan, what—" her sentence was cut short as the dark haired girl in front of her shoved her way in quickly and slammed the door shut, immediately slapping an offuda onto it above the peep hole. Chanting a few words she grabbed her friends hand and pulled her over to her sofa, all but shovingher down onto the plush seating.

"What the hell are you—,"

"Mako-chan," she was cut off as Rei walked back over to her door and locked it, as well as walking over to her windows to make sure that they too were locked. She left one unlocked."I don't have long to explain, and we'll need to leave as soon as possible when I'm done," she said as she glanced nervously, yet almost expectantly, at the door, hoping no sounds would emit from behind it. However, the feeling of someone, or rather something, following her was too strong for her mind to merely overlook. This gained her friend's full attention, as she was now beginning to see that Rei was not fooling around.

Makoto had never seen Rei so jittery, she'd always been theone to be calm and composed in a time of crisis. Seeing her eyes pivot from the windows to her door in constant anxiety caused worry to clench at the brunettes stomach. "Rei-chan… w…what is going on?" Rei turned and looked directly at Makoto and frowned. She was loosing her usual cool composure. Taking a slow breath in, and exhaling evenly she felt her bouncing nerves begin to subside.

Taking off her coat, a protection from the night's chilly air, she placed it on the coffee table in front of Makoto and began. "If you're wondering why I came to you first, rather than consulting Usagi about what's going on, it's because you're the easiest to reach, you live alone," Rei tried to mask the harshness in her voice, knowing that the subject was touchy for her fellow Senshi, but saw no sign of hurt from the girl sitting in front of her, who merely blinked like a lost puppy, completely confused. "I can't get into Ami's penthouse unnoticed, and Usagi and Minako sleep like logs." Her tone seemed to become monotonous at the mention of their princess and leader. "I would have gone to Ami because she has her computer, and at this moment it's what I direly need, but I had a feeling that you'd be able to help me the most with whatever's following me." Makoto looked up at her in utter bewilderment.

Breathing out a quick breath, Rei began to explain before Makoto could interrupt her. "For the past few weeks I've been getting bad vibes. With these random Youma that have been showing up from Galaxia's last attack and the tear in the dimensional time stream I figured it was nothing but a silly mishap." Makoto opened her mouth to ask something but Rei cut her off by holding up her hand.

"When Usagi defeated Galaxia, there was a tear in the time stream, Setsuna explained it to me, and I don't have time to explain it to you now." Running a hand through her hair she continued, "I've been getting sloppy in my assumptions," she reprimanded herself. Rei finally gave herself the incentive to sit down. "But then, the feelings began to get stronger and stronger and I knew that it couldn't just be the normal Youma. It's strange, these aren't like the normal vibes I receive. Usually they come quick and I can feel them in the back of my mind. But these…" Rei clasped her hands nervously in front of her and looked out a window just behind Makoto. "These ones come strong and they don't leave. They leave me with headaches for hours on end, which are so strong they even make me vomit."

Bouncing her leg out of jittery nerves, Rei found that she couldn't sit anymore and stood, her eyes never once looking towards her friend sitting in front of her. "Then last night," she continued, "I had a dream, and I still don't get it. I was in a vast white space, yet I could somehow walk on the ground. In front of me were about four angels huddled together, moving over something that I couldn't see very well. I walked closer and one of the angels turned to look at me." Rei's knees began to feel weak and she sat down as she ran her fingers through her long hair once again. "It had fangs like a vampire and its mouth was completely covered in blood. They were feasting, Mako-chan, and they were feasting on a person." Taking a shaky breath in, she looked over to her long time friend. "They were eating Usagi."

Makoto's eyes scrunched in sadness and worry. Eating Usagi? She looked at Rei with pity but the look soon diminished when she remembered that Rei hated to be regarded with pity. It was just hard to see a friend receive grotesque visions that would most likely plague her mind day in and day out. Standing up she walked over to the miko and sat in front of her, grasping her hands in her own and urging her to go on at the same time.

"I walked up to them and they continued to gnaw away at her flesh while I turned away and vomited. Gathering up my courage, knowing that it was merely a dream, I stood tall and stared down at Usagi's mangled flesh. Holding back the urge to vomit again I was completely caught off guard when her eyes opened. Only," Rei stopped for a moment, staring at nothingness while she tried to find the right words.

When she didn't continue for a few moments Makoto got up the courage to ask her friend if she wanted any tea. Waving her hand, Rei politely refused. "I would love some, however, I'm dillydallying enough, and we're losing minutes as I speak." Giving a sigh she continued.

