Author's Note: It took me way longer than I would've liked, but I finally managed to get this chapter up. Sorry for the wait, but between my job and the current holiday season, I don't have as much time to work on this story as I normally would.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon (nor do I own The King in Yellow).

Chapter 3: The Door to Carcosa

Minako walked into the ballroom, her legs moving of their own accord. She had no memory of how she had even arrived at the castle or why she was even there. When Minako entered the vast chamber, she found it already filled with people dressed for an elegant masquerade ball. Her eyes scanned the room hoping to find someone she'd recognize, but everyone there was wearing a mask of some kind or another. Minako did notice that there was something very odd about the guests at this party though.

Every one of the guests was dressed in outfits that seemed to date back to the eighteenth century, as though it were a scene from a royal ball from pre-revolutionary France. But there was something not quite right about the costumes themselves, and it soon dawned on Minako that they were all dirty and damaged in some way. Dress skirts were tattered and coats were coming apart at the seams. The boots that the men all wore were covered in spots of old dirt and dust, and their white shirts were a dirty yellow. It was though the costumes had been taken right off the backs of corpses from the eighteenth century.

Minako wondered if the condition of the costumes was merely part of the ball's intended theme, but there was something off about the people themselves. None of them had what any would consider a healthy skin tone. Some of the guests were chalk white, while others were white with a light greenish tint, and others were a sickly shade yellow. Many of these guests were also either shriveled or bloated to certain degrees. As Minako took in the strange scene, another guest brushed past her, a greenish woman wearing a very yellowish-white gown and a brown mask over the upper half of her face. She was so thin that she might've been a skeleton, and her long hair was stringy and almost totally grey. The woman paused to look back at Minako and flashed her a smile showing yellowed and missing teeth before continuing on her way. The encounter caused a chill to run down Minako's spine.

Eventually Minako made her way over to the refreshment table, trying to ignore the unnatural quality of the other guests. The cloth covering the long table had yellowed with age and holes that had been eaten into it. The centerpiece was a dirty brass urn containing a bouquet of dead and shriveled flowers covered in cobwebs. Meanwhile the snakes that had been set out were all desiccated and uneatable. One plate seemed to have bugs of some kind crawling on it: just what sort of bugs, Minako couldn't tell. She decided to have a bit of Champaign to try and calm her nerves, but backed away when she discovered that it smelled like ammonia and was likely undrinkable.

It was as she was backing away from the refreshment table when Minako got a look in the mirrored wall behind the table. She was clad in an elegant black and gold dress with a large skirt and black gloves that went up past her elbows. A small gold tiara adorned her head, and covering her face was black mask similar to the one she used to wear as Sailor V. Minako was relieved to find that her dress wasn't tattered, but there was another quality to it that somehow made her feel uneasy. The dress looked almost like a wedding dress.

"Ah! Our fair Princess Cassilda has finally arrived," a voice spoke, causing her to turn around. Standing before her was a hunched man with one eye, wild black hair and an unnaturally large mouth. "I trust you're enjoying the party?"

"Um… who are you?" Minako asked.

"Forgive me. I am Peter Cromwell, ambassador to Carcossa and envoy of His Majesty." The one-eyed man bowed and lightly kissed the back of Minako's hand. Minako's skin crawled at his touch. "But please, called me One-Eyed Pete."

"Sounds like the name of a pirate."

Pete chuckled. "Yes, I suppose it does. I gained that nickname in trade for the eye I lost many years ago in a pub during the course of a… vigorous disagreement I was having with a friend. All the same, the name quickly grew on me."

There was something about Pete that disturbed Minako more than the other guests at the ball. It wasn't simply that Pete had the same characteristics of dress and unnatural skin tone as the other guests; it was that his mannerisms somehow clashed totally with his looks and nature. It was almost like seeing an ape trying to act like a man. Pete seemed to be trying to act the part of an aristocratic gentleman, but he seemed more like some sort of wild beast; like a crazed and savage killer trying to appear as an average and gentle person.

"You'll be pleased to know that the King will be arriving in only moments," Pete continued. "I know he's looking forward to seeing you."

