Author's Note: Apologies for the delay in getting this chapter up. It needed a little bit more work before it was ready to be posted. Plus this is the holiday season, which makes it kind of hard to get much writing done.

I'd like to take a moment to thanks masterray5 for his help with this story.

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

Chapter 10: Grete's Bloodline

Keisuke was having lunch with his father in one of the executive boardrooms. Earlier, there had been two other people at the lunch, a pair of executives from another company they were negotiating a merger with. The meeting had gone very well and the executives had left, so Keisuke and his father had decided to finish their lunch where they were and catch up. The two of them rarely had any personal interaction outside of work.

"You handled those two from the other company quite well, son," Keisuke's father praised. "I think this merger is going to go through as smooth as silk."

Once again Keisuke felt as if something was very wrong. For one thing, he could barely make out his father's face. His face was about as nondescript as the face of the maid working at his penthouse apartment. The voice was right though, as was his father's general build. It was strange though for Keisuke to hear his father praising him, as Keisuke remembered his father admonishing the choices he had been making with his life.

From the time Keisuke had been able to walk, his father had planned for Keisuke to become a top executive at the company and eventually take over the family business. At first Keisuke had gone along with his father's plan. He managed to get the top grades in school and got into both the junior high and high school of his father's choosing. After he got into high school though, Keisuke decided not to go along with his father's grand plan for him to join the family business. It wasn't because Keisuke didn't like what his father did, but rather it was because Keisuke wanted to forge his own destiny, and that was something his father had had a serious problem with.

So Keisuke had to wonder why he was suddenly working at a company he had wanted nothing to do with as his father's right hand man. Keisuke had to assume something drastic had occurred in his life that must have made him change course, but he couldn't remember what that event could be.

"I had a phone call from Quinella earlier this morning," Keisuke's father continued. "She was asking me if I could give you some time off. I gather she was concerned that you might be overworked, and quite honestly I've shared her concern. You seem very tired."

Keisuke gave him a reassuring smile. "I thank you for your concern, Father. But I am all right. Besides, the company needs me right now."

"Nonsense! The company can get by without you for a couple of weeks. After all, the merger is guaranteed to go through. Besides, you'd do no good to the company if you were overworked. I insist you take a little vacation."

"…Very well. I cannot say no to both you and Quinella."

Almost as if on cue, Quinella entered the boardroom. "Ah! So your meeting is over. I was afraid I might be interrupting."

"Not at all! Come in, Quinella," Keisuke's father responded. "You'll be happy to know I convinced your stubborn fiancé to take some time off."

"Marvelous!" Quinella cheered as she quickly sat down in the chair next to Keisuke. "Keisuke, how about we spend your vacation at the beach house?"

Keisuke nodded. "Sounds like a good plan."

Yet as Keisuke agreed to Quinella's proposal, he once again had a strong feeling that something was very wrong. He felt the life he was currently living was not at all his own.

One of the spheres of light floating in the theater lobby cracked apart and Sailor Sigrun fell out. After dropping to the carpeted floor on her butt, Sigrun got to her feet and looked around at the other three spheres.

Sigrun put a hand on her hip. "I'm guessing the others are being put through the same sort of mind game that Jackson bastard tried on me. Since I'm out though, maybe I can do something to help the others."

Turning to the sphere at her right, Sigrun leapt towards the sphere arms-first as though she were jumping into a pool. The surface of the sphere rippled as the blue-haired Sailor Valkyrie penetrated it.

After passing through a blinding light, Sigrun found herself standing in the doorway of some medieval courtroom, with the pews packed with an audience of faceless peasants. The blue-haired Sailor Valkyrie quickly deduced that these peasants were really more living mannequins like the ones she had fought inside Jackson's fantasy church. Sitting high upon the judge's bench was Julius Kingsbury, dressed in black robes and a powdered wig. Standing before Julius was another faceless man, who was clad in tattered rags and had his wrists bound together by iron manacles. Two armored guards stood at the prisoner's left and right.

