Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, nor do I own the works of H.P. Lovecraft or Robert W. Chambers.

Chapter 5: Castaigne's Labyrinth

Usagi was standing out on the balcony of the mansion's second floor, looking out at the surrounding forest. Her mind was on all of her friends who had gone off on missions to thwart Hastur's efforts to conquer the earth. It didn't seem right to Usagi that her friends were out there risking their lives while she remained secluded in a safe and luxurious mansion. She wanted to be out there with them, fighting at their side so she could be able to protect them. Usagi was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't hear the door to the balcony open.

"You seem troubled, darling," a familiar voice spoke. Usagi turned around to see Frieda standing before her. "Let me guess. You're worried about the others."

Usagi nodded. "How could I not be? Shouldn't I be out there with them?"

Frieda shook her head. "For now it is best for you, for us to remain on standby until we're truly needed."

"I guess you're right. Still…"

"What you need is something to take your mind off things," Frieda suggested. "Turn around."

Usagi did as instructed and turned back towards the forest. Frieda came up behind her and began to massage Usagi's shoulders and neck. Usagi couldn't help but let out a deep moan of pleasure. All of her troubles seemed to evaporate as Frieda's fingers worked their magic. She also soon realized she was suddenly turned on.

Frieda leaned in close to whisper in Usagi's ear. "I could go lower if you want. Would you like that?"

The sound that came out of Usagi's throat was one she couldn't suppress. "Uh-huh."

Suddenly Mamoru walked onto the balcony. "Usa? Everything okay?"

Usagi let out a startled cry and jumped away from Frieda, her face bright red. "Mamo-chan! What, uh…what're you doing here?"

"I wanted to see how you were," Mamoru answered with a raised eyebrow. "What were you two doing just now?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all! Right, Frieda? Absolutely nothing!" Usagi let out a nervous laugh.

"I'll leave you two alone," Frieda decided as she walked back to the door with her hands folded behind her back. When she reached the doorway, she turned back to Usagi and winked. "Feel free to come find me if you need more help relaxing."

Usagi turned back to look at the forest to hide how red her face was from Mamoru. A moment later, Mamoru came up to stand next to her.

Mamoru put an arm around Usagi's shoulder. "You're worried about the others, aren't you?"

Usagi's expression saddened. "I just don't like this waiting. I keep wondering if they're going to be okay."

"Don't worry. Whatever challenges our friends end up facing, I'm sure they'll be okay."

The base of the Sailor Valkyries in New York City was a luxurious penthouse apartment in upper Manhattan. Upon their arrival via the teleport pads, Hilda, Rei, Jun, Haruka and Michiru arrived in this apartment and left their bags in the middle of the room and headed out the door. Both Hilda and Haruka had wanted to get the mission to investigate Castaigne Media over with as quickly as possible. Haruka's reason for wanting to get the mission done quickly was because she wanted to get back to the main base in Japan and keep Hotaru's relationship with Yoko from getting too out of control. As for Hilda, her haste was due to her belief that their mission would be a simple one.

Within half an hour, the five made it to the skyscraper that was the home of Castaigne Media. The building was like an imposing reflective black monolith that curved inward slightly. Though the sun was out and the sky was a crystal clear blue, there were clouds circling up around towards the top of the building ominously.

Rei looked up towards the top of the building. "I'm definitely sensing a strange aura from this place. It's like nothing I've ever felt before."

Haruka nodded. "The wind around here is definitely warped. Reminds me a little of the Mugenzu."

"Then there's no doubt about it. This place is an enemy stronghold," Michiru realized. "We had better be on our guard."

Hilda smirked. "Please. How bad could this place possibly be? It's a freakin' office building."

"Um, I know you're this big-shot Sailor Valkyrie and all, but don't you think you should be a little more cautious?" Jun asked. "I mean this is still an enemy base."

"I hate to admit it, but I agree with him," Haruka declared. "It'd be stupid to just barge straight in."

Hilda shrugged her shoulders. "All I'm saying is it's nothing we can't handle. Now let's get in there, bust the skulls of whoever's putting out copies of The King in Yellow so we can head home."

The five walked calmly through the front doors of the monolithic office building. The lobby was empty except for one person, a young woman with white hair, wearing a black pantsuit. She was leaning against the front desk of the lobby, with her elbows resting on the desk's edge.

"Well hello there," the white-haired woman greeted. "I'm Rita Castaigne, president of Castaigne Media. You must be the ones who've come to thwart my efforts to spread His Majesty's word."

