Author's Note: I forgot to mention last time that this story takes place at about the same time as Bride of the Yellow King, The Witch of Gleenwood Manor, and The Cydonia Foundation. Of course anyone who's already following this series of mine up to now probably didn't need to know this, but I felt like I should say something for those who are only jumping in on my Old Gods Saga just now with this story. I intended each of these four stories as a jumping-in point for the series, and it's not necessary to read the other three to know what's going on in this tale. Though I do hope this story helps get people interested in looking at the other three.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, nor do I own the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

Chapter 2: Rivals

It was midmorning as Ami made another visit to the Miskatonic University campus. She wanted to take a closer look at some of the buildings Professor Hargrove had shown her on her tour the day before. The other reason Ami decided to make another visit to the campus was because she was hoping it'd give her a good place to think about her current dilemma with Satoru and Erica. She had already been up half the previous night trying to figure out what she should do and was still at a loss. Ami still couldn't decide if Satoru and Erica were enemies or allies.

Ami had to admit Satoru, or rather Zoisite, was very different from when he was a general of the Dark Kingdom. At first Ami assumed his different personality might've been an act to lull her into a false sense of security, but the more she thought about it she realized that Satoru's change might be legitimate. As Erica had pointed out the previous night, Satoru had originally been one of the four knights who had protected Prince Endymion, known in this lifetime as her friend, Mamoru Chiba. Satoru and the other Shitennou had only become enemies because Queen Beryl had used her powers to corrupt them. Were that corruption to be undone, Satoru and his three comrades would go back to being the noble knights they had once been.

Of course even if Satoru was no longer the same evil general who had once served Queen Beryl, there was still the problem of Erica. Ami found she just couldn't trust the mysterious pinkette, especially since Erica was not forthcoming about her true identity. And because she couldn't trust Erica, Ami felt like she still couldn't trust Satoru either. Unfortunately even though Ami couldn't trust Satoru or Erica, the fact was she probably needed to work with them. She realized it was unlikely she could defeat any more of those shoggoths on her own.

The ideal solution for Ami in this situation would be for her to call in her friends to help, but unfortunately that was easier said than done. At the moment the rest of the Sailor Guardians were spread out too far to be of help. Usagi and Mamoru were currently on a trip to Hawaii, while Minako was in England about to star in some movie. Meanwhile Rei was back in Japan dealing with her estranged father, and Makoto was in America's Midwest visiting her boyfriend, a young med student named Austin Glenwood. As for the Outers, they were currently touring though Europe.

Because none of her friends seemed able to help, Ami hadn't even bothered to call them to tell them of how Zoisite had come back from the dead. She realized she would have to do so eventually, but for the time being Ami decided it was better to hold off on giving her friends the news. Thus it seemed to Ami that her only option was to work with Satoru and Erica. Even so, Ami found she was a little desperate to find another option. If Erica at least really was an enemy, Ami didn't want to do anything that might help her out in the long run.

As Ami walked past the student union, she soon noticed a large banner over main doors announcing a campus chess tournament that was set for the afternoon. Intrigued, the blunette decided to take a closer look. Moments later when Ami entered the building, she discovered there was a surprisingly long line of people wanting to sign up for this tournament. She also quickly noticed a familiar tall blonde with a stoop standing in the line, his nose buried in a book that he brought with. Ami decided to go over and say hi to Joseph Curwen.

"Mr. Curwen!" Ami spoke as she approached, causing the pale blonde to pull his attention from his book. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Nor I you, Ms. Mizuno," Curwen responded. "This is an unexpected pleasure."

Ami nodded. "So you're a chess player?"

"I dabble from time to time, but I'm by no means a great master at the game. Still, I thought this tournament they're holding might be a relaxing diversion for the afternoon. The…project I'm working on with Ms. Covington is in fact quite stressful."

"I wouldn't mind taking part in this tournament myself."