"The defendant is sentenced to thirty years of hard labor!" Julius declared before banging his gavel. "Bring in the next defendant!"

Another faceless man wearing grey robes and a powdered wig nodded. "Bring in the next defendant!"

The prisoner from the previous trial was escorted away by the guards, and two more guards entered the courtroom with a new prisoner between them. The new defendant was Grete, and she was clad in a tattered brown dress and had her wrists bound in manacles. There was a dead look in Grete's eyes, and an expression of total resignation on her face.

"What the hell?" Sigrun whispered.

"She's a pretty one, ain't she?" one of the male presents in the courtroom near Sigrun remarked.

"Aye. But that particular rose there has a few too many thorns," another present responded. "They say she brings death to anyone who gets close to her. That lass took the life of her own mother when she was first born, and anyone who's tried to befriend her often ends up dying in some sort of accident."

"She's on trial for causing accidents?" The first male wondered.

"Don't be daft! She's on trial for murder. How own father decided to try and put an end to her, but she ended up killing him."

"So...ain't it self-defense then?"

The second peasant shrugged. "It may be she was only defending herself, but that don't make a wee bit o' difference here. Her father was a powerful man, with friends in high places, one of them being the judge of this here trial. If you ask me though, the world would be better off without such a deadly lass."

"Officer of the Court, please read the charges against this defendant," Julius ordered.

The faceless man who had ordered Grete to be brought in unrolled a scroll he was holding. "The accused is charged with the murder of the Duke of Albright!"

Julius shook his head. "How does the defendant plead?"

"I have no other plea, but guilty," Grete responded. "I have known since I was little that my very existence is a mistake. It is a wonder I have lived as long as I have."

Julius nodded. "I decree that the accused shall hereby be executed, with the sentence to be carried out immediately."

"WHAT BULLSHIT!" Sigrun shouted just as Julius raised his gavel. "You freaks have got some nerve!"

Before anyone could stop her, Sigrun leapt through the air and practically flew all the way to the other end of the courtroom. She landed in front of Grete and took out each of the two guards that had been escorting her with strikes from the handle of her axe. The blue-haired Sailor Valkyrie then broke off the dark-haired girl's manacles with her gloved hands.

Sigrun took a firm hold of Grete's shoulders and looked right into her startled eyes. "Grete! You have to remember who you really are! The reason you exist is to help protect Lady Freyja and this galaxy! Remember where you came from!"

As Grete gazed at Sigrun's face, all at once a moment from her past came rushing back to her.

The young woman who would ages later be known as Grete Andersen on Earth had lived a very solitary existence on the Gunnr Moon of Folkvangr. She had grown up an orphan at a village church, and though she had never known her parents the monks of the church had made sure she knew of her lineage. Grete was in fact a descendant of one of the first kings of the Gunnr Moon during the time of the Aesir, Bjorn the Gorgeous. The reason Grete had grown up an orphan in a poor village church and not a princess was because she also carried the blood of Loki. The reason for this all had to do with how Bjorn had ascended to the throne.

Like many before him, Bjorn had not claimed the crown of the Gunnr Moon through the blood flowing in his veins, but by the point of his sword. Bjorn had been born a commoner in the village of the very church where his descendant, Grete would grow up an orphan. The king at the time had been a tyrant by the name of Erik the Bloody, and he made his subjects suffer under his thumb for many years. One day, after Erik had ordered the execution of the village leader for not handing over the entire contents of the village treasury as a tax payment, Bjorn vowed to his fellow villagers that he would end Erik's tyranny and take the crown for himself. The villagers had very little hope that Bjorn would succeed in his quest though, for as handsome as Bjorn was, he was also a total klutz and completely inept at combat.

