Once again, thank you for bearing with me so far!
WARNING: This one has sexual content. It also features long-dead celebrities of all kinds.
Beasts that Shout Love, Part 2: Linger On Your Pale Blue Eyes
Trapped under Pazuzu's clutches, Astar got dragged throughout Tartarus, where the lesser demons of Hell inhabited, and the most notable people were kept imprisoned and tortured for all eternity.
They passed through some kind of graveyard where each tomb was on fire. Inside of each grave, he heard several voices speaking in different languages, all of them certainly requesting at least some solace from that torment. Solace that will never, ever come.
"Échis idéa ti écho kataktísei? Giatí sapízo stin Kólasi!"
"Hol mich hier raus! Diese verdammten Juden ruinieren die Welt! Ich muss etwas tun!"
"No hagan esto conmigo! Yo luché por el pueblo, y el pueblo sigue sufriendo... POR FAVOR, SÁQUENME DE AQUI!"
He saw Saint Peter crucified upside down, while several imps took turns slashing his body with obsidian lances. He saw an obese Mansa Musa feeding himself with solid gold and treasures. He saw Dante Alighieri and Virgil fellating each other. He saw Montezuma and Hernán Cortez swimming together in a lake of fire with their skins and hairs ablaze. He saw Pope Julius II commanding a battalion of Crusader knights against several Visigoths led by Attila the Hun in a never-ending struggle. He saw Pope Alexander VI seeing his children Cesare and Lucretia flayed and rotting away in front of him, but still retaining their conscience enough to engage in endless fornication in front of their father. He saw King Leopold II and Emperor Dom Pedro II having their limbs lopped off by a multitude of African men and women, only for their arms and legs to grow back again to be cut off in an endless loop. He saw notable politicians and rulers across the ages, from Boadicea and George Washington to Hailé Selassie and Indira Gandhi, serving as the pieces in a cruel game of chess played between Niccolo Macchiavelli and J. Edgar Hoover. He saw Tomás de Torquemada and Joseph McCarthy forever running away from ghouls and wraiths.
Indeed, it mattered not whether one was just or wicked in life, they were all punished in the Hades somehow. And if their lives affected those of the many ones with no names deemed worthy of being remembered for posterity, their punishment was somehow even worse.
Pazuzu then fixed Astar's limbs on a phallic pillar made of flesh. "Heh heh heh... Semper sic cum proditoribus!"
All the faces around him had their eyes plucked out, their noses cut off and their teeth yanked out. Blood oozed out of their wounds and mutilations. The incubus was able to identify each and every single one of the men and women with mangled faces. All of them summoned him as an incubus to satisfy their carnal needs. Right in front of him was the face of Junko Hagase, the girl whom Dis Pater manipulated into killing herself to invoke him for his own devious reasons.
"Confiter Deo omnipotenti vobis fratres, quia peccavi nimis cogitatione," the faces spoke in a lamenting tone. "Verbo, opere et omissione, mea culpa. Mea culpa..."
Astar understood it all too well, and he started to quiver in nervousness. "No..."
"MEA CULPA! MEA MAXIMA CULPA! MEA CULPA! MEA MAXIMA CULPA!" All the voices screamed in unison.
"No... No, it's not your fault!"
"MEA CULPA! MEA MAXIMA CULPA! MEA CULPA! MEA MAXIMA CULPA!"
"IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!"
"MEA CULPA! MEA MAXIMA CULPA! MEA CULPA! MEA MAXIMA CULPA!"
The Lord of the Underworld was right in its intention to break Astar's mind up until that moment, but it did not count on the help of a male figure being able to swiftly free the incubus with what seemed to be a blade slash that tore the column apart. Immediately after, the mangled faces disappeared. The man was covered from head to toe in a full-body grey suit all full of bloodstains, his sole features shown being his shoulder-length silver hair and his eyes.
"Well, I'm glad I reached you in time before your mind was broken," the unlikely hero spoke.
"Thank you very much for this," Astar stated, half-smilingly. "But if it doesn't hurt to ask... Who are you? And why did you help me?"
"Let's just say... I know of your true nature, and of your liaison with Sailor Moon. I once loved her, and in a way I still do, even though I wasted my chance with her in the worst possible way. Still, I want to help her somehow, even from beyond the grave." His voice carried a gravitas that made it clear about his true intentions. "As for my name... Call me Adamas."
"Can I... really trust you?" Astar asked sheepishly.
"It's either my help, or rotting away in eternity to kingdom come," Adamas simply answered. "Your choice."