Minako tried to ignore Pete and started to look around the room for some sort of exit. She still didn't know what was going on when she noticed a chalk-white man with straight white hair and dressed in a tattered black coat in a red mask talking to the woman she had seen earlier. At that moment, Minako saw what seemed to be a large beetle crawl out of the man's ear and skitter over onto his face. The man looked in Minako's direction, and it was then that she saw a large hole on the right side of his face that showed the interior of his mouth and a small chunk of his skull. The beetle crawled into the hole in the side of the man's face, prompting him to bite down and eat the thing.

It was then that Minako realized what was wrong with Pete and all of the other guests at this ball, something that caused her to quickly bring her hands to her mouth to stifle a scream. Every single one of them was dead.

"Something wrong?" Pete asked with a raised eyebrow. "There's no need to be so tense, Princess. I can guarantee that the King will adore a radiant gem such as yourself."

Just then Minako felt an intense burning sensation on her left arm, causing her to clutch the spot where the acid burn from the worm had been. She didn't know how, but she knew that something was coming. Soon after, there was a loud sort of pounding that filled and shook the whole ballroom. Minako and every single one of the guests brought their attention to a pair of large and ancient-looking wooden doors at the top of a set of crumbling stone steps.

"He is coming!" Pete spoke. "Rejoice, Princess! The door to Carcosa is about to open! And in moments you shall me he who is to be your husband!"

The massive doors slowly began to creak open and an unearthly white mist started to fill the room. At that moment Minako wanted to flee, because she knew that the thing about to come through those doors would be her end.

Minako's eyes snapped open and she shot up in bed, catching her breath. Cold sweat had formed on her brow.

At that moment Artemis, who had been sleeping on the foot of her bed, woke up and raised his head to look at her. "Mina? Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Um… just had a weird dream. Nothing to worry about," Minako assured him.

"You sure? You know talking about bad dreams helps them to go away."

"It's nothing, okay? Just go back to sleep."

"Well… alright." Artemis then put his head back down and was once again snoozing. It was at times like this when Minako greatly envied the ability that all cats had to be able to go to sleep in an instant.

Minako sighed and plopped back onto the bed. After putting the blanket back over herself, she clutched the part of her arm that had been burned and now bore the strange yellow mark. Rather than going back to sleep, Minako spent the next half hour staring up at the ceiling. She couldn't shake the feeling that her dream had actually been something more.

The next day of filming had gone smoothly and without incident. Artemis had stayed back at the hotel trying again to solve the problem with the communicator. The sun was setting as Minako left the lot, and she was feeling exhausted. The scenes that she had done this time had required more than one take unlike her rather memorable scene with Keisuke, and her lack of sleep the previous night hadn't helped. It also didn't help that Minako hadn't been able to take her mind off the dream of the ball.

"Minako?" a familiar voice spoke. She turned back to see Keisuke standing at the lot's entrance. "Might I have a word with you?"

"I don't see why not," Minako answered. "But let's talk somewhere a little more private."

Keisuke nodded and they left the lot together. A few moments later they had arrived at a small park in the village that was practically deserted. The two of them found a bench near a small cluster of trees that was practically secluded.

"So what's up?" Minako finally asked as they sat down.

Taking a breath, Keisuke looked down at his folded hands. "Before that worm creature attacked us, you said you had regained a lost memory from your past life, a memory that involved both of us."

"That's right." Suddenly Minako began to feel nervous. "You, um… you want to know what that memory was about, right?"

"Actually, I think I can guess. You see I had a similar experience after that scene we had shot yesterday."

"You did?"

"Yes. And I've been wondering if perhaps it was the same memory as the one you've regained." Keisuke now looked right at Minako. "In the memory I regained, I told you that I had fallen in love with you. Is that the same memory that you awakened?"

Minako looked down and sighed. "Yep. That's the one. I guess there's no point in hiding it now, huh?"

Keisuke nodded. "The thing is… I still don't have any of the memories leading up to that moment. Do you?"

"Not one. I really wish I knew how we ended up getting so close to each other during that time."

"Indeed. We don't have the full story. But… ever since regaining that memory, I've started looking at you a bit differently. In fact I haven't been able to get you off my mind. Chances are only more memories of our past together will awaken, which means the love we had for each other will likely awaken too. It was the same for our prince and princess."

"Whoa! Back up! Are… is this your way of asking me our?"

Startled, Keisuke blushed. "No! Well… maybe. Honestly, I don't really know what I'm doing. But if there is this connection between us, maybe we should explore it."