In spite of his shortcomings, Bjorn still vowed to take the crown from Erik and free the people from tyrant's rule. One day, while traveling the road to Erik's castle, Bjorn encountered a garishly dressed traveler. The traveler revealed himself as Loki, and he told Bjorn that he knew of his foolhardy quest. Bjorn admitted to Loki that he had very little hope himself that he'd be able to slay a warrior as skilled and powerful as Erik. Loki then offered to help Bjorn take the crown from Erik, but of course there was a price.

Loki wanted Bjorn to have a grand church to the deity constructed in the moon's capital city, and that worship of Loki was to be the state religion. When Bjorn asked Loki why he would ask for such a thing, Loki admitted he had grown jealous of his fellow Aesir having grand churches and cults all over Folkvangr and on the other three moons of the planet. Desperate for any help he could get, Bjorn agreed to Loki's deal. Loki then told Bjorn that when he started his battle with Erik, he was to remain perfectly still with his sword pointed out. When Bjorn asked why, Loki simply told him that he would handle the rest and vanished into the forest.

Days later, Bjorn had arrived at the gates to Erik's castle and challenged him to battle for the crown. Erik naturally came out to face him, and when the tyrant had emerged from the castle Bjorn had realized he had bitten off more than he could chew. The bloody tyrant who ruled the Gunnr Moon was a muscular giant who towered over Bjorn at a height of seven feet. Erik had a long wild black beard and yellow eyes like a demon's, and in his right hand he carried a very large blood-stained axe. Bjorn was certain he was going to die, but when Erik's attendant declared the start of the battle for the crown, Bjorn did exactly as Loki had told him and remained perfectly still with his sword pointed outward.

As Erik raised his axe with a terrifying grin on his face, he suddenly heard a squeak from behind. The mad king turned around and saw a little black mouse standing before him. What his subjects did not know was that Erik had a crippling fear of mice and rats. The sight of the little mouse terrified Erik so much that he attempted to flee while screaming like a frightened child, and ended up running right into Bjorn's sword. Bjorn's sword had run Erik clean through. After letting go of his sword and allowing Erik's body to fall to the ground, Bjorn looked at the little black mouse that had frightened Erik, and saw the little rodent wink at him before scurrying off.

Bjorn was immediately crowned king of the Gunnr Moon, and had even taken Erik's beautiful daughter, Helga as his queen. In the space of a year, Bjorn had brought prosperity to the moon, and had quickly become the most beloved and celebrated king in the moon's history. At the end of this grand year though, Loki appeared before Bjorn and asked how the construction of his cathedral was coming. Bjorn pretended not to know what Loki was talking about and ordered the mischievous god to leave his chambers. Loki became outraged, but he did not try to kill Bjorn.

Instead, Loki gave Bjorn this cryptic declaration. "You can keep your precious throne, but I shall see to it that your crown will be out of the reach of your children and your children's children for all eternity!"

Instantly, Loki turned into an owl and flew out the window of Bjorn's castle. Bjorn thought nothing of the god's warning and continued his reign of peace, siring three children down the years. One day, Bjorn's oldest son, Lars came of age and was soon engaged to the princess of the Sigrun Moon, solidifying an alliance that would bring great prosperity to both kingdoms. One night, Lars was out celebrating his impending nuptials at a tavern when he encountered a strange and extremely beautiful enchantress with long raven hair and extremely pale skin. The enchantress came onto Lars, and due to all the ale swimming in his brain and the otherworldly beauty of the enchantress, Lars lost all sense of reason and allowed the woman to take him to her bed for what ended up being two nights and two days of passion.

At the end of this dalliance, the enchantress had told Lars she was pregnant, a fact that the royal physicians were later able to confirm. Bjorn realized that Lars had no other choice but to marry the enchantress, which of course ruined the alliance with the Sigrun Moon. Unfortunately for Bjorn and Lars, that had only been the beginning of their misfortune. Nine months later, the enchantress had given birth to something completely inhuman, a shocking abomination that was little more than a savage beast. After the birth of the beast child, the enchantress took on her true form, or rather his true form; the enchantress had actually been Loki in disguise.