Hilda grinned. "So, you're one of Hastur's heralds. Nice of you to just come out and admit it."

"Well, I didn't want to beat around the bush," Rita responded as she looked at her nails. "The fact is I want to get my job done as quickly so I can retire to Carcosa, and right now you people are standing in my way."

"Fine with me," Hilda chuckled. "The sooner we take down your little operation, the sooner we can head back to our base. And from the looks of you, I think this mission is going to be a cakewalk."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure," Rita responded as she raised the bracelet on her right wrist.

Suddenly the bracelet gave off a sickly yellow light. The entire lobby began to ripple around everyone. In a matter of seconds large trees with grey trunks and noxious-looking yellow leaves with black spots on them sprouted everywhere, turning the lobby into a dense forest. The five heroes looked back, and saw that beyond the still existing front doors of the building they saw a ruined city under a yellow sky. Wandering around the new forest were strange little black birds resembling dodos, but with white plague masks on their faces.

Rita meanwhile had gained a black cape with matted yellow fur lining its edges. On her head was a simple silver crown tilted to the left. Her pantsuit morphed into a sort of bodysuit that was almost totally covered in black feathers except for the legs. Rita's legs were clad in yellow and black checkered tights with knee-high black boots. Covering her hands was a pair of silver armored gloves, each of which resembled a set of talons. Decorating the white-haired woman's left cheek was a small black heart.

"You may call me Empress Castaigne," Rita declared. "And I think you'll find I won't be as easy an opponent as you think."

The four Sailor Guardians immediately transformed. Meanwhile Jun brought his fist to his chest and became enshrouded in a pillar of snow and ice. In seconds the snow and ice broke apart to reveal Jun in his alternate form of Jadeite, who wore an ice-blue cape with a dark-red underside that hung from his back, and he had on a black uniform shirt underneath a piece of ice-blue armor over his chest. Blue gloves covered his hands, and he had on long black pants with knee-high armored boots made of the same metal as the armor covering his chest. Hanging from the wide golden belt around his waist was a large sword with an ornate ice-blue handle and black sheath.

Sailor Brunhilde drew her sword and thrust it forward. "Victory Arrow!"

A massive arrow of white light fired from the blade of Brunhilde's sword and flew towards Rita. A bored expression on the self-proclaimed empress's face as the attack flew towards her. Right when the arrow was about to hit though, Rita flicked the projectile aside with a single finger, causing it to fly upward and eventually vanish. A stunned expression was on Brunhilde's face.

"I may be an office worker, but I'm a lot tougher than I look," Rita told them. "In fact from your little attack just now, I think beating you will be a piece of cake."

An expression of pure rage formed on Brunhilde's face. "Don't screw with me, bitch!"

With those words, Brunhilde charged in and began to slash at Rita with her sword. Rita easily avoided each and every swing, all the while with a bored expression on her face. After avoiding the seventh swing of Brunhilde's blade, Rita thrust the palm of her right hand into Brunhilde's stomach. A small blast of yellow energy fired from Rita's palm and blasted Brunhilde into the side of one of the large trees next to the doorway.

Rita smirked. "Anyone else care to play?"

"Neptune, let's give her our specialty!" Uranus suggested.

Neptune nodded. "Ready when you are!"

Uranus raised her right hand into the air above her head and a sphere of gold light began to form above her palm. "World Shaking!"

Neptune raised her arms forward and a ball of aqua-colored light began to form in front of her hands. "Deep Submerge!"

When they got large enough, both energy spheres launched towards Rita and merged together into one. When the blast was about to hit though, Rita outstretched her right arm and stopped the projectile with her open hand. The ball shrieked down small enough to fit in Rita's palm. Rita smiled and began to juggle it all around her body, at times kicking it with her feet and legs as though it were a beanbag.

"This toy of yours is kinda fun," Rita remarked as she bounced the sphere on her knee a few times. "I should probably let you have it back now though."

Rita kicked the sphere back towards the Sailor Guardians. As it sailed through the air, the sphere began to expand back to its original size.

Jadeite quickly plunged the blade of his sword into the ground. "Absolute Ice Fort!"

A massive wall of ice blocks surrounded Jadeite and the Sailor Guardians, only to completely shatter apart as soon as the energy sphere collided with the wall and exploded. When the icy mist that rose from the shattered blocks dissipated, Rita could see Jadeite and the others had been knocked to the ground.

