Sympathy for the Devil, Part 1 - Sacrifices
In a spark of instinct, Ryo and Yuuichirou leaped toward Lucifer in an attempt to destroy him. The new King of Mercury managed to stab through his chest with his protruding claw, while the new King of Mars managed to chop off his head with a single swing of his sword. Shinozaki, once more King of Jupiter, then picked up his head, punctured through his eyeballs with his thumbs and gripped it strongly enough to explode it into bloody mush. Daisuke, King of Venus, simply picked up the head of Helios that the body of Lucifer dropped on the ground and brought it back to the Amazon Trio.
"No need to get up in arms, children," Lucifer's head somehow still spoke. "Like all Angels, I do not fight."
The headless body of the Fallen Angel then casually strolled to where the remains of his head fell. He simply picked it up, put it back on his neck and shook it off. He was back as normal, with no horrific wounds of any kind, save for a small scratch on his neck.
"I came here for only one purpose, since the Golden Crystal was not in the hands of the Warden of Dreams," he spoke once more.
"And why the fuck would you come here, then," Daisuke seethed at him.
"Oh, very daunting of you to be so curt in my presence. I like it! But I digress. This is but a warning that soon, my objective shall be achieved. Everything will be mine, and I mean literally everything from every plane of Existence. Even your weapons, filled with my antithesis, shall not be enough to stop me."
"You said it," Astar finally exclaimed. "What you want is not here. Now, leave!"
Lucifer chuckled. "Well, sure, I will. But not because you ordered me so using the Word, my dear brother Grammaton."
"I am not your brother!" the other Angel seethed in barely-conceivable rage.
"Yes you are, Grammy-boy, yes you are! I am still very much an Angel. Just with no wings, and no intention to care for the current batch of humans. I must commend you, though, for managing to hurt me. It seems you have mastered this little thing you said that could finish me off, but it's still not enough. Fare you well now, children! Be afraid of things to come."
As Lucifer turned, six open wounds on his bare back could be seen. The Fallen Angel went back through the same crack in the sky that he came from, and it closed completely as he left.
With danger far away once more, the Amazon Trio finally assessed the fact that their savior and master was a goner.
"Lord Helios..." called Tigerseye as he looked into the severed head of Helios, which was missing its left eye.
"Don't worry about me," the head of Helios still spoke. "My soul isn't bound to this body, but to the entire Dreaming. Soon enough I may create another body, but for the time being, I shall remain intangible. The Golden Crystal is hidden within the realm of mind of the only other person I could trust that still lives in the Universe."
"Well, now what do we do?" Shinozaki asked.
"You have tried your hand against Lucifer, and strictly speaking, you won," Tigerseye answered in an atypically serious tone. "I believe you guys should ressurect soon."
"Absolutely," Hawkseye added. "Endymion is supposed to insert the Shadow Gems in your bodies any time now, and this way, your souls will automatically return to your earthly bodies.
"We just have to hope it's before the full-scale invasion of the forces of Hell," Fisheye completed.
"Speaking of which," intervened Ryo, "what did he mean when he said we mastered something that could finish him off? What exactly is that thing?"
"Love," Astar quickly answered, barely conceiving a proud smile.
(xx)
"UPRISING OF THE QU"
Many were the eons where the El (Original denomination of the loyal Angels that lived in Gog) feared for the attack of the Qu (Original denomination of the castaway Angels that lived in Magog). What none expected, however, was that the invasion would begin from inside the El contingent. It was eased by Lucifer, one of the most powerful El, who convinced the gatekeepers of Gog to let them in.
Uncalled for, a troop of Qu so numerous that darkened the sky assaulted Aveh, the Creator - The First God, who oversaw the Universe upon its creation and had the El as his personal guard. Somehow, over the years since the Schism, the Qu learned the skills and mindset for violence and war, whereas the El did not - they strictly stuck to the Power of the Word to avoid conflict.