Horrified and revolted he had actually made love to a man, Lars had thrown himself off the highest tower of the castle. Meanwhile word of the beast child's birth had spread all over the kingdom, along with the fact that the creature's "mother" was in reality the treacherous Loki. Loki himself had also made it a point to reveal to Bjorn's subjects that Bjorn had only been able to take the crown because of his help. Bjorn's subjects became outraged, and soon a mob broke into the castle. The mob murdered Bjorn, his wife, and his remaining two children, fulfilling Loki's declaration that none of Bjorn's children would ever inherit the throne.

As for the beast child brought into existence by Lars and Loki, it had escaped into the wild in the ensuing confusion. Years later after the creature had come of age, it raped and impregnated a young woman bathing in a stream before being found and killed by villagers, who knew what the creature was and who had sired it. The unfortunate maiden later gave birth to a litter of five more creatures, dying in the process. These five mongrels looked a little less monstrous than their bestial father, but were still just as savage. The litter managed to escape shortly after their birth, but the villagers managed to hunt down all but five. This fifth male member of the litter managed to grow to adulthood, and he repeated the acts of his father on another young maiden on the road.

This horrible cycle of bloody procreation ended up continuing for generations, even through the time of Ragnarok when Loki and the other Aesir perished. Each generation of brood became more civilized and intelligent than the last however, and one day born to this line was a man who would become known as an infamous bandit by the name of Ulrich the Crafty. Though hideous in appearance, Ulrich possessed the same cunning and charisma as his ancestor, Loki. Ulrich had assembled a massive gang of outlaws that for many years pillaged villages all over the Gunnr Moon. One day while passing through a village on the way to an even greater conquest, Ulrich managed to seduce a beautiful young barmaid named Elsa, who admittedly had more looks than common sense.

Ulrich and Elsa were married the very night they met, and within a few months Elsa had given birth to a daughter, Grete. One day, shortly after Grete was born, a band of soldiers sent to eliminate Ulrich's gang managed to find the outlaws' hideout, and they ended up slaughtering every bandit there. Though wounded in the conflict, Elsa had managed to escape with Grete. Elsa reached the village church and begged the monks to take care of her daughter before succumbing to her injuries. The monks had known exactly who Grete's father was and all about Ulrich's cursed family line, but they could not bring themselves to end the child's life so soon after it had begun. Not only was such an act against their code, the infant Grete bore no resemblance to her monstrous forbearers.

So the monks raised Grete at the church, and when she became old enough they told her all about her father and her monstrous lineage. As Grete had gotten older though, even the monks had begun to shun her a bit. It wasn't because Grete was developing a monstrous appearance, but because she was growing more beautiful. In fact the monks knew from an illustration in an old book detailing the tragedy of King Bjorn that Grete looked exactly like the enchantress Loki had taken the form of to seduce Prince Lars. This resemblance to one of Loki's avatars had made the monks start to fear Grete, and recently Grete had noticed their apprehension of her.

Grete was busy tending to her daily chores when a loud pounding sounded from the heavy wooden doors of the church. The aging head of the church, Brother Olaf emerged from his chambers as the pounding continued. When the old monk finally pulled the doors open, he was greeted by the faces of an angry mob carrying torches. The head of the mob appeared to be a portly middle-aged man with a bushy mustache.

"What business do you all have here at this ungodly hour?" Brother Olaf asked. "And why do you all come here to a sacred house to the All-father bearing torches and weapons?"

"We've come for the girl," the leader of the mob answered. "Hand her over now and there will be no trouble."

"If you're speaking of our young charge, why should I hand her over? What crime could she have possibly committed to offend you all so much?"

"She's of Loki's blood, ain't she? That should be reason enough! He and his brood have caused nothing but trouble since before Ragnarok came! And now we all know he's got one child left who's causing trouble now!"

