Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, nor do I own the works of H.P. Lovecraft or Robert W. Chambers.
Chapter 4: Messengers of the Yellow Sign
The morning after the attack of Hastur's brides, Usagi and the others met in the dining room, where they all had a big breakfast and spoke very little about what happened the previous night. Everyone wanted to forget they were up against the first of the Great Old Ones for at least a little while. As soon as the breakfast was finished though, Hilda came and asked Usagi and the others to come back down to the command center. A few minutes later everyone had entered the control room to find the rest of the Sailor Valkyries with Luna and Artemis.
"Good morning everyone," Erica greeted with a yawn from her chair in front of the main computer terminal. "On Lady Freyja's orders I spent most of last night looking into anything that might indicate Hastur's latest movements. It took a bit, but with Luna and Artemis helping me, I finally stumbled upon this."
Appearing on the central monitor of the command center was an advertisement for a book that was to be released worldwide by the end of the week. The title of the book was The King in Yellow.
"Wait, isn't the King in Yellow the name of Hastur's avatar?" Makoto interjected.
"It is, but it's also the title of an infamous play written during the 1800s," Erica explained. "The short version is that Hastur had a play commissioned about himself."
"Wait, how could Hastur have a play about him written if he's been trapped in some other dimension for the past few thousand years?" Haruka asked.
"Though he may be barred from our realm when the stars aren't properly aligned, Hastur's mind is still able to touch the minds of others in our dimension and influence them," Frieda explained. "It is an ability shared by all of the Old Ones, and this ability is why there are still cults devoted to them here in your world even to this day, though those cults are hidden in the shadows."
"Back in the 1800s, Hastur managed to contact a rather unstable playwright by the name of Peter Cromwell," Erica continued. "He also went by the name, One-Eyed Pete."
"Wait, the weird guy who showed up right after Usagi defeated Hastur's four brides?" Nao asked.
"Hastur made Cromwell into his herald here on Earth," Hilda explained. "That creature is no longer human but an undead servant."
"Under Hastur's influence, Cromwell wrote The King in Yellow, a play that was never produced on the stage because those who read it from beginning to end are driven insane," Erica continued.
"How can reading some dumb play drive people nuts?" Jun asked.
"Let me see if I can put this in terms you can understand," Erica responded as she swiveled her chair to look at Jun. "The play isn't simply based on Hastur, but on his twisted perception of our dimension. The play tries to force that perception onto the reader or viewer, and the result is the unfortunate person's mind being broken. It's a little like trying to make a computer run a program totally incompatible with its operating system."
"So what you're saying is the play is like a form of malware for the human brain?" Satoru asked.
Erica nodded. "Exactly. Hastur's ultimate goal is to try and twist our universe into a mirror image of his dimension. His play is one of the tools with which he tries to make that goal a reality."
"You forgot to mention one thing, runt," Hilda interrupted. "Some of those who read the play also turn into Hastur's willing minions."
Erica let out an exasperated sigh. "I hadn't forgotten, I just hadn't gotten around to it yet. There are also instances where those who read the play end up getting transported to Hastur's world. He can't cross into our dimension when the stars aren't aligned correctly, but he can at times pull certain individuals into his. Those individuals are usually those who have read at least part of his accursed play."
"The news about this play being released has already caused some controversy online," Luna interjected. "Apparently it already had a pretty unsavory reputation back when it was originally released in the 1800s, I'm guessing because of the madness-inducing effects Erica told us about."
"There've already been a number of people condemning the release of this play," Artemis added. "Including a number of religious organizations. One of the most vocal groups is one called the Order of Dagon."
"Wait, Dagon?" Ami asked, alarmed.
Erica raised a hand. "I know, Ami. But we'll have to put a pin in it for now. Hastur is the more urgent threat. In any case, it seems Hastur is trying to distribute his play to every corner of the planet in order to make it his own."
"How is the play to be distributed?" Grete asked.
"Through a company called Castaigne Media," Erica answered as she swiveled her chair back to the keyboard. "Originally the company was known as Carson Media, and they mainly published books relating to Christianity and even a few low-budget movies containing similar subject matter, but about three years ago the head of the company died and his young daughter took over. She immediately moved the company away from Christian publications and had them start putting out books and movies of a much darker subject matter that has gotten stranger and stranger over the course of time. This ambitious young woman also did a major rebranding of the company. Take a look at their current logo."
Appearing on the central monitor in place of the ad for The King in Yellow was a black vertical rectangle with a thin gold frame and a strange yellow glyph in the middle. The name, Castaigne Media, was at the bottom of the rectangle below the glyph in an old English style font.
