Author's Note: This next chapter was originally going to be a two-parter, but once again I miscalculated how long the battle scenes in the first half were going to be. And since I didn't want to do two really short chapters in a row, I decided to just go ahead and combine them. Anyway, the title of this chapter comes from the Bryan Adams song of the same name. It seemed like a very appropriate theme song for this next chapter, especially given its setting.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon (or The King in Yellow).
Chapter 12: "Everything I Do"
Kunzite, Artemis and Brunhilde finally made it to Hellmouth Castle after several more minutes of running. They had been thankful they hadn't run into anymore of the King's minions since the battle with Ace, but not once did they drop their guard. They were in the very heart of enemy territory and knew that more enemies could strike at any moment. When the three made it to the castle, they found the doors wide open and unguarded. They moved into the entry hall and found that the place seemed totally deserted.
"Are we sure this is the right place?" Artemis asked as he looked around.
"There's no doubt about it. Sailor Venus is here," Brunhilde informed them. "I can sense her power, and Hastur's power as well."
"Then we can't waste another second," Kunzite declared. "Can you tell exactly where Minako is?"
Brunhilde closed her eyes and concentrated. "They're both out behind the castle. My guess is that's where they're going to conduct that mockery of a wedding."
"Let's go then," Kunzite responded.
"I'm afraid we can't let you go any further," a voice interrupted. Kunzite and the others looked to see Sailor Eden emerge from the passageway ahead. "My husband does not wish to be disturbed at this time."
"Eden!" a shocked Brunhilde called. "It's me! Sailor Brunhilde! Do you remember me?"
Eden tilted her head. "Sailor… Brunhilde? That name… it does have a familiar ring to it, but… oh, what does it matter? Everything from my past is long dead. All that matters is that I fulfill my husband's wishes, for He is the living God."
Brunhilde clenched her fists at her sides. "Why did I even call out? You're not Sailor Eden. Only the pitiful shadow of what she once was; her corpse made into that thing's puppet. The best I can do is to try and put you out of your misery."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but if you intend to fight, then you leave me no choice but to destroy you," Eden spoke before blowing a kiss into her hand. The kiss somehow produced a ball of black energy that took the shape of a heart. "Kiss of Eternal Damnation!"
As Eden threw the energy heart at the three, it quickly grew larger in side. Brunhilde and the others leapt out of the way, causing the heart to strike the doorway and blow a massive hole in the castle wall. Before Kunzite could get his bearings as the smoke cleared, a large figure came at him from another passageway swinging a giant axe. Kunzite jumped out of the way at the last second with Artemis still clinging to his came. The giant who was attacking him was Sailor Omicron.
"Go away!" Omicron shouted as she continued to swing her axe at Kunzite. "Your intrusion only creates more disorder, and disorder cannot be allowed!"
Meanwhile eight black knives glowing with a yellow aura flew for Brunhilde's head. The redhead rolled to the ground to avoid the attack, causing the knives to hit the wall behind her. Brunhilde rose to her feet to discover that Sailor Khali to be the knife thrower.
"You came to interfere with the wedding, right?" Khali asked with a heavy sigh as she approached. "How pointless. It's His will that this wedding happen, and there's nothing that can be done to defy it."
Before Brunhilde could respond to the four-armed woman, a fast-moving object suddenly came down from above firing bolts of yellow lightning in all directions as it cackled madly. The figure turned out to be Sailor AlfHime, who now had a pair of transparent yellow butterfly wings growing from her back.
"You're actually going to fight, right?" AlfHime asked with a mad grin on her face. "So that means there's a chance you could finally kill me, right? Maybe if I try as hard as I can to take your lives, you'll end up taking mine instead!"
With that, the undead fairy fired more lightning blasts down at Brunhilde. The readhead summersaulted backwards three times to avoid each one. Meanwhile, Kunzite blasted Sailor Omicron with an Obsidian Lance attack that knocked her into the wall.
"Kunzite! You and that cat go and stop the wedding!" Brunhilde ordered. "I'll handle these four!"
"You can't possibly take on all of them by yourself!" Artemis told her.
"What happens to me doesn't matter! If we don't stop the wedding, all of this will be meaningless!"