Curwen blinked in surprise. "You play chess as well? You are indeed full of surprises Ms. Mizuno. If you really want to participate though, you are welcome. From what I understand, the tournament is open to everyone regardless of whether or not one is a student."

"Well, in that case I think I'll sign up."

Thus, Ami went to the back of the line. A few minutes later, the blunette reached the table for the sign-up sheet and jotted down her name. As soon as she did so though, Ami noticed that there was another familiar name already written on the board, Satoru Petrov. Ami certainly hadn't expected Satoru would be a competitor, and she found she wished she had known before signing out. Now there was a chance she and Satoru would be facing one another across the chessboard.

A few moments later, Ami was back outside the student union. She soon found Curwen over talking with Irene and went over to them.

Irene smirked as she saw Ami approach. "So, Joe tells me you also entered this little chess tournament they're holding. If you and he end up against each other, I hope you won't be too hard on old Joe."

"I make no promises," Ami responded. "Actually, I'm a little more concerned about someone else who's entered the tournament, Satoru Petrov."

"Oh. Well, you're probably right to be worried. I don't know the guy you're talking about all that well since he only just enrolled here not long ago, but I've heard that his grandfather on his father's side is some Russian grandmaster of chess. He's probably the one who'll win this whole thing."

"Is this Mr. Petrov an acquaintance of yours, Ms. Mizuno?" Curwen asked.

"He is actually," Ami admitted. "And he's not exactly a friend."

"In that case, if given the chance I will be sure to defeat this Mr. Petrov before you have a chance to face him."

The hours passed quickly, and very soon the tournament began inside the campus gym. At least a quarter of the campus had turned out to watch. As Ami sat down at the table where she would soon face her first opponent, she had noticed both Irene and Erica sitting up in the bleachers, though each of them was at an opposite side of the gym. The blunette also spotted Curwen at the table from the opposite corner from where hers was. Ami's heart sank a bit though when she discovered Satoru was Curwen's opponent.

Once all of the competitors had assembled, the tournament quickly began. Ami's first opponent proved to be somewhat easy to beat; their match had only lasted a little over four minutes. Curwen meanwhile had ended up losing to Satoru, though his game against the blonde Shitennou had gone on for at least ten minutes. Eventually the tournament came down to Ami and Satoru, which was the outcome Ami had expected given Satoru's reputation as a player. Of course there was something else too that made Ami suspect she would be pitted against Satoru in the final round, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

As the members of the campus chess club set things up for the final match, Ami went over to talk to Curwen. "Sorry you didn't make it past the first round."

"It is I who should be apologizing to you, Ms. Mizuno," Curwen responded. "I had hoped to spare you from facing Mr. Petrov at all given your apparent troubled past with him, but in the end I proved too impotent to defeat him."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You at least put up a good fight. Besides, I think I can handle facing the man in one game."

The MC then announced the start of the final match of the tournament, signaling Ami and Satoru to head for the table that had been set up in the center of the gym. Ami looked across the table at Satoru with a determined expression, her brain quickly trying to determine once again if her former enemy had really changed or was simply putting on an act.

Satoru gave her a kind smile. "There's no need to be afraid. Let's just try and forget about everything else and have a good match."

Ami nodded. "Fine with me."

Eventually the MC gave the signal for the two of them to start their game. Ami decided to start things out by playing a defensive strategy to try and feel Satoru out. Over time though as the game progressed, Ami found many of Satoru's tactics seemed incredibly familiar, so much so she found she could anticipate almost every one of his moves. What was even more startling though was how Satoru also seemed able to counter and predict her own tactics as well. It was almost as if they had played the exact same game with one another many years before.

The game ultimately ended in a draw, much to the surprise of both Ami and Satoru as well as to the audience. With the game at a draw though, Ami and Satoru were required to go up against one another in another game. This time Ami decided to start off with a more offensive strategy, but very soon the same thing that had happened in their first match started to happen again. Satoru was able to predict and counter almost all of Ami's moves, and she was able to do the same against him. Once again Ami had the sensation that she and Satoru had played the exact same game against one another years before, or at least some variation of it. Just like before though, the game ended in a draw.