"The Yellow Sign!" Minako identified.
"There's no question. This company, or at least its owner, is in league with Hastur," Erica continued. "I've only just started digging into Castaigne Media's operations."
"I say we go there and simply bust the place up," Hilda suggested.
Erica let out a heavy sigh. "Of course you do. Your method of trying to fix everything is to simply hit it with a big stick."
"Now, now Erica. Hilda isn't entirely wrong," Frieda interjected. "We should send someone to the headquarters of this publishing house to investigate them further."
"If you're looking for volunteers, I'm game," Hilda declared.
"Maybe I should tag along as well," Haruka suggested.
"Well if you're going, so am I," Michiru declared.
"Sending only three of us into what is likely an enemy stronghold would be unwise," Grete interjected.
"Maybe I should go with them," Rei suggested. "My power should allow us to tell from the outside if this publishing company is really an enemy lair."
"Then I guess I'll tag along too," Jun decided.
"Thanks but no thanks," Haruka told him. "We were handling this sort of thing just fine before you Shitennou were resurrected."
"Haruka, I want you to take Jun along," Mamoru instructed. "He's a capable fighter, but more than that I want both you and Michiru to learn to work together with the Shitennou."
Haruka put a hand on her hip and looked at Usagi. "I suppose you're gonna make this an order?"
Usagi nodded. "Like I said, I don't like playing the future queen card, but you and the Shitennou are on the same side now. They're Mamo-chan's generals, so you all need to learn to work with each other."
Haruka shook her head. "Fine. I guess we've got no choice then."
Frieda nodded. "Then it looks like the team who will investigate this publishing company is decided."
"There is more to report besides the publishing of the play," Erica revealed. "Artemis, I'll let you handle this part of the briefing."
The white cat nodded. "For the last few weeks there's been a string of mysterious deaths in London. All of them have been young women who succumbed to some unidentified illness."
"What do these deaths have to do with Hastur?" Minako asked.
"I think I know," Yoko interjected. "Those women all had some sort of black stone brooch with a strange yellow symbol on the front."
Though surprised, Artemis nodded. "Yes. The symbol matches the Yellow Sign. In fact the police have started running tests on them to discover if they're the cause of the illness. However, the Yellow Sign has been appearing in London in other places besides those brooches. For almost the same amount of time, there's been a series of gruesome murders around the city. Many of them have been in seedy dive bars. The bloodiest incident happened at an apartment building that was more or less a slum. No bodies were left, but each crime scene was covered in blood, and the Yellow Sign was found smeared in blood on the walls somewhere at each scene. Scotland Yard is trying to determine a connection."
"Artemis, has there also been a series of grave robberies in or around London recently?"
Artemis tapped his paws over the keys. "Yes. It's not as big a story as the deaths, but it's been going on for about the same amount of time. Multiple graves have been ransacked at every cemetery in London."
Yoko put a hand to her chin. "So he's back…somehow. Of course if he's like One-Eyed Pete…and the murders could be him trying to get fresh materials."
"Yoko, what's going on?" Hotaru asked, concerned.
Yoko put a hand on her shoulder. "It looks like something from one of my past lives has come back to haunt me…haunt us." She turned to Frieda. "I'd like to go to London to look into this."
"Of course," Frieda agreed. "Erica, I want you to accompany her."
"It would be an honor," Erica replied.
"I'm going too," Hotaru declared.
"Like hell you are!" Haruka protested.
"You're not stopping me!" Hotaru told her.
"Haruka, Yoko and Hotaru are much stronger together," Mamoru told her. "And right now we need all of the strength we can get."
"That's right," Usagi agreed. "Whatever's happening in London, it'd be better for Yoko and Hotaru to face it together."
"If it makes you feel better Haruka, Nao and I could tag along with them," Makoto suggested.
"Uh, yeah. Mako and I could make sure Hotaru and Yoko don't get into too much trouble," Nao hastily added.
Haruka sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Fine! Guess that's the best I can hope for."
"The extra muscle could prove useful," Erica admitted.
"And it would be prudent for an Elder God like Lady Yoko to have additional protection," Grete added.
Frieda nodded. "Very well. It seems we have our London team assembled. Now then, is there any other business?"
"There is one more matter to discuss, and it is a big one," Erica answered. "A group known as the Aldebaran Players is going to be performing a series of plays in Whistler's Cove, Maine at a place called the Corby House. Their final performance is to be The King in Yellow."