Kunzite nodded and went with Artemis further into the castle. Meanwhile, the four Queens of Carcosa had started to surround Brunhilde.
A tear rolled down Brunhilde's cheek. "Okay you four… I'm going to do everything in my power to end your suffering once and for all!"
Minako stood out on the narrow cliff extending out over the gorge with her hand clasped in the King's. There mere touch of His armored hand on her skin made her want to leave her body. One-Eyed Pete stood before the two dressed in ornate but tattered yellow and black priest robes, holding a large and evil-looking book in his arm. Sitting in the seats that had been place out before the gorge were Mason, Lyle, a few other members of the film crew and many living corpses. The wedding was just about to begin.
"Subjects of Carcosa!" Pete began. "We are here today to cement the union of His Majesty to yet another fair princess of the stars! Though pointless, I shall still begin my asking those who may object to this union to speak now or forever hold their peace!"
"I strongly object to this union!" a familiar voice called out. The sound of that voice partly broke Minako out of her terrified trance and caused her to look back and see Kunzite standing with Artemis.
The sight of Kunzite caused a tear to roll down Minako's cheek. A part of her had actually thought that Ace had managed to kill him during the film shoot.
One-Eyed Pete let out a heavy sigh. "Well this is disappointing. It seems that Mr. Saijyo failed to live up to expectations. However General Kunzite, your interference now is utterly pointless. Now that His Majesty is here, there's nothing more you can do."
Kunzite ignored Pete's remark and pointed his sword at the King. "Hastur! King in Yellow! I challenge you to a duel to the death! Winner takes Minako's hand!"
Pete broke into a heavy laugh, but the King raised his hand and silenced him. All eyes were on Hastur as he marched forward mechanically and drew the sword hanging at his waist. The sword had a large curved blade with a serrated edge.
"Artemis, get Minako out of here," Kunzite whispered. "I'll keep this thing busy while you escape."
Artemis nodded and dashed stealthily towards the cliff. With all eyes on the King and Kunzite, it was easy for the feline to move without being seen. Meanwhile the King had only come half way towards Kunzite when he swung his blade downward through the air, sending a massive windblast at his opponent. Kunzite quickly raised his arms to shield himself, but the gale still tore parts of his cape, tore cuts into parts of his armor as if they were made of cheap tin, and left deep bleeding cuts on his face. Kunzite nearly fell to one knee but recovered at the last second.
"My word! Ordinarily an attack like that from His Majesty would've simply peeled flesh from bone," an impressed Pete remarked. "It seems I may have underestimated you, General. But in the end you shall still parish!"
Kunzite again ignored Pete and blasted the King with an Obsidian Lance attack. The attack struck the King in his armored chest but didn't even knock him back an inch. Slowly the King continued to march towards Kunzite. Kunzite meanwhile decided to charge the King at full speed. As soon as he came in range, Kunzite impaled the King through his stomach, surprised that his sword could cut into his opponent's armor so easily.
As Kunzite withdrew his sword, a strange buzzing noise began to emanate from the King. The noise almost sounded like chuckling. Suddenly a swarm of sickly yellow wasp-like creatures flew from the hole that Kunzite's had cut into the King's armor and quickly enveloped him. The silver-haired knight attempted to swat the insects away and shield himself as best he could as they stung him relentlessly. Letting out another buzzing chuckle, the King raised his hand and suddenly the insects flew back into the hole in his armor.
Kunzite stood catching his breath, holding himself up with his sword. One of his eyes had swollen shut thanks to a well-placed sting to his cheek by one of the insects. After recovering some of his strength, Kunzite charged at the King again and tried to take off the creature's head. This time the King blocked each of his opponent's attacks, his arm moving like a spring-loaded mechanism. The King parried each of Kunzite's strikes as if he knew exactly where each attack was going to hit.
While all this was going on, Artemis finally managed to sneak up next to Minako on the cliff. "Mina! This is our chance! Let's go."
"I… I can't go," Minako whispered, her eyes fixed on the battle. "It's too late for me. The King pretty much has me now. There's nothing anyone can do to stop it."
"What're you saying Mina? This isn't like you at all! Look, right now Kunzite is fighting with everything he has to let you escape."