Jadeite plunged his sword back into the ground and pulled himself back to his knees. "Damn! I knew just charging in here head on was a bad idea."

Mars managed to get back up and nodded. "We should try to retreat and come up with a plan."

Rita made a motion as if wiping the sweat from her brow. "You guys are starting to wear me out. Truth be told, I've never been into physical stuff. So let's make this into a fun little game. I'm going to go wait in my office at the top of this building for the rest of you to make your way up to me. Oh, and don't think you can take the easy way up by using the elevators, because right now they no longer exist."

Burnhilde at last got back to her feet and glared at Rita. "We're not here to play your damn games!"

"Oh come on! Don't be like that. You know what? I think maybe all you people need is a little extra motivation."

Rita snapped her fingers, and suddenly several yellow ribbons shot out of the ground and wrapped them around Neptune just as she had managed to get back up. In an instant, the ribbons pulled Neptune into the tiled floor as if it were made of liquid. Uranus was far too late to even grab onto her. All the tomboyish Sailor Guardian could do was punch the floor with her fist.

"There. Now I have a hostage," Rita continued. "If you want her back, come to my office. Ta."

Rita vanished with a large puff of yellow smoke, and left in her place was a big yellow egg. The egg hatched into another black dodo in a plague mask, which quickly ran off into the woods.

"What the hell just happened?" Brunhilde asked.

Uranus got to her feet and punched the red headed Sailor Valkyrie in the face. "This is all your fault! I knew just barging in here was a bad idea!"

"Hey! How was I supposed to know we'd have so much trouble with a damn office building?"

"Cool it! Both of you!" Jadeite interrupted. "This is probably just what that Rita woman wants! We need to keep our heads right now."

"Jadeite's right," Mars interjected. "We can blame each other for what happened later. Right now we need to focus on getting to this Rita woman's office so we can save Neptune and put an end to all this."

Uranus scowled. "Fine. But let's get something straight right now, Brunhilde. If anything happens to Michiru, I will never forgive you."

Brunhilde looked up towards the roof of the forest where the ceiling had once been while the others headed towards the door to the staircase. "I am so going to kick that Castaigne woman's ass!"

Ami was down in the mansion's underground control room with Satoru, along with Luna, Artemis and Setsuna. The five had been assigned the task of making sure Hastur's minions weren't performing any other operations besides the three their comrades had all gone off to thwart. So far they hadn't found a thing.

Ami pulled her chair back from her control station and stretched her arms. "This is turning out to be pointless. I feel like we should've gone with some of the others."

Satoru nodded. "I feel the same way, but this task could be important too. We certainly don't want Hastur to succeed because we overlooked something."

"Besides Ami, someone needs to be back here to protect Usagi just in case Hastur tries to launch another attack on the mansion," Luna pointed out. "That mission is just as important as the ones the others are carrying out."

Suddenly Setsuna banged her hand against the edge of the keyboard she was using. "Damn! They're all locked."

Artemis came over and looked at Setsuna's station. "Setsuna, it doesn't look like you're searching for any other operations Hastur's minions might be conducting."

"You're right. I'm not," Setsuna admitted. "Ami's right. If Hastur's people are trying something else, we would've found it already. So I decided to look into enemies that will likely become a threat in the future."

Artemis took a closer look at Setsuna's screen. "These files you're trying to access are all classified."

"Setsuna, I don't think trying to look at the classified files of the Sailor Valkyries is a good idea," Ami told her.

Satoru nodded. "I agree. We're basically their guests. It doesn't seem right to poke into any of their private files."

"And what the hell would you two know?" Setsuna snapped, glaring at the couple. "The enemies we're dealing with are unlike anything we've ever faced before. I'm just trying to prepare us for the day we finally face them. So just keep your damn mouths shut and let me work!"

Suddenly Setsuna realized the looks Ami and the others were giving her.

"I'm…I'm sorry," Setsuna told them as she composed herself and rose from her chair. "Perhaps I've been working too hard. I'm going back to my room to rest for a bit."

Ami and the others kept their eyes on Setsuna as she left the control room.

"What on earth was that about?" Satoru asked.

"I've never seen Setsuna act like this before," Ami declared. "And just what was she trying to look up on the Sailor Valkyries' computer system?"

Artemis looked at the search history on Setsuna's terminal. "Nyarlathotep…Mi-Go…and it looks like she was trying to look at some files on the Elder Gods of Ancient Egypt too, including files on Khepri."