"They're going to perform the play?" Minako asked, alarmed.
"Or try to," Erica confirmed. "We haven't been able to find out much about the Aldebaran Players, but we can be sure they're minions of Hastur, otherwise they'd be driven insane the moment they tried reading the final act of the play."
"We do know for sure that one of the players is a minion of Hastur," Artemis revealed as he pressed a key on the control panel.
The screen showed a poster advertising the performances of the Aldebaran Players. Taking up the center of the poster was the image of a handsome young man with blonde hair, dressed in white. He held a playing card in his gloved hand, and a white mask similar to the one Tuxedo Mask wore covered the top half of his face.
"Saijyo!" Keisuke identified, glaring at the screen.
"Apparently Hastur decided to give him another chance as well like he did with One-Eyed Pete," Artemis deduced.
"Phantom Ace?" Makoto read from the poster on the screen. "I kinda remember this guy actually. He had a T.V. show running for a bit just a couple of years before most of us awoke as Sailor Guardians."
Usagi nodded. "Come to think of it, wasn't there also going to be a Phantom Ace movie? Whatever happened to that?"
"The movie didn't happen because it was all a Dark Kingdom plot," Minako revealed. "The last one I foiled as Sailor V."
"Dark Kingdom?" Mamoru repeated, surprised. "So then Ace was…"
Keisuke nodded. "One of our minions."
"Oh yeah. I kind of remember that guy," Jun recalled. "He went by the name, Danburite I think? One of the upper management guys running things in Tokyo."
Satoru nodded. "I believe he was in charge of the Dark Agency Project."
"Right, our operation to use idols as a way to collect energy and gather new followers for the kingdom," Nao recalled.
"Memories of the good ol' days, huh?" Haruka remarked, crossing her arms.
"Hey! It's not like we're remembering this stuff fondly, ya know!" Jun snapped.
"Alright enough!" Mamoru interrupted. "Discussing the actions of the Dark Kingdom isn't going to get us anywhere."
Usagi nodded. "Right. The things Keisuke and the others did while generals of the Dark Kingdom are in the past. What matters right now is stopping Hastur."
"If Ace is involved with these Aldebaran Players, then Keisuke and I are investigating them," Minako declared.
"Well you won't be doing it alone," Frieda told her. "Grete, Sandra, I want the two of you backing them up."
"As you wish," Grete responded.
Sandra shrugged. "Fine with me."
"The rest of us will remain on standby at the base," Frieda declared. "We must do all in our power to make sure Hastur does not succeed."
Once the briefing had adjourned, the team members who were to investigate these strange incidents related to Hastur went to gather whatever items and provisions they might need for their respective missions. Each team was to be teleported to secondary bases the Sailor Valkyries had set up around the world. The hope was that each mission would last for only two or three days at most. Minako and Keisuke were in their room packing what little they would need.
"I never thought I'd ever be facing Ace again," Minako remarked as she closed her bag. "Some vacation, huh?"
Keisuke nodded. "This time we will be sure to finish Saijyo for good."
"And Hastur. When he had me captured and dragged to the altar…I never felt so weak and powerless in my life. I want to make that so-called god pay for that."
Keisuke came over and put a hand on Minako's shoulder. "Don't worry. This time we will destroy Hastur once and for all!"
Suddenly the door to the room opened and Hilda barged in. "There you two are. You about ready to go?"
"More or less," Minako answered. "Come to wish us luck?"
"Pretty much. I don't need to tell you both what Hastur and his minions are capable of."
"We will be careful," Keisuke responded.
Hilda nodded. "There's one other thing I thought I should tell you about. There's a good chance Lady Freyja assigned Grete and Sandra to your team for another reason besides providing backup."
"What other reason could there be?" Minako asked.
"Well…the thing is Minako, you and Lady Freyja sort of have the same station as far as goddesses go."
"Meaning what?"
"I think I see. Freyja was the goddess of love and sexuality in Norse Mythology," Keisuke recalled. "Which greatly explains the motivation behind many of her plans."
"Gold star," Hilda praised. "Anyway, Lady Freyja's actually been trying to get Grete and Sandra together for years. I think she assigned them to your team in the hopes you'll succeed where she failed."
"Interesting," Minako remarked, smirking as she put a hand to her chin. "I did sort of sense a connection between the two last night."
"Mina, what are you planning?" Keisuke asked.
"Who says I'm planning anything?" Minako innocently responded.
"If you are, I for one hope your plan succeeds," Hilda declared. "My life would certainly be easier if those two finally screwed each other."