Due to Aveh's sheer size, those of the Qu branch that followed the words of Lucifer could only manage to focus their attacks in one single point of his body. A contingent of two hundred Angels devoured the entirety of Aveh's left arm, and having sated their stomachs with his holy blood and ichor, acquired God-like powers.
Still, Aveh and the El managed to cast away the empowered Qu all the way to the surface of Terra, using the Word to form an overwhelming egregore that dispersed the belligerents. The First God personally picked up Lucifer, plucked out his wings, and violently tossed him away to an inhabited land in Terra.
To Aveh's chagrin, one single El felt pity for Lucifer's fate. It was Grammaton, his most loyal herald, who followed Lucifer to the surface. After an entire day falling, and after an entire sun cycle searching throughout Planet Terra, where the Om made their lair and were little by little evolving into the humans we see now, he found Lucifer laying down on the burning sands of a vast desert, still recovering from the fall that failed to kill him.
Grammaton then asked his companion why he came up with that rebellion against the First God. The answer was simple: He was tired of being a mere servant and wanted something more for himself and his brethren. He would redo Existence itself to the image and will of what he called the New Gods - Denomination for the Qu who fed on Aveh's arm and acquired godhood this way. And now that he had proven he could very much face off against the first God, he and the others would go ahead with their conquering plan... And Grammaton would be part of it all, sooner or later. Then he got up and walked beyond the horizon, and would not appear in the surface for an unsurmountable measure of time.
Fearing the advance of the cunning Lucifer and not trusting his El brethren, Grammaton started to devise his own long-term plan to stop him. He was afraid he would have to resort to forbidden practices in order to defeat his erstwhile ally.
Book of Titor, Chapter II: The Age of Angels, Section I
(xx)
When Mamoru finally managed to wake up, he saw himself enclosed in some sort of dark, packed prison cell. He could barely see one palm ahead of him, and could only feel that the cell had only the crude mattress he was sleeping on, a sink and a privy, and not much space for mobility. But what truly perturbed him was the vision of Fengari, his future son with Usagi, being at death's door... and immediately cured by the crushed Shadow Gems that he, as Prince of Earth, was supposed to defend and use upon the bodies of the four lovers of the Sailor Guardians. He had no idea how they would come back to life, now that the sacred jewels were gone, his progeny under Hell's domain, and perhaps the whole World after him and his allies. And as such, he began a soft cry that, for all he cared, only he could hear.
As it turns out, it was not the only weeping sound he was hearing. From the adjacent cell, a familiar lamenting murmur could be heard.
"Uh... Usako? Is that... Is that you?"
"Mamo-chan... Yes, it's me."
"Oh, dear... What happened to you? Why are you here?"
"My own parents... They gave me away to some kind of demon!" As she spoke, Usagi could no longer hold back the tears of despair. "How did this happen... Oh, Mamo-chan..."
"I'm... Oh, God... I'm here, okay? If only I could..."
"Yes, I know," Usagi spoke once more, now with more calmness. Mamoru's voice and presence soothed her mind somewhat.
The conversation was briefly interrupted by three brief knocks on the iron door to Mamoru's cell. "Usagi? Mamoru? Are you there?" then called a muffled female voice.
"Huh? Who's there?" inquired the young man.
"Listen... I cannot reveal who I am right now, but I've known you two for quite some time. All you must know is that you are not alone. Not all of us have been affected by the diabolical transmission. Those of us that believe in the powers of Sailor Moon, and believe she is a force of good, will still remain loyal to you. Me and my sister are two of these people, and we will all help you escape from this prison. Just you wait. Now if you excuse me, I have to go."
"Whoever you are, thank you very much," Mamoru responded with warmth.
"That voice..." Usagi spoke as they heard the steps of the woman walking away.
"Usako? You know who that is?"
"It's... It's my old English teacher, Miss Haruna!"
"Can we... Truly trust her?"
"At this rate... We have to take what we can. I just hope the others have better luck than us..."