"But he can't win. Look at how powerful the King is. Besides, He's already branded me with His mark. No matter what I do or where I go, He'll always have his claws on me."
"Darkest Night's End!" Kunzite called out as he slashed his sword downward and blasted the King with a wave of dark energy.
The energy wave struck the King, but when it subsided the armored creature was totally unharmed. Before the smoke from Kunzite's attack totally cleared, the King slashed his sword through the air and struck Kunzite with another razor-sharp gale. The time Kunzite was nearly knocked onto his back but managed to remain standing.
"Surely you can see General that it's pointless to keep fighting against His Majesty," Pete spoke. "Give up! Let Him grant you a merciful death!"
Kunzite gritted his teeth in defiance. "Never!"
Brunhilde knocked away more of Khali's knives with her sword before firing a Victory Arrow attack from her sword at the four-armed woman. The attack struck Khali in the stomach and knocked her into the wall behind her. A second later though AlfHime zapped Brunhilde in the back with another blast of lightning from both hands. Before Brunhilde could fully recover, Omicron came at her from the left and knocked her to the ground with the large handle of her axe. As Brunhilde tried to get back up, all four Queens of Carcosa advanced on her.
"Give up. We've won," Sailor Eden told her. "This battle was going to end with your death from the moment it began. We now have you right where we want you."
"Actually, that's my line," Brunhilde told them as she placed two of her fingers on the gold tiara covering her forehead. "Valhalla's Glory!"
Suddenly a blast of white light emanated from her tiara and blew all four Queens away and blasted a massive hole in the wall behind them. As the light faded and the smoke cleared, Brunhilde got back to her feet to look at the carnage. The redhead had hoped that the blasted would have vaporized her opponents, but it seemed that they had only been knocked out. Brunhilde felt sorry for the four, but there was nothing she could do to end their misery. Right now, the most important thing was helping Kunzite and Minako, and she dashed off to the gorge behind the castle, knowing that the two would need all the help they could get.
Kunzite continued his relentless fight against the King, but no matter what he did he could not even leave a scratch on his opponent. Meanwhile, the King was starting to leave Kunzite with more and more injuries. After the King knocked Kunzite back yet again, the silver-haired general charged at him again. The King then blasted Kunzite with another wind attack. The gale left more cuts, and this time Kunzite really had fallen to one knee, and he was using his sword to prop himself up.
"This is starting to get tiresome," Pete remarked. "Simply give up already, General! You cannot do anything to stop this ceremony."
"I will never… give in," Kunzite declared as he forced himself to stand back up. "I realize that my very existence may cause Minako pain, but despite that I love her. And I will fight and even die to prevent her from falling into the clutches of a monster like Hastur! I will keep fighting until my body is cut to ribbons!"
With that, Kunzite attempted to charge at the King again. Once again though, the King blasted Kunzite with another razor-sharp gale. The time Kunzite was knocked onto his back and appeared to be out cold. The King began to walk back over to the cliff, but the creature had barely gotten two steps when Kunzite suddenly stood back up. Kunzite cried out as he charged at the King once more, and the two once again began to exchange sword blows.
"No… stop… stop it!" Minako called out. "No more! Please!"
"Be silent, Princess," Pete ordered. "Let His Majesty handle this on his own. It will all be over soon enough."
Gritting her teeth, Minako clutched her chest. "Venus Crystal Power… MAKE-UP!"
Suddenly Minako became enveloped in a pillar of golden light that shot into the air. In seconds the light faded to reveal Minako as Sailor Venus. The blond was deathly pale and breathing heavily. Pete and the assembled wedding guests her all shocked to see Venus's transformation, but the King hardly noticed at all.
Just as the King was about to hit Kunzite with another gale attack Minako pointed her fingers at him like a gun. "Crescent Beam!"
A beam of gold light shot from Venus's fingers and struck the back of the King's head. The attack did no damage but caused the King to pause his attack. The masked entity turned around and made a hissing noise at Venus. He raised his left hand and clenched it into a fist. Suddenly the brand of the Yellow Sign on Minako's arm began to burn and glow with a yellow light. Venus shrieked in pain as she dropped to one knee, causing Artemis to become concerned.