"How come it hasn't worked out between them so far?"
"Well Grete's had it bad for Sandra for years, but she's never made a move because of her baggage. As for Sandra, she is attracted to Grete, but then she's attracted to any beautiful woman with a pulse. Still, with Grete there's always been…something a little extra. But of course Sandra's clueless about Grete's feelings for her because she's hitting on everything in a skirt."
"I see," Minako responded, nodding. "Well, I'll do my best with those two while also taking down Ace. In the meantime, good luck with your mission too."
Hilda smiled. "Please, all I'm doing is investigating some publishing company. How difficult could it be?"
It was early afternoon as Rita Castaigne rode the elevator up to her office. She had just gotten back from lunch with some of her executives and was on her way to take care of some paperwork. It certainly wasn't easy running a growing media empire like Castaigne Media, especially at the age of twenty-four, but Rita knew she wouldn't have to put up with it for long. Once the Grand Project was finished, she would be able to retire and live out her days in Carcosa. She knew a room in His Majesty's castle had already been picked out for her.
As the elevator finally came near the top floor, Rita decided to take a moment and use the mirrored walls of the elevator car to check her appearance. Her white hair, which was cut just above her shoulders, was still totally neat. Not a single strand was out of place. There wasn't a single button undone on her yellow blouse, and not a trace of dandruff or anything else on her black blazer. Not a wrinkle was on her black skirt, which ended just above her knees, and her black high heels were still as shiny as when she first bought them. Rita even checked the dull gold bracelet on her right wrist, which bore a yellow gemstone on its top and a runic pattern around its edge.
In the past Rita never cared overly much about her appearance, but things were different now. She was a company president and needed to live up to the image. It was all part of the job. As soon as the elevator dinged, Rita put on the most cheerful smile she could manage. The smile was but a mask though, just as her current outfit was but an elaborate costume. Rita could only be truly happy once she finally retired.
The elevator doors opened and Rita walked down the short hallway of polished black marble. The sound of her heels clacking on the white tile off the floor echoed as she came towards the front desk. Sitting behind the desk was a dark-skinned woman wearing a grey blazer and a yellow blouse not unlike Rita's. Ever since taking over the company, Rita instituted a strict dress code requiring all employees to wear some article of yellow clothing. She saw to it that the consequences of failing to follow this rule were…unpleasant.
"Good day, Lana," Rita greeted as she came up to the front desk. "Any calls while I was out?"
"Only a couple," the young secretary known as Lana answered. "I put the details of them on your desk. And there's a fresh cup of coffee waiting on your desk too."
"You're a treasure. Now for the next three hours I don't want to be disturbed unless it's absolutely important."
"Yes Ms. Castaigne," Lana responded as Rita headed past the desk into her office.
As soon as Rita entered her office and shut the door tightly behind her, the cheerful smile on her face vanished. It was exhausting having to wear her mask the whole time she was in public. It was dark inside the large office. There were large windows behind the desk that gave a magnificent view of the city outside, but Rita preferred to keep the shades down at all times. The darkness made the office seem almost like a tomb, but a tomb was where Rita felt she belonged. She was dead until she could finally retire.
Sighing, Rita set her black briefcase on the corner of her desk's glass table top before sitting in the large black leather office chair behind her. She took a long sip from the yellow mug of hot black coffee before looking at the first sheet of paper in her inbox. Right as she was about to get to work though, the intercom on Rita's desk buzzed.
With an exasperated sigh, Rita pressed the button. "Lana dear, what did we talk about you not disturbing me for the next three hours?"
"I'm sorry Ms. Castaigne, but it is important," Lana's voice responded over the intercom. "Mr. Harker is here about the Grand Project."
Rita rolled her pale-blue eyes. "Very well. Send him on in."
The door to the office opened, and walking in was a somewhat pudgy man in his late thirties with dark hair and the pasty white skin of someone who hadn't been out in the sun in two decades. He had on a pair of round glasses, a white dress shirt with short sleeves, black slacks, and a hideous yellow tie.
"Um…good day, Ms. Castaigne," Mr. Harker spoke nervously.
"What do you want Mr. Harker?" Rita asked, annoyance in her voice as she looked over her first sheet of paperwork. "And this had better be pretty damn good."
"Well…I'm afraid we might have to delay the release of The King in Yellow."
Rita looked up from her paper and glared at Harker. "What?"
"You see we're having some problems getting the play translated into different languages. Most of the translators we've used have suffered…mental breakdowns once they get to the second act. We can still release the play to all of the English-speaking countries of course, but a full international release is going to have to be delayed."