"She wasn't trying to do a background check on Hotaru's girlfriend, was she?" Luna asked.

The white cat shook his head. "It looks like she was trying to find out about some conflict the Egyptian Gods were involved in five thousand years ago. All of the files are security locked though."

Ami put a hand to her chin. "Egypt. I wonder if this has anything to do with that trip Setsuna took there a few months ago?"

"What happened during this trip?" Satoru asked.

"I'm not really sure. All I know is Usagi was called in to deal with some enemy that had shown up there. Setsuna hasn't been willing to talk about what happened."

Satoru looked at the door Setsuna had gone out of. "I don't know why, but I'm suddenly getting a bad feeling about your friend."

Because the Sailor Valkyries had no satellite base set up in Whistler's Cove, Minako's team was traveling to the location in a sort of mobile command center, which was really just a high-tech RV. The RV had been parked inside an underground garage deep beneath Frieda's mansion, and to get out of the garage they had to use a sort of artificial wormhole that placed their vehicle right on the road leading straight to Whistler's Cove. Their destination was a sort of trailer park for tourists on the outskirts of the village. Minako and Keisuke were in the back of the RV having some coffee while Grete and Sandra were up front, driving and navigating respectively. They still had about half an hour left before their arrival.

"Well, since we have a little time, maybe we can brainstorm ideas for how to help Grete and Sandra get together," Minako suggested as she held her mug with both hands.

Keisuke sighed and shook his head. "Are you seriously going to try meddling in their affairs?"

"Hey! First of all, I'm not going to meddle, just try and give each of them a little push towards each other. Second, Hilda and Frieda asked for my help with this. Well, Hilda did anyway, but she implied that Frieda wanted me to help too."

"Perhaps," Keisuke shrugged. "But you hardly know anything about Grete and Sandra."

"True. But I can definitely tell there's a spark between those two."

Keisuke took a sip from his coffee mug. "How can you be so sure?"

"Just one of my abilities as the goddess of love and beauty," Minako stated smugly. "I can perceive connections between people and tell if they're a good match for each other romantically. You saw how quickly I picked up that Hotaru and Yoko were dating, right?"

"True. Can you see the connection between us?"

"Well I can't use it on myself. If I could, I wouldn't have over a thousand first loves that all turned out to be mirages. It's sort of like this one romcom that came out years ago. I think it was called Hutch or something? Anyway, it was about a sort of romance doctor who gave guys dating advice, but whenever he used his advice for himself it never worked. It's the same with me and my love perception."

Keisuke nodded. "Makes sense. So for all you know, you and I could actually be a bad match.

Smiling, Minako reached across the table and put her hand on Keisuke's. "No. I don't need special perception to tell that you and I are perfect for each other."

Keisuke smiled back. "Well, if your perception is right about Grete and Sandra, how do you plan to get them together?"

Minako put her hand to her chin in thought. "You made a good point earlier. We don't really know much about Grete and Sandra. Back at the mansion, Hilda mentioned something about Grete having baggage of some kind. Finding out what that baggage is might be the place to start."

"Well keep in mind, Mina. We are currently on a mission. We'll be going up against Saijyo again, and perhaps even Hastur himself."

A determined expression formed on Minako's face. "Don't worry. I haven't forgotten for a second. This time we'll settle things with Ace once and for all."

Ace was sitting on a chair in the middle of the stage, looking out at the empty seats in the Corby House theater. In his hands he held the rolled-up copy of the script for the most infamous play ever written, The King in Yellow. Though he had been in the King's service for quite some time already, Ace had never read the play until now. Now that he had finally read the entire play from beginning to end, Ace felt as if he knew what enlightenment truly was. He felt he finally understood His Majesty completely.

As Ace sat on the stage, he couldn't help but think back to the first time he had met His Majesty in person. From Ace's perspective, it happened right after his final battle with Minako in China during the filming of his ill-fated movie. After his defeat, Ace had awoken in a barren field in front of a black castle so massive that it towered behind the moon. He had arrived in a place of eternal night where the stars above were as black as the void. Some force had compelled Ace to enter the cyclopian castle, and before long he was standing in the presence of the most powerful being he had ever encountered, His presence.

In the beginning, Ace had followed Hastur simply because he knew he could not stand against such a great power, and that he owed Hastur for his resurrection. He was also eager to go along with the plan to make Minako one of His Majesty's brides, partly for the chance to bring such a dazzling woman like Minako down to his level and partly because his heart still burned for her. After all, His Majesty had hundreds of brides from many different worlds. Who said some of them couldn't have someone on the side?