Just as the King started to turn his attention back to Kunzite, Venus got back to her feet and charged right in. She fired a Love and Beauty Shock attack that struck the back of the King and caused him to pause yet again. Venus took that opening to move past the King and get between him and Kunzite.
"I don't care what sick things you do to me, but I'm not going to stand by and let the man I love die a third time!" Venus declared with tears in her eyes.
"Well, glad to see that your fire hasn't died away yet," a familiar voice cut in. Venus and Kunzite looked back to see Brunhilde had arrived on the scene, and clutched in her hand was a glowing golden sphere. The King let out another strange hissing noise as the Valkyrie raised the sphere into the air. "Lady Freyja! With this power you have granted me, protect Sailor Venus and Kunzite from this madness, so that the bonds of enslavement may be broken!"
The sphere suddenly flew from Brunhilde's hand and began to grow in size. With lightning speed, the sphere swooped in and enveloped both Venus and Kunzite. The King could only watch as the sphere rose high into the air and continue to grow in size until it became like a miniature sun.
"I'm your opponent now, Hastur!" Brunhilde declared as she pointed her sword at the entity. "In the name of my home world and all of the Sailor Guardians you've managed to corrupt, I shall punish you!"
Minako and Keisuke found themselves standing in the middle of a vast field of yellow, pink and red flowers. The sky above was colored gold and filled with billowing white clouds. They were both back in their civilian forms, and all of the injuries that Keisuke had sustained while fighting the King had somehow been healed. Minako was dressed in a simple white dress, while Keisuke only had on a pair of long white pants.
"Where are we?" Keisuke asked as he looked around the field.
"I don't know," Minako answered. "I'm more worried about you though. Are you okay?"
"I seem to be. I don't know what Brunhilde did, but whatever it was seems to have totally healed my wounds. Well, the important thing is that I seem to have saved you from that… that creature."
"I honestly don't know why you even bothered," Minako declared as tears began to roll down her cheeks. "You deserve a woman who's way better than me."
Keisuke blinked in surprise and came over to her. "Minako, that's just not true! If anything, I don't deserve you. All I've done in this life and the last one is cause you pain. I may be in love with you, but my actions in both lifetimes have cost me any right to be with you."
Minako shook her head. "I lost all my right to be with you by always pushing you away. In fact I can't help but think that my rejecting you in our first life is part of the reason why you became Beryl's puppet. The main reason I did reject you back then was because I was afraid that my relationship with you would've interfered with my duty to protect Usagi, but I was wrong to do so both then and now. I can't forgive myself for causing you such pain."
"And what about now? Was the reason you chose not to pursue a relationship in this life is because you believed in Ace's prophecy about true love never being yours?"
"I never fully believed what Ace said about me. But it did serve as a reminder of how my duty should always come first. Plus I never met a guy who I ever felt truly in love with, but then I guess… that's because none of those guys were you. No matter how much I try to deny it, you're the one I love most Keisuke. If we had our first lives to live over again, I wouldn't have rejected you in spite of the taboo that existed between our kingdoms back then."
Keisuke smiled and gently caressed Minako's cheek. "I guess we've both made some big mistakes over the course of both the lives we live. But it's not too late to correct them. We've both been given one more chance to be together, so let's take it. I'm willing to see where this goes no matter the consequences."
"I'm willing to take the chance too. I'm still kind of afraid that a relationship between us might cause problems, but I'm willing to take the chance now… because watching you almost die back there made me realize that I can't go on without to anymore."
The two of them looked deeply into each other's eyes, and before they realized it they had both leaned in for a very deep and passionate kiss. As they wrapped their arms around one another while their tongues explored each other's mouths, a swirling white mist surrounded them. I a matter of seconds the mist faded and a large bed with white sheets had appeared behind Minako. When Minako and Keisuke finally pulled apart for air, they discovered that they were both totally naked. Minako's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to Keisuke's rod, and she blushed upon seeing just how large it was.
Keisuke's face had also turned a deep shade of red. "Um… perhaps we should try and find an exit out of this place."
"…No. It's fine," Minako told him as she clutched the end of the bed with her left hand and pressed her rear against it, spreading her legs apart slightly. "I want you to take me."