Brother Olaf shook his head. "This child has hardly ever left the walls of this church. I do not see how she could have committed any crime."

"Let me speak," a voice from within the mob requested.

The mustached leader of the mob stepped aside, allowing a woman to step forward. She was middle-aged, with long dark hair containing streaks of grey, and very pale skin. Her face was stern but bore a subtle beauty, and she was clad in long flowing robes colored a dark blue like the night sky. In her right hand she carried a twisted wooden staff with an ice-blue orb resting at the top.

"I am Eris, a priestess from the mother world," the woman announced. "I came here because of word of the wretched plague that has afflicted the people of your village, the one they call the Freezing Death. Surely you know of it."

Brother Olaf nodded. "Aye. My brothers and I have done all we can to ease the suffering of the stricken."

"Using my magic I have divined the cause of the plague. The cause is the child of Loki you have hidden within your church! Her very existence has caused the plague! The only way to cure the plague is to burn her body to ash!"

The rest of the mob cheered in agreement, shaking their torches and the weapons they had brought.

Brother Olaf eyed Eris suspiciously. "Unless you can show me concrete proof that the child is the cause of the Freezing Death, I cannot simply hand her over to you."

"You must," Eris declared. "If you do not, we will have no choice but to take her by force."

Grete stepped forward to stand next to Brother Olaf. "I will go with you."

"Child! Think of what you're saying!" Brother Olaf responded. "These people intend to kill you!"

"And perhaps it is best they do. Even some of the monks here have said I am one who should not exist. Besides, if I were to resist, these people would likely end up causing harm to you and the other monks. That is something I cannot allow."

The mob led Grete willingly down the hill from the church to a large wooden pole with a pile of kindling set at its base. Grete put up no struggle as the villagers tied her to the pole. Brother Olaf and the other monks had come out to follow the mob and had since fallen to their knees in prayer to the All-father as the villagers soaked the kindling in oil. Once all of the preparations for the execution had been completed, Eris stepped forward and took a torch from one of the villagers.

The priestess turned to the villagers and raised her torch. "With this flame, we shall burn away the cause of the blight that has come to this land and bring back peace!"

The rest of the mob let out a loud cheer. Grete closed her eyes and prepared herself for the coming heat and smoke.

Just as Eris was about to touch her torch to the kindling, a voice called out over the cheering mob. "Stop!"

Eris froze, and Grete opened her eyes. Everyone looked and saw a beautiful young-looking woman with long hair like spun gold and eyes like sapphires. She was wearing only a simple white dress.

"Who dares interfere with these proceedings?" Eris asked.

The mystery woman put a hand to her chest. "Folkvangr Star Power MAKE-UP!"

A blinding pillar of gold light erupted around the woman and enveloped her as the villagers and Eris were forced to shield their eyes. When the light finally faded to reveal her clad in an armored sailor suit.

"Guided by the light of Planet Folkvangr, I am Sailor Freyja," the blonde announced.

The villagers making up the mob were all left stunned. Brother Olaf and his fellow monks meanwhile were overjoyed.

Eris scoffed. "So you claim to be one of the Aesir reborn? Ridiculous! Besides, I would not think you would object to what we're doing."

The mustached leader of the mob stepped forward. "That's right! The girl we're burning is the offspring of Loki, who has brought a plague to our lands! She must be destroyed before anyone else is stricken!"

"The one who has brought the Freezing Death is not the maiden tied to the steak, but the one holding the torch!" Freyja declared as she pointed at Eris. "Witness now her true appearance!"

A dazzling light began to shine from Freyja's armor. The light put out the flame of Eris' torch and caused her to scream in pain. The villagers were astounded as smoke began to rise from her body.

"Your priestess is actually a witch!" Freyja declared. "And not just any sort of witch, but a child of Jotunheim! A frost giant!"