Ami and Satoru were then asked to play against one another again. Just like the first two times though, Ami had the same sensation that she and Satoru were repeating a game which they had played before in the past long ago, and once again the game ended in a draw. The two of them were asked to play against one another once again to decide a winner, and Ami had become consumed by a white-hot determination to defeat Satoru; not simply because he was an old enemy from her past, but because he had become a rival she just had to defeat. The fourth game between Ami and Satoru soon began, and once more Ami experienced the same intense sensation of déjà vu. This time though, Satoru had managed to trip her up and defeated her.

The audience cheered as the MC declared Satoru the winner. Ami meanwhile was still experiencing a bit of a shock over being defeated.

Satoru smiled and bowed to his opponent. "I enjoyed those games. You really gave me quite the challenge."

"Um…likewise," Ami responded as she came back to her senses.

Satoru began to walk away from the table, but as he did so he passed Ami and put a hand on her shoulder. "You should stay away from Joseph Curwen. He's far more of a danger to you than I could ever be."

Ami attempted to ask Satoru what he meant, but before she could several members of the campus chess club had swarmed around her to congratulate her on her performance. All she could do was watch as Satoru met with Erica at the door out of the gym and leave with her.

Once the chaos at the gym had finally died down, Ami had made it back to her hotel. The whole trip back, Ami had been thinking about everything that had happened during and after her games with Satoru, including his warning about how she should stay away from Joseph Curwen. The blunette couldn't understand what Curwen could possibly have to do with whatever was going on. She had to admit there was something a little strange about Curwen she just couldn't put her finger on, but he hardly seemed like any sort of threat. He was certainly much less of a potential threat than Satoru and Erica.

By the time Ami had finally gotten back to her room, she found she was absolutely exhausted. She had been feeling drained ever since she had played against Satoru, and her fatigue had only gotten worse as she traveled back to the hotel. Ami assumed she was simply wiped out from the tournament, which ended up being a more intense experience than she had thought. As soon as she had secured the door and had taken off her shoes, Ami went over to her bed and flopped onto it facedown. In a matter of seconds she was out like a light.

The moment she had slipped into unconsciousness, Ami's mind traveled back to the time of the Silver Millennium, recalling memories she had long ago forgotten. Her recollection took her back to a day when she as Sailor Mercury had traveled down to Earth with Princess Serenity. A few days before, Sailor Venus had made an arrangement with the leader of Prince Endymion's protectors, the Shitennou to hold supervised visits between Serenity and Endymion. The arrangement involved having a Sailor Guardian work with a member of the Shitennou to watch over the princess and prince during these visits to Earth; the idea being that they would work to help keep the relationship a secret from the public and keep Serenity from lingering too long down on Earth. Mercury found she had some problems with this arrangement, but she realized that keeping Serenity from going to Earth entirely had proven to be an impossible task, so this was the second best solution.

As soon as Mercury made it down to the palace with her charge, Serenity instantly went to the dashing Prince Endymion's side. Very soon the princess and prince had become lost in their own little world. Meanwhile, Mercury quickly spotted the member of the Shitennou she would be working with. He had long wavy blond hair tied in a ponytail, brilliant emerald eyes, and handsome features which also seemed to have a slightly feminine cast.

The blonde approached Mercury and bowed to her. "You must be Sailor Mercury. I am Zoisite, one of Prince Endymion's four generals. It appears you and I will be working together quite a lot from today on."

"I suppose so," Mercury responded.

"Prince Endymion has decided to show the Princess the palace rose garden, where they will likely be spending most of her visit. Shall we be off?"