Taking a gulp, Keisuke nodded before coming in close again. The two of them shared another kiss before Keisuke finally pushed his manhood into Minako's wet entrance. Minako's eyes squeezed shut with pain as her virginity was ripped away from her. Keisuke moved his hips as little as possible to give Minako time to adjust. To try and take her mind of the pain, Keisuke cupped and squeezed the blonde's left breast while planting another deep kiss on her lips.
After a few more moments though, Minako let out a deep moan into Keisuke's mouth while putting her right arm around him. Taking that as a signal that Minako had adjusted, Keisuke broke the kiss and began thrusting into the blonde harder and deeper. Minako wrapped her left leg around Keisuke's waist and grabbed onto his long silver hair. The knuckles of her left hand turned white as she clutched the end of the bed even tighter. Eventually Minako's inner walls began to tighten around Keisuke's rod, signaling him to go faster and deeper.
Then at last in one blissful moment, the two of them climaxed together. Minako felt the warmth of Keisuke's seed erupting into her. In the very same moment they climaxed, the brand of the Yellow Sign completely faded from Minako's arm and her normal skin color returned. Meanwhile the bracelet that Hilda had placed on Keisuke's wrist to bind him to her service shattered. As they both came down from their orgasms, they smiled and pressed their foreheads against one another.
A few moments later after Minako had caught her breath, she moved in to whisper in Keisuke's ear. "Do me until I pass out."
Keisuke's lips curved into a cocky smirk. "Challenge accepted."
The King swung his sword downward and blasted Brunhilde with another of his razor-sharp gale attacks. Brunhilde blocked the attack by firing another Victory Arrow from her sword. The arrow of light cut straight through the windblast and struck the King in his armored chest. The force of the attack actually knocked the King back a step but still seemed to do no damage. The King was about to launch another blast when he paused. His head jerked upward to look at the glowing gold sphere that Minako and Keisuke had disappeared into, and suddenly he let out a horrific hate-filled roar unlike anything that could be produced by an animal of the earth.
A triumphant smirk formed on Brunhilde's face. "Uh-oh. Looks like your little royal wedding is off. We both know you can only corrupt virgin Sailor Guardians, and from the way you're reacting, I'm guessing that my guy finally fulfilled his mission and deflowered Sailor Venus inside that pocket dimension that my mistress created for them."
"WHAAAAAAAATTTT?" Artemis screamed from where he still was on the cliff, his back arched and his fur standing on end.
"Oh, get over it mouse breath," Brunhilde told him. "The important thing is that we've forever broken Hastur's hold over your master. It can't claim her anymore."
The King had begun to swing his sword wildly in a fit of rage, occasionally decapitating one of his undead wedding guests. Suddenly a twister of pitch-black wind surrounded him and began to expand outward into a full-blown tornado. As the twister grew, the King's mask along with his crown, his tattered yellow mantle, and the pieces of his sword blew out. At the same time, the wedding guests and their chairs were pulled up into the air by the gust. Even One-Eyed Pete was pulled up towards the swirling black vortex.
"Your Majesty!" Pete called at the top of his voice. "There are still other eligible young Sailor Guardians here in this solar system! You can claim any one of them!"
In response, a large yellow tentacle suddenly burst from the black tornado and ensnared Pete, pulling him inside. Several more tentacles shot out at lightning speed and snapped up the wedding guests, including Mason, Lyle and the rest of the film crewmembers that were in attendance. Meanwhile, Brunhilde's body had been glowing with a shining white aura since the tornado started, which was somehow preventing her from being pulled up into the wind. Suddenly Brunhilde heard a familiar scream and saw that Artemis had also been swept up by the storm.
Scowling, Brunhilde leapt high into the air with an incredible jump and grabbed Artemis a split second before one of Hastur's yellow tentacles could snap him up. The Valkyrie landed back near the cliff holding Artemis tightly in her arms.
"Is this what Hastur really looks like?" Artemis asked as he watched the tornado with a horrid fascination.
Brunhilde shook her head. "The tornado is simply hiding Hastur's true form, and for that we should be grateful. If we were ever to look upon what that thing actually looks like, we'd probably go completely insane."