Sighing, Rita leaned back in her chair and set the pen she was holding on her desk with a large clack. "Mr. Harker, the international release of The King in Yellow is this company's single most important project right now. Nothing else matters, and I mean nothing! Now if the current translators are unable to do the job, then simply hire some new ones."
"We already have, ma'am. The results were the same."
"Then hire more! Get as many translators as you need until the job is done! If you can't do that Mr. Harker, I may have to reassign you to our new Carcosa office. Is that clear?"
Harker went even paler than he already was. "Uh, yes ma'am. I'll get it done somehow. Don't worry."
With those words, Harker hurriedly left the office. Sighing, Rita leaned forward and picked up her pen again. Only a second later though, one of the phones on her desk began to ring. It wasn't a regular office phone but an old black and gold phone from the early 1930s that most visitors to the office thought was there as simple decoration. Rita threw her head back and groaned the instant she heard the phone ring, as she knew there was only one person who called on it.
After putting back on her mask of a cheerful smile, Rita picked up the phone and put it to her ear. "Mr. Cromwell! How may I serve our favorite author today?"
"I'd like you to come down here to my studio, Ms. Castaigne," One-Eyed Pete's voice responded over the phone. "The matter is an urgent one."
"Of course! I'll be right down," Rita assured him before hanging up the phone.
Still with her mask on, Rita got up from her deck and went over to a black bookcase in the office. She pulled on a book with a yellow cover, causing the bookcase to slide aside to the right and reveal a hidden elevator. The yellow doors of the elevator slid open and Rita got inside. As soon as the doors slid shut, the black elevator car began to descend.
A few moments later the elevator stopped and opened up to a large cavern of grey stone lit by torches of green flame. There was a large pipe organ at the other end of the chamber, which was currently being played by One-Eyed Pete. The song being played was one of utter chaos, lacking any sort of melody. Yet Rita couldn't help but find the piece to be beautiful. It was just the way she now perceived the world ever since she went mad.
Once Pete finally finished his performance, Rita began to clap. "Bravo, Maestro! What a wonderful piece."
Pete turned to Rita and bowed after rising from his bench. "Thank you, my dear. I was afraid my playing wouldn't be the same after a minor injury I suffered just last night."
"Oh? What happened?" Rita asked with a tilt of her head.
"That's what I came to talk about, I'm afraid. You recall me telling you about His Majesty's mission to destroy the one known as Sailor Moon? I'm afraid it didn't work out too well. She's far more powerful than expected. Plus she is being assisted by one of the lost Elder Gods of Egypt."
Rita's smile faltered for a moment but quickly returned. "How unfortunate. I don't see what this has to do with me however."
Pete rose from his bench and approached Rita with his hands folded behind his back. "Unfortunately my dear, since our attack last night failed, Sailor Moon and her allies are likely going to mount a counter offensive. Your company is an obvious target for them, therefore you should be expecting their company very soon. I've already given a similar warning wto Mr. Wyld, and I will soon be meeting with my Aldebaran Players that they will need to contend with this unpleasantness."
Turning away from Pete, Rita crossed her arms and began to pout. "This wasn't supposed to happen! All I had to do was spread His Majesty's word, and then I could retire! Just a simple job! It's bad enough I have to deal with all of the weak-minded fools at my company! Now this?"
One-Eyed Pete placed one of his oversized hands on Rita's shoulder. "I know, my dear. You have labored hard for His Majesty, and you will be rewarded as promised. It's just that the path to your reward is turning out a little more challenging than expected."
Rita sniffed and looked at the bracelet on her wrist. "I'm going to have to deal with these fools myself, aren't I?"
Pete nodded. "It is one of the conditions of the covenant you made with His Majesty, and the reason why you wear the little trinket he gave you to seal said covenant. Ideally it wouldn't have been necessary for you to venture onto the front lines, but as that whore, Sailor Venus spurned His Majesty in favor of that pathetic knight, we find ourselves in this unpleasant situation."
Rita wiped a tear from her eye and turned to face Pete. "I understand. If it is His will, I will do away with these Sailor Guardians personally."
Pete flashed a large yellow-toothed grin. "I knew I could count on you, my dear. Now I imagine our enemies shall be at your castle's gate very soon. I suggest you prepare things for them."
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Rita simply smiled and held her bracelet up before Pete. "You needn't worry, Maestro. If it comes to it, I will step in and eliminate the Sailor Guardians myself. After all, my retirement's riding on this."