Mercury agreed to this, and soon enough she and Zoisite were following Serenity and Endymion out to the garden in question. When they arrived, Mercury couldn't help but be amazed by how beautiful the vast garden was. The blunette understood how it was Serenity had become fixated on Earth. As Endymion led Serenity deeper into the garden, Zoisite led Mercury to a bench where they could keep a close eye on them. Mercury felt though Serenity was in little danger in these surroundings.

Zoisite sat down on the stone bench next to Mercury and noticed the wicker basket she had brought with her. "I notice you brought a lunch with you."

Mercury nodded. "Just some sandwiches and a book to read later. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. Though I was hoping you and I could pass the time with a little game." With that, Zoisite displayed a small flat wooden box that he had been carrying with him since Mercury's arrival. "It's an Earth game called chess. Though I don't suppose you've ever heard of it, being from another world."

"On the contrary. The Moon Kingdom has collected quite a bit of information on your world over the years, including the details of this game you speak of. In fact I've played chess quite a few times against the castle's computer."

"Computer?" Zoisite repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh! Forgive me. Sometimes I forget just how advanced my world and the rest of the Moon Kingdom is compared to you Earthlings. A computer is a mechanical device that stores and processes vast amounts of information. It can also be programmed for certain tasks such as playing games."

"How fascinating. Do you win often against this 'computer' you speak of?"

"Let's just say I have a pretty good record against it. Honestly, some of its patterns have become rather predictable to me."

"Well then, maybe you'd find a human opponent to be more of a challenge."

"You may be right. Very well then, I'll take you up on your game."

With the challenge accepted, Zoisite set up the board and the two of them began their little game. To Mercury's surprise, Zoisite was proving to be a much more challenging opponent than she had anticipated. It was even more stunning though when Zoisite had managed to defeat her.

Mercury blinked in disbelief as she looked at the board. "How did you do that? I've never seen a strategy like that before!"

Zoisite smirked. "I suppose I'm just a little more creative at tactics than a mere machine."

Mercury looked back at Zoisite with a newfound determination in her eyes. "I want a rematch."

"Fine with me," Zoisite agreed, and soon they began the second of what would be many more games to come between them.

Satoru awoke in his room in the dingy little apartment that he was currently sharing with Erica in a building not far from the campus. He had just experienced the same memories from Silver Millennium that Ami had recalled, only from his own perspective. Satoru spent several moments sitting on the bed trying to determine if what he had just experienced were really memories or just some elaborate dream. Eventually the blonde got off the bed and went into the outer room of the apartment, where he saw Erica sitting at a desk typing away at a computer.

"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty," Erica spoke without once taking her eyes off the screen. "I still can't understand what could be so exhausting about a mere chess tournament."

"I don't really understand what came over me either," Satoru responded as he rubbed the back of his head. "In fact I just had the strangest dream. Actually…I think it was a memory from my former life."

Here the pinkette stopped typing and swiveled her chair around, adjusting her glasses as she looked at Satoru. "A memory you say?"

"I'm pretty sure that's what it was. It was certainly too organized to be a simple dream."

Erica nodded and patted the seat of a small wooden chair near the rolling office chair she was using. "Please have a seat."

Satoru shrugged and went to sit down in the chair. Erica meanwhile reached under the desk and pulled out what looked like a black medical bag. From the bag, the pinkette produced a clipboard, a stethoscope, and a blood pressure cuff. To Satoru's surprise, Erica used the instruments to examine his heart rate and blood pressure, writing her findings down on the clipboard as she went.

"Um, are you a doctor?" Satoru asked.

"Of a sort," Erica responded. "Tell me Mr. Petrov, what was this memory of yours?"

"It was apparently of the first time Sailor Mercury and I met back during Silver Millennium. She and I had been given the shared duty of guarding Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity during some of the princess's visits to Earth. Uh, just why are you examining me right now?"