(xx)
The news report that Setsuna and Professor Tomoe watched showed that two different protests, barely being contained by SDF troops, met in front of the Osa-P jewelry store in Azabu-Juuban. One demanded the arrest of the Sailor Guardians on the lam, the other came out in defense of the heroines. The Guardian of Time knew well why they reunited then and there, and decided to take matters with her own hands.
"Our destiny calls," she told Tomoe. "Please stay here and stay safe. Call me if anything happens."
The Professor smilingly nodded and silently saw as his lover picked up baby Hotaru and darted out of the mansion towards yet another fight against inexplicable forces of evil. As he turned back to his study, he noticed a strange item that wasn't there before: A Time Key.
"Huh? Isn't this..." After pondering for a short while toying with the Key on his left hand, the Professor decided to go after his beloved and bring the item back to her, believing it to be of utmost importance for her battles.
(xx)
The two protesting contingents were separated only by a row formed by shock troopers, since they were clearly ready to go at each other's throats, and maybe even invade the shop.
From inside Osa-P, all Naru, her mother, Umino and Kotono could do was mount guard from behind the front door. They knew the shop could very well be invaded by a more gung-ho rioter... Or something much worse.
"You damned witches stole the body of my son!" screamed Koutetsu Kumada, who acted like he led the anti-Guardian protestors. "You denied his body the rest he needs! Give him back, NOW!"
"Order! ORDER! Everyone, settle down, or we shall use force to contain you," exclaimed through a bullhorn Sosuke Urawa, who led the SDF troops to the site. He had his own conflictive views about the entire ordeal, since it all concerned his only son and his daughter-in-law, but preferred to attain to his hard duty.
"Get fucked!" insulted an anti-Guardian protestor.
"No, you get fucked!" snapped back a pro-Guardian one.
Both groups then advanced on each other, and the troopers had no other choice but to violently push the belligerents with their shields. An all-out riot was about to break out when a calm male voice then spoke and was heard by everyone in the precinct. "This conflict ends now."
It was Toshio Wagaki - Or better yet, Dis Pater. He rose his left index finger and issued an order to the protestors and law enforcers: "Each and every single one of you shall go back to your respective homes."
He then turned his attention to the Osa-P store, where he knew the four prospects' earthly bodies remained inert. Ever since he got rid of the demon Valak, the one that possessed Daisuke's body a few days before, he feared he might be marked as a traitor... But at that rate, all that passed the dark soul's mind was to take over the body he claimed was truly his. Once the crowd dispersed, he approached the shop's front. He felt queasiness and tingling all over his body, due to Kotono's magic artifacts, but he promptly recomposed himself.
"Halt!" A female figure exclaimed. "Who goes there?"
"My true body lies here," he spoke. "Only I shall possess him."
"We won't let you," another female figure spoke. Upon leaping to Dis Pater's level, they finally revealed themselves - Sailors Saturn and Pluto, who mounted guard atop the jewelry's building. The villain knew well of the extent of their powers, but still kept his ground.
"I do not wish to fight you, but you have to understand... The body of Daisuke is my body as well."
"Assuming that were true, what makes you think you can just walk in this sanctum?" Sailor Pluto queried.
"I do not think I could do it," he nonchalantly answered as he filled his hand with some kind of phantasmagoric glow. "I will do it."
Differently from expected, he managed to open the sealed door just fine. The Outer Guardians then drew forth their weapons for combat.
"Stay put!" a guttural voice cried out.
Two tall demons reached the place. One had what seemed to be a centaur body with a goat-like head, wiry upper limbs and four hind legs, carrying some sort of halberd, while the other seemed more humanoid but with a mocking smile across his entire head, empty dark eyes and a protruding crown, and whose arms and legs were covered in scales all the way up the waist. This one carried a crosier and a broadsword.
"Belphegor and Leviathan," Dis Pater recognized. "Legionnaires of Sloth and Pride. I imagine you are here to lend me a hand."