"Alright, I accept," Astar answered after some pondering. "What is your plan?"
"It's simple. We'll search for Morpheus, the Warden of Dreams in the Age of Gods. He can manage to connect the Hades to the Dreaming, even in the state he is since his sole living son is the current Warden. Since you still retain some shades of your incubus self, you should see no problem going from this plane of Existence to the other."
"Ah, of course... But, where do you suppose he is?"
"Where else but in the Limbo, of course? It is where the ancient Gods lie low. Come on, let us waste no more time in getting there."
(xx)
When Artemis finally managed to reach the Tokyo Dome City Hall's backstage area and reach for Minako's dressing room, he saw the Guardian sitting by the mirror applying some mascara on her eyelashes. But for someone ready to step before a fairly numerous live audience, she did not seem excited or happy at all. Much on the contrary, in fact. On the desk, he saw an open letter which read:
"You are cordially invited to the wedding of Katarina Blundell and Alan Hargreaves, November 11th at the Canterbury Cathedral. Reception will be held at the Rudyard Kipling Country Club."
The wise cat quickly understood why Minako seemed so down. The boy she pined for the longest time, and whom she could never manage to fully get over from, was to be wed to their mutual friend. There she was, ready to take on a roaring crowd but crestfallen and frustrated as she could be. Feeling the lack of the only thing she felt she needed at that moment, the warm touch of a man in his arms.
"Oh, Artemis..." Minako groaned, finally noticing her companion cat right beside her. "You saw the letter, didn't you? You know how it is with me. I always wanted a love to myself."
"Perhaps you're just looking in the wrong places," Artemis affirmed, trying to commiserate with her. "It could be a woman."
"P-shaw," she replied while rolling her eyes and wincing her lips. The cat was wise and tactful more often than not, but once in a while also rather silly and insensitive to her tastes, such as that time.
"Hey, Mina, are you ready?"
The young but firm voice of her lead guitarist Daisuke Aizawa resounded in her dressing room. Everything about Daisuke exhaled his carefree attitude. His slightly baggy clothes, his silver-blonde hair falling on his shoulders, his soul patch and his arched dark-grey eyes. In a way, she reminded him of that rock star from the United States, Kurt Cobain. And yet, she couldn't help but find him attractive. Then again, she was at a time where she would hook up with just about any slob who would ask her out, but Daisuke had pretty much the perfect combination she always sought in a man. If only he stopped smoking, that is. At the very least, he only went for menthol cigarettes.
"Oh, hi there, Daisuke," Minako answered as she opened a shy smile. "Sorry, I'm just finishing up. One minute, okay?" The young man nodded and closed the door as he left. After finishing applying lipstick, she got up and looked at her reflection in the mirror. "Put a smile on your face, and on with the show, girl..."
In the corridor that led to the main stage, the rest of the band waited for them. Tange Choushu, the chubby, bespectacled drummer. Kazuko Maeda, the tall bassist in the goth-lolita get-up. Shinichi Taue, the plain-looking keyboardist, and Agashi Okada, the mostly-mute rhythm guitarist that kinda-sorta looked like Johnny Marr.
"Alright, let's check the setlist first," Kazuko suggested as the band huddled together to see the printed list on a single sheet.
The Loco-Motion
C'est La Vie
I Can't Leave You Alone
Darling Boy
Pale Blue Eyes
Eternal Melody
Route Venus
A nice mix of animated songs with a short section of slower-tempo ballads near the end, ending with Minako's most personal song to date. Enough to get the crowd pumped before the headliner Mikan Shirahoshi took over.
"I still think we could fit in Piece of My Heart in there somewhere," Tange commented.
"No time for it," Shinichi retorted. "The show cannot last more than 45 minutes. Maybe next time."
"As an encore, perhaps?" Agashi surprised everyone by commenting it.
"Set is ready, everyone," the sound technician barged in to warn the group to prepare for the show. "Get ready in 5 minutes."
"Are you ready, guys?" Minako lively asked. One by one, they all answered positively. With a wide smile on her face and a thumbs-up, she answered as brightly as she could: "Let's rock!"
When the curtain opened, they were given a decent, but lukewarm round of applause. When the first notes of the opening song resounded in the hall, however, the public became instantly more lively. As time went by, the audience became more receptive, to the point most were even on their feet, dancing and grooving along with the rhythm of the band's songs. Minako's stage presence certainly helped matters as well.
Little did Minako know that there was a certain white-haired figure looking at her from the rafters of the place, mesmerized by her mere presence.