"Past life recall has been known to cause intense physical reactions in some instances. I'm just making sure nothing out of the ordinary is happening with you. This would explain though the intense fatigue you had after the tournament. Now tell me, what exactly happened between you and Sailor Mercury during this memory, besides the two of you going on duty to protect your prince and princess?"

"Well…we passed the time with a few games of chess."

"Ah-ha!" Erica declared with a triumphant smile. "So you and Ms. Mizuno playing against each other today must've been what triggered the memory."

"But how could I have forgotten something like this, especially when I remember so many other details from my past life so clearly?"

"In your case, there are a number of reasons. For one thing, you and your fellow Shitennou were the subjects of mind control. It stands to reason Queen Beryl would've blocked out certain memories of yours to keep you loyal to her cause. Though you've been restored to your old human self, the tinkering that witch did to your mind is likely going to take some time to fully undo. Of course the other possible reason why you seem to have forgotten that part of your past life might be because you repressed the memories yourself."

"…Do you think that's what happened with Ami? That she somehow repressed these memories of this time she and I apparently spent together during Silver Millennium? I mean I could be wrong, but it seems as though she had no memory of us working together back then, given how she sees me."

Erica sighed. "I'm certain you are correct, Mr. Petrov. In her case the memories were likely repressed because of how things ultimately ended between the two of you during your shared past."

Satoru's eyes widened. "Do you know about this lost past Ami and I have?"

"Of course not! At least not anything beyond how what happened to Silver Millennium was a tragedy. But from that tragedy I have a general idea about what happened between the two of you."

"So…what do I do then?"

"For now, nothing. I'm sure you've only recalled a small portion of the past you share with Sailor Mercury. But I'm certain that during this mission more of the memories will surface. And as they do, you'll come to realize what your next step should be."

Ami had decided to go for a long walk through Arkham after having experienced her lost memories of the past. She had hoped a walk would help her try and make sense of them. Ami felt certain the dream she had experienced was an actual memory, but it was all just so surprising. Though the more Ami thought about it, the more it made sense how she and Zoisite would've worked together closely in the past. She had at least already remembered Usagi, or rather Serenity had been allowed supervised visits to Earth from time to time when it became clear they couldn't keep her away, and Ami had only just realized there were certain gaps in her memories regarding the matter; gaps that had now just been partially filled.

As Ami continued her walk through town, she suddenly realized the sun had already set. She also hadn't realized how far from her hotel she had gotten. It was probably going to take her at least half an hour to make it back. Sighing to herself, Ami began her long walk back to where she was staying.

"Ms. Mizuno?" a familiar voice spoke. Ami turned around to see Curwen standing a few feet away. "What are you doing out at this time of the evening?"

"I had a lot on my mind and decided a walk might help me figure things out," Ami answered.

Curwen nodded. "I understand completely. I'm prone to taking long walks myself."

"Of course now I have to walk at least thirty minutes to get back to the hotel I'm staying at."

"Then perhaps I could escort you."

"I wouldn't want to take you too far out of your way."

"Not at all. I've really just been walking around town aimlessly. Besides, I would greatly enjoy the privilege of your company."

Ami smiled. "Now that you mention it, so would I."

Ami then began to lead Curwen in the direction of her hotel. During their walk, Curwen ended up telling Ami a little bit about the buildings they passed and the history of Arkham itself. Ami felt as though she was being given a guided tour. By the time they had gotten half way to the hotel though, the two of them felt a sort of rumbling beneath the ground. Suddenly a manhole cover in the street burst off into the air and a large shape began to emerge from the hole.

In a matter of moments an all to familiar semitransparent blob the size of a bus had emerged from the manhole. Ami noticed though that this shoggoth was more of an ashen grey color compared to the one she had fought the previous night. As soon as it had appeared though, the shoggoth began forming several temporary eyes within its body, and they soon spotted Ami and Curwen. Growing from the top of the blob were two tentacle-like appendages covered in white scales, each ending with an eyeless snake-like head.

The mouths of both these heads opened up and let out a familiar cry. "TEKELI-LI!"