Minako shook her head. "That'd be a bad idea."

"Why? There's no longer any social barrier to stop us! The prince and princess are free to consort with one another. Why can't we?"

"Because my duty to protect Usagi still has to come first. I can't afford to let any relationship between us get in the way of that. You plan to go back to protecting Mamoru once this job you're doing for Hilda is done, right? Would you be willing to put any relationship we might have over his safety?"

Keisuke sighed and shook his head. "No… you're right. Both our duties must come before anything else. Still… can't we give these feelings we have awakening for each other some sort of chance?"

"It'd be a waste of time. Trust me," Minako declared as she rose from the bench. "The fact is while I may be the goddess of love, a true love of my own just isn't in the cards for me."

With that, Minako walked off. Keisuke remained where he was and looked out at the park, becoming lost in thought.

"That was harsh," spoke a voice from behind. Keisuke didn't have to turn around to see that it was Hilda.

"Were you listening to that whole conversation?" Keisuke asked as a slight scowl formed on his face.

"Sorry. I'm under orders to keep an eye on you at all times," Hilda explained as she came over to stand next to him. "So, are you just going to leave things like that with our fair Guardian of Venus?"

"What choice do I have? Besides, she was right on one important point. Once this mission of ours ends, I intend to rejoin my fellow Shitennou and resume our duty to protect Prince Endymion. That duty has to come over anything else. I still have strong feelings for Minako, but I can't afford to pursue them."

"…You are some kind of idiot, you know that?" Hilda's comment caused Keisuke to raise an eyebrow. "Did it ever occur to you that you two were destined to be a couple, just like your prince and Sailor Moon? Hell, she and your prince will soon enough be the rulers of this planet, which means you and Minako will be protecting them together. The two of you becoming a couple would likely help with that job."

Keisuke was about to say something to argue her point, but found that he could think of no good argument.

"Besides… right now that girl probably needs your protection the most," Hilda continued.

Just as Keisuke rose from the bench to ask her what she meant, Hilda had vanished. Sighing heavily, he sat back down on the bench and once again became deep in thought. Keisuke began to wonder from Hilda's statement if protecting Minako was part of their mission, and if that was the case, what was she in danger from?

Minako entered her hotel room to find Artemis sitting on the coffee table and playing a game of solitaire. The frown on the feline's face seemed to indicate that he was losing the game.

"Hey Art," Minako spoke as she plopped down onto the couch behind the coffee table. "So I take it you playing cards means that you couldn't fix out communicator problem?"

Artemis sighed, not once taking his eyes from the cards. "No. I've tried everything I could think of, and I just can't get a signal through. Whatever shield or barrier this enemy is using to block communications is incredibly powerful."

"Then I guess we really are on our own, more or less."

"So, how'd today's filming go?" Artemis asked as he finally turned away from the cards and hopped onto the couch next to Minako.

"It went okay. Afterwards, I ran into Keisuke and we had a little talk. It turns out that little scene we did together for the movie caused him to awaken the same past life memories that I regained."

"You mean the memory where he ended up confessing his love for you? Mina! Surly you aren't going to try and pursue some kind of romance with him! Because that would be a bad idea on so many levels! For one thing, he doesn't deserve a woman like you!"

Minako gave the feline a reassuring pat on the head. "Relax Artemis. We both agreed that us going out would be a bad idea. Not only do neither of us remember what our relationship from the past was like, we both realized that our duty to protect Usagi and Mamoru still come before anything else."

"Well… okay then." Artemis relaxed and curled up on the couch. "You know Mina, it really is amazing how much you've matured since the day we first met and became partners. I really admire the devotion you have to your duty."

"Thanks Art. Of course… if Usagi were here and knew about how Keisuke's turned over a new leaf and everything, I bet she'd be telling me to just forget my duty to her and date Keisuke."

"Are you serious?" Artemis asked, raising his head back up.

"Oh, you don't know? Lately Usagi's been a little gung-ho about seeing me, Rei, Mako-chan and even Ami being in some sort of happy relationship with someone. She said that she couldn't stand the thought of all of us devoting our lives just to her protection."

"She really told you that?"