(xx)
Drinks flew and the chatting was lively during the after-show cocktail with invitees, the entire sound crew, and City Hall staff, after what had been a successful double-header.
"Mina, you were amazing!" Mikan herself cheered on Minako. "They even asked for an encore, and you guys rocked with that Janis Joplin song! How many opening acts do you see around that get to do an encore? Did you see how pumped up the crowd was when you left? I bet you could headline your own shows in no time! Maybe even have your own ouendan!" Both clacked together their plastic cups full of fruit punch. Minako couldn't be happier to see the main act of that evening giving her such compliments. "I just wish you could accompany me in my tour."
Minako gulped some more punch and then answered. "Ah, I wish that too, but I have my own... commitments, you see."
Mikan then took Minako under her arm and whispered: "Here between us, girl... Do you know what is really great to do after a show? Sex. Find yourself the cutest boy and go at it."
The Guardian was blushing nervously at that suggestion. "Did you..."
"Already did, natch," she answered with a wink. "Won't say with who, though. Come on, don't waste more time, you're a statuesque beauty and no guy will say no. Now, go!" Mikan then gave her a light pat on her back and left to speak to her manager.
The Guardian of Love was incredibly enticed by Mikan's comment. Why not, she thought. In a corner, she saw Daisuke, munching on a tuna sandwich. For some reason, he did not partake in drinking. Possibly because he already had one hazardous vice too many.
"Ooooh, Daisuke!" Minako called somewhat louder than usual. The effects of alcohol clearly got up to her.
"Uh, hey there, Mina," he replied with a slightly embarrassed grin. "Having fun, I presume."
Minako clung to his arm as if to hold herself from plummeting on the ground before him.
"Oh, Daisuke... I know of something more fun. I've been wanting this for quite some time and I haven't found the right person for this. That is, until I saw those beautiful pale eyes of yours..."
The young man dry-gulped in anticipation. "Umm, and what would that be?"
For all to hear, she stated her wish: "Make love to me, please." It startled not only Daisuke but those within hearing range. The young man himself was too paralyzed for words. "Come on, Daisuke! I'm soooo into you and you know it!"
"M-M-Mina! Uh..."
"There's a motel on the other side. Take me there and I'll be yours," She said with a provocative wink.
The murmur became too unbearable to remain there, even if the talk was starting to take an effect on his mind and his loins. After a short sigh, he gave his answer. "Fine. Let's go."
"YAY!" Minako loudly celebrated. "I'm gonna lose my-" She didn't complete the sentence. Daisuke shut her mouth with his left hand.
"Come on now, be a good girl and we'll do as you like, okay?" he requested in sotto voce.
"Hey, lucky boy!" Tange called from another corner with a goofy grin on his face.
All Daisuke did was to make a phone signal with his right hand, while pointing to Minako with the other. Having understood the message, Tange answered with an OK sign. And another goofy grin for good measure.
(xx)
As soon as they entered the motel room, Minako took off her jacket, blouse and denim pants. She then hugged Daisuke and tried to steal a kiss. Even through his own pants, the young man could feel the moisture of excitement between the girl's legs. He devised a plan right upon seeing a couple of sealed towels on the bed.
"Don't avoid me, loverboy," she slurred her words in a provocative tone, though slightly disappointed that Daisuke hasn't french kissed her at that point. "The smell of menthol excites me, you know..."
"Uh, well... It's still cigarette smell, you know. Let's take a bath together, shall we?" Daisuke asked while drawing an awkward smile that, for all Minako cared, looked naughty and full of desire. As soon as she took off her lingerie, Daisuke held her tightly and finally managed to put her on a cold shower, barely being able to contain his own excitement.
"Listen, Mina, I'm sorry but I can't sleep with you..."
"Whaaat!? But why? Am... Am I ugly? Am I stupid or..."
"Huh? No way. You're the most beautiful girl I know. But in the state you're in... You're not being yourself. If you are to give yourself to someone, you must be in your clearest state of mind, know what I mean?"
Minako was on the verge of tears as he said that. Her frustration could emanate an aura if it could. Daisuke then dried her body and wrapped her with one of the towels, and bundled her long hair with the other one.
"Now come on, lay down and get some rest," the young man said as he helped Minako lie on the bed.
"You meanie, you..." She yawned and laid down without any further protest. Soon after, the alcohol-induced slumber took effect on her.
He then went to the balcony to light up another ciggie. Soon after, Artemis jumped off the street below and managed to reach the balcony. Daisuke quickly recognized him, but for all the guitarist knew, Artemis was just Minako's pet cat who followed her everywhere as some sort of feline bodyguard.