Curwen put a hand on Ami's shoulder. "We must run!"

Ami found that she had no choice but to agree. For one thing, she couldn't exactly transform into Sailor Mercury in front of Curwen. More importantly though, Ami was certain she couldn't defeat the shoggoth without Satoru's help; she didn't have the kind of firepower that could even wound the beast. The two of them began to make a run for it, but they had only gotten five steps when another manhole cover burst off into the air, and a second ashen grey shoggoth squeezed its way up from the sewers. The second shoggoth formed its temporary eyes and instantly spotted Ami and Curwen.

The front of the second shoggoth morphed into an animal-like snout similar to the muzzle of a wolf covered in white fur. The sides of its body also sprouted eight white spider-like legs that resembled the kind of legs found on a tarantula. With its transformation apparently finished, the new shoggoth let out its chilling musical cry and began to advance on Ami and Curwen. The first shoggoth was quickly slithering towards them as well.

"Damn!" Curwen cursed. "It appears we've been cornered. Ms. Mizuno, you should flee to protect yourself. I'll stay and try to hold…"

"Mercury Crystal Power MAKE-UP!" Ami called out before Curwen could finish.

In an instant Ami was enveloped in a pillar of water as her body began to glow blue. The water soon subsided to reveal Ami in her alternate identity. Curwen was of course visibly stunned by the transformation.

Mercury turned to Curwen and smiled. "Sorry. I'll explain later, assuming of course I survive this somehow. But right now, you should be the one to make a run for it. I'll see if I can't at least hold them off."

Mercury then turned her attention back to the two shoggoths and caused her visor to materialize. She turned her focus on the shoggoth with the two snakeheads and tried to get some readings from it. According to the visor, the cellular activity of this shoggoth was different from the first one she and Zoisite had fought, as though they had gone through some sort of fundamental change. Mercury wondered if the other shoggoth was in the same condition, and about what it meant if it was. In the end though, Mercury decided her best course of action was to at least try to slow the creatures down long enough for her and Curwen to escape.

Mercury aimed the palm of her right hand towards the snake-headed shoggoth. "Shine Snow Illusion!"

A massive blast of snow and ice shot from Mercury's hand and blasted the front of the oncoming shoggoth. In a matter of seconds the front half of the abomination was covered in a thick layer of ice. In just a few moments though, the creature broke out of the ice and let out another of its chilling cries before advancing towards its prey again.

"It's no use," Mercury spoke. "There's nothing I can do to stop these things!"

Suddenly Curwen stepped forward and in a loud voice spoke a strange invocation. "OGTHROD AI'F GEB'L – EE'H YOG-SOTHOTH 'NGHA'NG AI'Y ZHRO!"

The moment Curwen spoke those words, both of the shoggoths crumbled into piles of grey dust. Mercury used her visor to analyze one of the dust piles as it started to blow away in the breeze. The readings seemed to indicate that both shoggoths had somehow been broken down into their base chemical components.

Mercury turned to Curwen. "How…how did you do that?"

"I had hoped to use that spell once you were out of sight, Ms. Mizuno," Curwen responded. "I did not wish you to know this secret about me, but it seems you were keeping an enormous secret of your own."

"Just who are you anyway?"

"A fair question, and one which will take a little time to explain. To begin with, my name is not actually Joseph Curwen. That was the name of my monstrous great-great-great-grandfather, but necessity has forced me to use his name as my own. My real name is Charles Dexter Ward."

Author's Note: Any major Lovecraft fans reading this story should know who Charles Dexter Ward is, and you may have even seen him coming when the name, Joseph Curwen first popped up. For those with only a passing familiarity with Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos, Mr. Ward is the star character of Lovecraft's only real novel, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. During the development phase of this story I reread the novel in question to make sure I could get away with using Ward in this story. The explanation of how he's present in the here and now will be in the next chapter.

Please review and let me know what you think.