"Oh yeah. We had a little talk about it last month when we had lunch together…"

Minako and Usagi had met for lunch at their usual place, a little café just a block away from campus. The two blonds had managed to get their usual table by the window and spent the meal talking about the usual things. Their main topic for that lunch was how well married life had been treating Usagi. It was just after the waiter serving them came back with their check when a certain question came up.

"So Mina-P, have you been seeing anyone lately?" Usagi asked.

The abrupt question nearly caused Minako to swallow her tea wrong. "Where's this coming from all of a sudden?"

"I just want to know if one of my best friends has managed to find the same happiness I have with Mamo-chan. Anything wrong with that?"

"Usagi, I'm perfectly happy with the way things our right now. I don't need a boyfriend in my life. In fact I realized long ago that romance is out of the question for me?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What I mean," Minako began as she reached across the table and placed her hand on Usagi's, "is that my duty to you comes before love or anything else. You're the most important person in my life, Usagi. I don't need a boyfriend or anything in my life to eclipse that."

Stunned, Usagi pulled her hand away. "You can't be serious!"

"I'm perfectly serious about this. And Rei, Mako-chan and Ami would all tell you the same thing if you asked them about their love lives. Our duty as your protectors comes before anything else. None of us need love."

Usagi rose from her chair as her expression became serious. "I can't accept that, Mina-P. I'm touched by how devoted you girls are to me, but I want each of you to your lives to be more than just your duty to me, because you all deserve to have more. So I've decided right now that I'm going to do everything I can to find the perfect boyfriend for each of you."

With that, Usagi left the café before Minako could stop her. Minako let out a heavy sigh, not only because of Usagi's determination to play matchmaker, but also because she had been left to pay the bill for lunch alone.

"…Later on, I found out that Usagi had similar conversations with Rei and the others. Since then, she's been trying to set us up on dates. Well, mainly she's been setting up Mako-chan and Ami since Rei reacted to Usagi's plan like a cat dumped in water."

"Well, Usagi does make a good point," Artemis admitted. "You should all have more to your lives than just protecting Usagi."

"True. And I have no problem with Usagi setting up Rei and the others with someone, but she's just waiting her time with me." Minako then picked up the Ace of Hearts from Artemis' failed game of solitaire, recalling the final love fortune she got from her old enemy, Phantom Ace. "True love just isn't in the cards for me."

It was the dead of night as Lyle walked through the empty halls of Hellmouth Castle. He eventually came to a large empty stone ballroom where he found One-Eyed Pete surveying the empty walls.

"This had better be good, Mr. Worthy," Pete spoke, not once taking his eye away from the walls. "I'm busy with making preparations for His Majesty's arrival."

"Sorry to intrude Maestro, but there's something I thought you should probably know," Lyle spoke. "I was in the park keeping an eye on our princess like you asked, and I saw her with the guy we have playing Cassilda's lover in the movie. I overheard them talking, and while I didn't get all the details, it seems that those two used to date or something."

"Is that so? Well, I'll admit that's interesting news, but hardly consequential."

"You sure about that? I mean considering how powerful the guy seems to be, wouldn't him having once dated our princess make him even more of a threat?"

Pete at last turned to face Lyle. "You make a fair point. But I've already arranged a little test for our young warrior's power. Very soon we shall know if he will indeed become a nuisance to our plans."

"I still think we should just eliminate the guy right away."

"Patience, Mr. Worthy. Patience." Pete turned to a pair of large doors atop a set of stone steps at the opposite side of the room. "In the end, this young man will be powerless to change anything. The door to Carcosa is about to open, and when it does, nothing will stop His Majesty from take this world or his bride as his own."

Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter wasn't very action-packed, but I thought there should be a break from the monster battles to do some character stuff. By the way, the dream that Minako had at the beginning of the chapter is based on the very same dream that spawned One-Eyed Pete that I had years ago. Of course I had to add a few new things to it because of my faded memory of the dream.

Of course my favorite scene in this chapter was the flashback to the conversation between Minako and Usagi. Every time when I read the original Sailor Moon manga and get to the parts about how Minako and Rei are so devoted to protecting Usagi that they're willing to sacrifice love, I keep thinking that Usagi probably wouldn't be okay with that. So this chapter was a good chance to explore how Usagi would react and respond if she knew her dearest friends were that die-hard about putting her first.

The next chapter will feature another action-packed battle, so stay tuned. In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.