"Only she had no eyes, only black voids of… nothingness. Her lips curved up into a twisted sneer and she spoke to me. Do you like my new body, Rei-chan? She asked me. I didn't know how to respond. I merely gaped at her as she turned her head to the side and groaned, as if she were in ecstasy. She then complimented the angels on the job of devouring her body and that's when I noticed two puncture wounds on the side of her neck. I know it may sound weird, but I don't think that they were from a vampire; at least not a normal one.

Then, Usagi and the angels seemed to pull away from me and they disappeared farther and farther away from my sight. I did what any one of us would have done in a situation like that: I ran after her. Only, with two steps taken, the vast white area changed to that of black. Then all of a sudden a gate appeared in front of me with one man guarding it. It was extremely tall and covered in what looked like soot. I had jagged tips and prickly vines snaked their way up and around the bars. Locking it was a huge padlock with three holes in it, each smaller than the other. Now, the thing guarding it was hardly a man. With sharp, yellowing horns and a pale white face I could decipher only that it was something in an Oni mask. However," Rei bit one of her nails as she spoke, "it was garbed as if a Shinobi in disguise and carried the customary gnarled club of an Oni.

Anyway, his head lifted and he looked directly at me. Then, oddly enough, he bowed to me on one knee and merely pushed the gate open, saying, Welcome Princess Mars, Aino awaits you."

Makoto interrupted. "Aino, as in the goddess of fire?"

Rei nodded and continued. "That's what I'm guessing. When the gate opened completely I… I saw Usagi-chan chained to a cross, only this time she was hardly as demonic as the last time I'd seen her. This was the real Usagi. Only thing is, she was being burned, her angels dancing around her crying, 'Witch, witch, burn witch!' Completely disregarding the strange Oni or Shinobi or whatever it was I ran into the gates as Usagi cried out in pain from the flames licking her skin. Only when I got closer could I see that there was something written on her arms. Carved into her skin was Lunarian writing." Rei grimaced as she remembered how tortured and hurt her princess had looked. "With Usagi's last scream, my dream faded away."

Makoto looked up slowly and grabbed onto Rei's hands once again. "Rei-chan, I—."

"I'm not quite done yet, Mako-chan," Rei said as she stood up from her friends' couch and gripped the bottom of her t-shirt. "When I woke up, I had this," pulling up her shirt, Rei frowned at her friends gasp and looked away. "It won't come off."

Written on her stomach, in black curvilinear writing, were Lunarian words. "From what little Lunarian I can remember, which is why I need Ami's computer, it says something like:

Feed the immortal fire with the strength of three. Those bound by one hope, and cursed by one fate shall enter the gates of hell. Gone awry is your path then creators shall create and destroyers shall destroy. 'Cross candle lit lands led by dual scythe moons, trusting one, and trusted by none. Through threads of time and wines of silk, your guardian shall help from afar. The words of the ages shall be the portal for the one adorned with pure blood. Unlock the gates for the queen of hell and all hope shall be released."

"What the hell…?" Makoto trailed off, almost laughing at the irony in her own words.

"And that's not even it," reaching into her pocket, Rei pulled out a small scroll of what seemed to be parchment. Untying the blood red ribbon around it she handed the roll to Makoto, who opened it and frowned deeply. "I found it next to my bed when I woke up tonight around 2:30. It's a map. I'm not sure what of, but I'm guessing it's going to lead us to the gates of hell." Receiving no response from her friend, Rei looked down and stared worriedly at her as Makoto held the map as if it were going to burn her skin.

With her fingers so loose on the parchment, the Senshi of Jupiter let it slip between them to the ground in front of her. Pulling in a shaky breath she kept her eyes fast to the map in front of her. "Rei-chan…" she began as she held out a finger and traced a path as depicted on the parchment, "would it seem odd to you if I told you…" Picking up the map and rolling it back up, she held the scroll out to her long haired friend, and Rei got a glimpse of fear and anxiety within Makoto's eyes.

"Told me what?" Rei chided, placing a hand on Makoto's shoulder as she looked back down at the map and frowned deeply. What could she possibly have to tell her?

Makoto seemed reluctant that the words had come out of her mouth but looked up and explained herself anyway. "Would it seem odd to you that this map is extremely familiar to me?"

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Aino is the Japanese goddess of fire. She, however, with be changed by me within the storyline.

MidnightOpal