Over the howling black winds, both Artemis and Brunhilde could hear a horrid and loud crunching noise coming from within the twister. They both quickly realized that the noise was that of Hastur devouring everyone it had pulled off the ground and ensnared. Eventually the crunching noise ceased, and the duo watched as the tornado suddenly began to shrink and head towards the castle. A few moments later the tornado bent down and burrowed through the castle's rear door like a worm. After another few moments, the screams of four women could be heard from within the castle, followed by the hard slamming of a pair of heavy doors.
"What happened?" Artemis asked. "Is Hastur gone?
Brunhilde let out a heavy sigh. "Yes. And it took its four brides with it. They've all gone back to Carcosa."
Artemis jumped out of Brunhilde's arms onto the ground. "So what now?"
"All that's left now is to seal this area and make sure that this door to Carcosa can never be opened again."
With that, Brunhilde aimed the blade of her sword at the ground and chanted words of an alien language in an echoing voice. When she finished her chant, the redhead plunged her sword into the earth. Suddenly glowing white lines of alien runes spread from her sword and covered the ground and the walls of the castle. Soon the runes covered the dead forest beyond the castle as well, and then with a blinding flash of light they were gone. At the same time, the dark clouds that had been covering the sky broke apart to reveal a sea of stars.
"It is done," Brunhilde declared as she pulled her sword out of the ground and sheathed it. "The door to Carcosa inside that castle can never be opened again. There's even a chance that life may actually one day return to this blighted area. Of course… that doesn't mean that Hastur is unable to return to Earth. I'm sure there are many other doors on this world that it can come through."
"And what about Mina?" Artemis asked as he looked up at the glowing orb in the sky.
Brunhilde smirked. "Relax you little fur ball. I'm sure your mistress is doing just fine right now."
Minako was on all fours on the bed as Keisuke plowed into her from behind, both of their bodies covered in sweat. They were now making love for their fourth time in a row, and Minako had become totally lost in pleasure. All of the fear and stress she had been feeling over the past few weeks had been completely forgotten in that moment. The only thing that was there was Keisuke and the feeling of their bodies connecting as they became one. Keisuke tightened his grip on Minako's hips as he rammed into her even deeper, causing her to grip the headboard of the bed for dear life.
In another sweet moment they climaxed together, and Minako saw a sea of white dots flash before her eyes for a few moments. As Keisuke withdrew himself, Minako collapsed onto the bed in a heap as she tried catching her breath. A few moments later Keisuke flipped the blonde onto her back and positioned himself on top of her. The two of them shared another passionate kiss as they waited for Keisuke's manhood to re-harden. When they broke for air again, Keisuke was ready to go once more, and he pushed himself up while pushing his rod back into Minako's entrance.
Minako wrapped her legs around Keisuke's hips and grabbed tightly onto his broad shoulders as he once more started to thrust deep into her core. They gazed deeply into one another's eyes, lost totally in the sensation of their bodies joined together. Another eternity went by until at last they climaxed together again. This time Minako's vision went totally white before going black as she completely passed out. Keisuke had lived up to the challenge that had been given to him.
Keisuke meanwhile felt totally spent. With what little energy he had left, he pulled the blanket over them both and pulled Minako close. Keisuke gave Minako a gentle kiss on the forehead before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. His last thoughts before totally drifting off were of his devotion to the woman next to him, and of how he would give everything he had to protecting her, and to their shared duty of protecting their prince and princess.
Author's Note: Well, there we have it. Sorry if the battle scenes weren't all they could been. Honestly, I'm a little afraid that maybe I phoned it in a little with Brunhilde's battle against the Queens. I also probably could've done a little more with the wedding scene. Other than those parts though, I'm fairly pleased with how this chapter turned out. Actually, I'm glad that I was able to get this chapter done right in time for Valentine's Days, as it's kind of appropriate for the occasion. I guess it would've been more appropriate to wait until tomorrow morning to post this chapter, but I was just too excited.
By the way, for those wondering why Hastur's attacks were mainly wind-based, and why he surrounded himself with a tornado during his last final rampage, Hastur was typically depicted as a wind elemental in many of the Cthulhu Mythos stories done after Lovecraft's time. Frankly that whole elemental system never seemed to mesh with Lovecraft's original stories, but it fits into a Sailor Moon fanfic like a glove. Anyway, there's only one chapter left in this story, so stay tuned.
Until next time, please review and let me know what you think.