"Lend you a hand!?" Belphegor, the centaur, cried out. "Why would we do that?"
"Indeed," added Leviathan, the humanoid.
This only made the son of Lucifer apprehensive. "Then... Why are you here?"
"See, your father has given us two orders, knowing well you'd come here," Belphegor spoke once more.
"First, it is to retrieve the bodies of the four lovers," continued Leviathan. "They are required to guarantee the stronghold of Carcosa."
"What in all hells... And the second one?"
Neither Legionnaire had the courage to speak out.
"Answer me already!" demanded the possessed man.
"The second mission... Is to get rid of you," the voice of Fréamund spoke from a dark alley.
The sight of his dark servant, and the sound of that revelation, made the flesh and blood of Dis Pater's possessed body run cold and creep unto itself.
"Why is that!?" Dis Pater spat out cholerically. "What is the meaning of this!?"
"When you tried to get to the Angel, you did not do it seeking to help your father, did you? You did it so you could be human again."
The deepest fears of Dis Pater had been concretized. "No... No, that's not true!"
Fréamund continued. "And when you sought for the Heavenly Kings... Did you really believe it would do anything against the Sailor Guardians? All it did was make them follow their own agenda! And you knew it all too well, which is why you never bothered yourself in punishing their betrayal."
"I... I swear unto you... I just want my body... Adonis's body... To help out to carry our mission!"
"And what it is that you can do with the body of Adonis that you cannot do with the body of Toshio Wagaki?" Fréamund calmly asked. "Neither are your real body anyways."
"Wh...What!?"
"When the Fallen Angel conceived you, the eventual child born as Adonis had two souls. One being of his legitimate father, the other being issued by Lucifer himself. The body of Adonis belonged to him and him only. Your soul, just like those of the Lord of Light, were parasites waiting to take over at a moment's notice."
"Are you telling me... All this time, I have been nothing..."
"Do you understand a single thing of this?" Pluto asked Saturn, who were just observing while still maintaining fighting stances.
"Not at all," the Guardian of Death answered. "Let's just see what they intend to do."
"We expected you to be useful," another cloaked man with a pronged mask spoke as he appeared from a dark alley.
"You..."
"This is the future son of Serenity and Endymion," the dark servant introduced his newest ally. "He will prove more useful and loyal to our cause than you."
The blood of Pluto ran cold upon hearing Fréamund reveal who was by his side. Young Lord..."
"DAMN YOU ALL!" Dis Pater screamed as he released a beam from his right hand. It was not strong enough to stop the beam released by Fengari, whose own beam covered what the son of Lucifer had just released and exploded his hand, making him writhe in pain.
"That does it!" Sailor Pluto affirmed. "We have to act now!"
"Belphegor, Leviathan... Keep the Demigoddesses busy," ordered Fréamund. He then turned to Fengari. "As for you, Abadon... Finish off the traitor."
"Yes sir," he replied and quickly went to where Dis Pater was, on his knees and trying in vain to close the open wound where his hand once was. "Wherever your soul goes to, it shall have no salvation. Begone now!"
"Hey! What's going on in here?" The attention then turned to the recently-arrived Soichi Tomoe, who made the call.
"Papa... What are you doing here?" inquired Sailor Saturn. Her father couldn't find it in him to answer the real reason, seeing the demons ready to attack and fearing
"Just a bothersome insect," scoffed Belphegor as he tossed his halbert towards the Professor. It went too quick, but quicker still was Dis Pater, who put himself in the middle of the sharp weapon's trajectory in an attempt to stop it with his body... In vain. The halberd of the Legionnaire of Sloth still hit Tomoe right below his ribcage.
"Soichi, NO!"
"I... Refuse... To go... Like this..." the villain spoke with difficulty as he yanked off the weapon off his chest. He then turned to Professor Tomoe, who was on his knees trying to cover his own bleeding wound.
"You... You tried... to save me... Why?"