"Oh hi, Arty. As you can see, Minako is sleeping over there in the bed. I did not do anything with her, don't you worry." He pointed toward the big round bed where Minako laid fast asleep, draped only by the large towels. For obvious reasons, the wise cat couldn't answer straight away to Daisuke. He simply leaped towards his partner, gave out a satisfied meow, kneaded around and then laid beside her to mount an extra guard.
"She wants me, doesn't she?" He pondered as he observed the half-moon above him. "The worst thing is, I want her as well. I've been wanting her for a long time now. If she came onto me like that while inebriated... It can only mean she does want to go at it with me! In vino veritas, they all say. Maybe I should..."
"No! Stupid, stupid, stupid! She's passed out and drunk!" Daisuke told himself as he slapped his own face with both hands. He sighed and then took a larger puff from his cigarette, enough to burn it completely. Afterward, he took off his jacket and tennis shoes, and laid down on the small couch on the other side of the room. It took a long while for his own arousing to subside, and some other moments for slumber to reach his mind.
A man with tanned skin and long white hair looked at her from afar and seemed amazed at her physical beauty. But then, he saw Daisuke sleeping at the couch. He clenched his fist and felt his blood boil, as if he recognized him somehow. Without saying anything, he used his telekinetic power to drag him across the room.
The young musician barely woke up when he felt like he was being dragged across the motel room. "What the-"
Without any effort, Kunzite tossed Daisuke over the window.
Of all the men in the world... It had to be you whom she has chosen.
(xx)
Artemis woke up with the noise outside the motel room and pushed Minako to wake her up.
"What the f- Ow! My head hurts..." Minako complained as she felt the symptoms of a hangover. "Hey... Where is Daisuke?"
"He doesn't seem to be anywhere," Artemis commented concernedly. "Huh? Look!"
Kunzite was just about to leap away through the balcony when both Minako and Artemis saw him.
"GAAAH! YOU PERVERT!" The young woman shouted. Embarrassed, Kunzite looked away and Minako sauntered towards the bathroom, where she called for her powers. As Sailor Venus, her body cleansed itself of the alcohol effects of her body. She also managed to see who was the perpetrator. "What the... Kunzite!?"
"Do you not remember me, Aphra?" Kunzite asked in earnest. "It is I, Aniruddha."
Something about him seemed honest, but she also felt she could not risk herself. For all she knew, this could be a trap.
"Aphra... Aniruddha... I don't know anybody with those names, but... Somehow, they sound familiar..." But then she got out of the bathroom and faced the Heavenly King. "Ah, what am I saying!? You're Kunzite, one of Queen Beryl's lackeys."
"Do not remind me of that," the King answered in a pained state. "Circumstances beyond our control made us enemies. I understand if you don't want anything else with me."
"Of course I don't! And don't come any closer," Minako warned as she moved towards the balcony. "You know very well of what I am capable of. Now you better tell me what did you do to Daisuke."
"I tossed him away. He is no damned human being!"
Shocked, both Sailor Venus and Artemis leaped to the rim of the balcony to search for the young musician. "Who the hell are you to say who is a human and who isn't anyway?" the wise cat affirmed before jumping down the street below. There was no sign of him anywhere.
"Listen here," Kunzite affirmed as he held the Guardian by the wrists.
"Let me go! I have nothing to listen to from you!"
The hold was separated by the toss of a card from atop a nearby building.
"Huh!? Who are you?" Both Sailor Venus and Kunzite queried.
"The newest player in the table, of course. My name is Phantom Ace, ready for the next play."
"Venus Love-Me Chain!" Venus called for her constricting attack against the Heavenly King. However, Kunzite easily grabbed the light chain and pulled the Guardian close to him, grabbing her wrists with strength once more.
"Release her at once," Phantom Ace demanded.
"You..." the King seemed to recognize Ace. "Prepare to die."
Kunzite released a light boomerang at the same time Ace tossed another card. Both projectiles hit each other at the same time, but those were just ruses to distract and attack one another in physical combat.
"Crescent Beam!" Venus shot her attack against Kunzite, pushing him backward.
"You are... Really going to side with that monster!?"
"The only monster here is you, buddy!" Sailor Venus sternly said. "I think I'd rather trust the man who helped me, rather than one who tried to kill me not too long ago. And was even stalking me in my sleep just now."
Kunzite felt hurt at Sailor Venus' words, especially as she saw casually walking to Phantom Ace's side.