Now that Ace had finally read the play though, Ace felt that he truly understood His Majesty and the way the universe was supposed to be, the way the universe was meant to be. Ace had become a willing soldier for His Majesty's cause and would do everything he could to make sure it would be carried out.

"From the look on your face, I take it you finally read old One-Eyed Pete's masterpiece," a voice spoke.

Walking up to Ace with his hands in his pockets was a young-looking man with pale skin and slightly long wavy red hair. He had a handsome face with a pencil-thin mustache, and wore a black suit with a yellow shirt that was unbuttoned at the top. Ace knew this gentleman as one of the senior members of the Aldebaran Players, Jackson Stiles. Jackson had originally been a rising stage actor during the early 1900s, and joined the Aldebaran Players soon after reading a copy of The King in Yellow. During his life, Jackson had also been something of a ladies man.

"It's a sublime work, isn't it?" Jackson continued. "No one is ever the same after experiencing it from beginning to end. It is a work of true transcendence. At any rate, I take it our maestro called you here to take part in the same special performance he asked me here for."

Ace stood up and bowed. "If that is the case, then I am honored to be working with such an esteemed senpai as you."

Jackson chuckled and shook his head. "No need to bow and kiss my hand. The fact that you're part of our troupe means you're one of the best of the best. We're on equal footing, you and I."

"Indeed. You passed the audition with flying colors," another voice agreed.

Walking towards Ace from the opposite end of the stage was a young-looking woman with pale skin and long wavy blond hair. She had a beautiful face with sapphire eyes, and wore a long sparkling silver dress. A furred boa was wrapped around her neck, and she delicately held a thin black cigarette holder between her slender fingers. This was another senior member of the Aldebaran Players, Quinella Robins. She had been an up and coming film actress in the early 1930s, and had managed to gain one of the lead roles in a movie version of The King in Yellow that never even actually made it to film. The night before filming, after Quinella had read through the script, she wound up joining the Aldebaran Players after slitting her wrists in the tub.

"You have the talent, and you certainly have the looks," Quinella continued as she walked up and looked Ace over. "Whether you believe it or not, Ace my boy, you're a star! Just like the rest of us."

"Well, it seems as if old Peter has put together quite the ensemble," another voice interrupted.

Walking up to the three was an older gentleman who appeared to be in his early fifties. He had pale skin and neatly combed greying black hair with a receding hairline. His cheeks were sunken and he had a slightly large beak-like nose with a thin neat goatee. The man had a gaunt figure that was clothed in a black suit that hadn't been in style during the Victorian era. This man was Julius Kingsbury, the very first member of the Aldebaran Players and the first person ever to read The King in Yellow.

"So, whatever performance Peter has in mind clearly involves the four of us," Julius deduced. "I don't suppose any of you know more about it than I do."

Jackson shook his head. "All the old cyclops told me is that he had a part that was tailor made for me."

"That's what he told me," Quinella responded. "I wonder how long he's going to keep us in suspense?"

"You shan't have to wait any longer, my dear Quinella," a familiar voice spoke. One-Eyed Pete approached the stage with his large hands folded behind his stooped back. "I thank you all for coming on such short notice."

"I must tell you, Peter, my old friend. This special performance of yours certainly has come at short notice," Julius remarked.

"Forgive me, old boy. But this is rather an urgent matter. It seems our venue has fallen into danger. As we speak, a team of those meddling Sailor Guardians is coming to investigate our tour. In fact all of His Majesty's endeavors are currently in danger from these interlopers."

Jackson nodded. "So I guess old Patchwork's little art project is in danger as well."

"Indeed," Pete confirmed. "I have already informed both him and Ms. Castaigne of these developments as well."

"I see. So you want the four of us to give a private performance for the team that's coming to ruin our stage," Quinella deduced.

Pete turned his bulging eye towards Ace. "I believe you will be especially interested in this, Mr. Saijyo. One of the members of our audience for this performance is to be Sailor Venus."

Ace was visibly stunned by this news. "Mina? She's the one they sent?"

Pete's unnaturally wide mouth formed into a grin. "I believe this should give you a little added motivation to make this next show succeed."

Ace smiled. "Right you are, Maestro. I'm going to give Mina the performance of a lifetime. You can count on it."

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