"People care about you... You... You cannot just die... Like this..." He spoke as he pointed his bloodied but still whole left hand to the Time Key, which shined from beneath Tomoe's shirt pocket. With this, the phantom-like aura of Dis Pater covered the dying Professor, healing the wound that Belphegor had inflicted on him.
But immediately after, the Legionnaire of Pride stepped leaped to their side and released a stream of hellfire that covered both men completely. The Outer Guardians tried to intervene, but Fengari used an invisible force to push them back.
Nothing was left but ashes and bone fragments.
"SOICHI!"
"PAPA!"
Both Sailors Pluto and Saturn released pained screams of anger and bereavement, and their bodies emitted flashes of light that, upon dissipation, revealed their Eternal forms.
"Well, damn," Leviathan lamented, amazed and frightened at the holy aura that both Guardians emanated. "Lucifer will not like it one bit to see Aeon and Melinoe awakened."
"Retreat," Fréamund bitterly ordered. "We'll take care of the Royal Consorts later."
The enemies obeyed and teleported away. All except for Fengari, who simply jumped away. From a safe distance, he stared at the entrance of Osa-P and at the pile of ashes that her former companions chafed in their pain.
With danger gone, Pluto and Saturn detransformed. Only then did they shed their tears and released their sobs. A father and a lover was gone, all because he dared to enter the fray of the Holy War.
Naru and Umino came out of Osa-P, but knowing there was nary a thing to do for their bereaved allies, only stood at the shop's entrance in commiseration.
(xx)
"Aphra?" a deep male sound resounded in Minako's bedroom.
"What the!?" the girl leaped off her bed, startled by the voice that she just heard. Artemis entered the room through the window as soon as he heard his companion screaming out.
"I am... Deeply sorry about this," the voice continued. "In case something happened, I had left a blood effigy beneath your bed so I could be transported here. I do not know why I would choose you, of all people. Perhaps it is because of your link with Adonis."
"You... You're that cloaked creep from before!" Artemis finally recognized the voice.
"I guess that is a way to describe me, yes."
"Why are you here?" Minako belligerently asked.
"I have been betrayed... and I wish to help you."
Both Minako and Artemis were dumbfounded by this revelation.
"Help me... How?" Minako kept her suspicion. "Matter of fact, why should I even trust you in the first place? How do I know this is not some kind of ruse against me?"
"I... I know exactly how to stop the advance of Hell, for I have worked directly with its forces. And you and the other Guardians are the only ones who can stop it. Besides... I am just a soul. I do not even see where I am, or even move around anymore. There is not much I could possibly do against you in the state I am in, even if I did wanted to harm you. But I digress. What matters is that... Lucifer, he must be stopped at all costs."
"Artemis... What do you think?"
After a brief stint of silent pondering, the wise cat answered: "Let's give him the benefit of the doubt."
"Minako, what the hell is happening in there!?" her father exclaimed as he knocked on her door.
"Dad!?" she called as she opened the door, seeing her father with tears in his eyes.
"I'm... I'm sorry for this," he murmured. Two grunts from the United Nations then quickly entered the room, and dragged Minako out. Artemis could only follow them, unable to do anything to free his partner.
"What the hell is going on!?" was all the blond girl could cry out as she tried to free herself.
"For the love of everything, at least treat her with some dignity!" Minako's father asked the troopers. Her mother also appeared and was too aghast to act further.
Bells of Erebus, this could not happen at a worse time, Dis Pater thought as he tried to conjure anything that could take Minako out of the clutches of the troopers.
Finally! After God knows how long since the last chapter was posted, I finally got to go ahead with this one. I hope you're still following!
Eternal gratitude for litakino1987 and James Birdsong for their much-welcome reviews, and for all of you who favorited and followed.
And of course, thanks a lot to whoever passes by and reads anonymously!
Next chapter: Minako is back to action... Or will she?
Greetings from the Hospitaller Knight.