"Do not think I forgot what you did to me, Adonis. Your time will come soon." The King sighed and then teleported away.
Dawn started to break. As Sailor Venus cooled down and turned back to the motel room, he once more saw Phantom Ace with a confident smile on his face. She couldn't help but blush at his unique swagger. The hero shuffled his deck of cards, picked up one and flipped it to show it to the Guardian.
"Two of Hearts. Your prediction for today is that you are about to meet love, but not in the way you expect. Good luck!" He winked and somersaulted once more, and Sailor Venus couldn't be more head over heels.
"Earth to Minako!" Artemis finally appeared and tried to speak to his partner.
"Ooh, hi there, Artemis! I think we better return to the room. I left my clothes there, you know."
Both agreed and then leaped toward the motel's veranda. Once there, they found Daisuke soundly sleeping on the couch as if nothing had happened to him all this time.
It was you, after all, she thought as she smiled candidly. She quietly picked up her clothes, detransformed in the bathroom, and quickly got dressed. Only then did she speak to her would-be sexual partner of the night. "Daisuke! Are you alright?"
The young man suddenly got up. "Huh!? Oh, yeah, I'm fine... But I was seeking you all over the place and didn't find you anywhere."
"My goodness, I'm so, so embarrassed right now..."
"Don't be," The musician reassured her. "I had a blast, even if we didn't go all the way. But as I told you, I think you should think better about who you should choose as a partner. It could be me, it could be with anybody else, even a girl if you want. But what do I know, the life is yours."
"But... I do want to do it with you someday," Minako said as she blushed.
Daisuke looked embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, uh... We can arrange that some other day. For now, let's begin this by escorting you home. Your parents must be worried sick, you know. So what do you say, my girl? Wanna take this the slow but steady way?"
She did not hesitate to answer with a smile. "Sure thing, loverboy."
Both left the motel and walked back to Minako's home holding hands. After a couple of streets, Minako pretended to trip, just so Daisuke could help her out and hold her closer to him. He answered with a quick but tender kiss on her forehead, enough for the Guardian of Love to blush once more, and feel peaceful on the inside for the first time in ages. It felt so strange sharing such a romantic scene right after what was supposed to be an inconsequent one-night stand, but to Minako, it only added charm to the entire scene.
Astar was right, after all. The silver lining for my dreams and wishes was visible all the time, and from now on, I will follow it.
(xx)
From atop an adjacent building, Kunzite still observed the woman he once loved walk away with the one she has set her eyes on the present day.
"Aphra... It's going to be tough, but this has to be done."
"Now, what do we have here?" A familiar male voice in a mocking tone spoke from behind.
Naturally, Kunzite recognized the person. "Zoisite?"
"Ah, it seems you haven't forgotten your beau from the Silver Millenium. Oh, what a pity. That leaves me in a dire position, you know."
The sadness from Kunzite's eyes went away upon seeing his current lover. "I am just reflecting on the current situation, is all. Do not tell me you have not done the same about Anahita."
"I've got to confess I have," Zoisite answered while contemplatively looking up to the morning sky. "I just returned from checking in on her, and she's behaving so unusually... Girly. She also has her own love in this day and age."
"This should make our mission easier, shouldn't it?"
"It's never easy to hurt the ones we love. Or once loved, at least."
"When we agreed to be made flesh once again, we were supposed to have made peace with this," Kunzite reminded his lover as he turned to face him. "We fought against them, not once, but twice. They have no compromise to be with us after what we have done to them."
Zoisite sighed and smiled bitterly. "You're correct. There is no use in clinging to the past now. Love will be the death of our duty here."
"Except the one we still have for one another," the white-haired King stated as he embraced Zoisite, who answered with a warmer smile.
"Yes... Except ours!" They then shared a look of love and a passionate kiss. "I'm so glad we reunited once more in the Hades, my love."
"And so am I," Kunzite spoke as he smiled earnestly. "Besides... Where else would I find you, in the Eden?" Both laughed at Kunzite's quip.
The Greek phrase says: "Do you have any idea what I have conquered? Why am I rotting in Hell?"
The German phrase says: "Get me out of here! Those damned Jews are ruining the world! I have to do something!"
The Spanish phrase says: "Don't do this to me! I fought for the people, and the people are still suffering... PLEASE, GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
litakino1987: Que bueno saber que la cosa te espantó y te encantó también! Una vez más, te agradezco el aporte!
Next chapter: Zoisite makes his move, and it won't be pretty like him.
Greetings from the Hospitaller Knight