The members of the mob began to back away from Eris. Eris glared as Freyja with red eyes before becoming enveloped in a twister of ice and snow. The ice twister broke apart to reveal that Eris had grown to twice her original size and was clad in tattered black robes. Her hair had become stark white and her skin an icy blue. Her face had become hideously wrinkled and had gained a long hook nose. The fingers of her hand had grown long and hand gained very long black nails like claws.

"Meddling wench!" Eris cursed. "How dare you interfere?"

"Do you truly think I would sit idly by and let you conquer one of the moons of my world?" Freyja responded.

"Your world has four moons. Surely you could spare one for an old woman like me."

"And let you snuff out the lives of everyone living here? I think not!"

The mustached leader of the mob backed away from Eris in fear. "You? You're the cause of the plague?"

Eris looked at the portly man and gave him a fanged smirk. "I hate crowded places. My plan was to kill all of you off so I could have this moon to myself. Unfortunately I had to put on this little farce in order to get rid of…certain interferences. I never thought I'd encounter one of the Aesir reborn however."

"You will cause no more suffering to the people of this moon!" Freyja declared.

Eris cackled. "If you wish to fight me, you'll have to get through my little pets first."

Suddenly the sound of moaning could be heard. Approaching Freyja and the mob was a small army of people, many of whom were women and children. Their skin was sickly blue and there were patches of frost covering their bodies. They staggered towards the mob, each of them carrying some sharp implement.

The mob leader began to tremble in horror. "The plague victims! And my ailing wife is among them!"

Eris chuckled. "Those suffering under the effects of my curse can be bent to my will. But I'm not limited to those poor fools."

The witch turned to the mob and blew out a cloud of frost at them from her mouth. Everyone Eric's breath hit turned pale blue and became covered in patches of frost. The members of the mob began to stagger towards Freyja with their weapons raised.

"There is only one way to save them," Eris told Freyja. "You must take my life. But you'll have to run through quite a few of them to get to me. Do you have the resolve to do whatever it takes to achieve victory?"

Freyja smiled and shook her head. "I could never turn my power against the innocent."

In a matter of moments the mob of ice zombies had surrounded Freyja on all sides. The whole time, Grete had been watching and began to panic.

"Lady Fryeja! You must flee!" Grete told her.

"I cannot abandon these poor people, nor can I abandon you," Freyja told her.

"But…if you do nothing, you shall die."

"Then so be it."

As Grete's concern for Freyja grew, words suddenly came to her mind and escaped her throat. "Gunnr Star Power MAKE-UP!"

A dazzling light emanated from Grete, snapping the ropes that had bound her to the stake. Seconds later the light faded to reveal her in an armored Sailor Guardian outfit.

The newly transformed valkyrie glared coldly at Eris. "Guided by the Gunnr moon of Folkvangr, I am Sailor Gunnr! For your wicked acts, I shall punish you in the name of Lady Freyja!"

"NO!" Eris roared. "This is what I came to prevent!"

Freyja smirked. "I knew this was the reason why you disguised yourself as a priestess to manipulate the villagers into trying to kill that poor maiden. Somehow you knew she was the guardian born to protect this moon, one of my Sailor Valkyries."

"After all the trouble I went to just to kill that pest!" Eris protested.

A pair of long one-handed swords with long narrow blades and gold handles appeared in Gunnr's hands. "I always thought I was something that shouldn't exist, but it seems there is a purpose to my existence after all. My role is to purge abominations like you from this universe."

Eris chuckled. "Well now. I see a fire has been kindled in your eyes. Unfortunately just like your queen, you'll have to cut your way through these poor villagers in order to get to me."

Gunnr simply closed her eyes. "Niflheim Shadow Slash."

Suddenly Gunnr vanished with a puff of black mist just as the villagers had started to advance on her. As Eris tried to figure out what was going on, her head was cut from her body by an invisible blade. Gunnr reappeared in front of the decapitated frost giantess with another cloud of black mist as Eris' head dropped to the ground. The villagers suddenly fell unconscious, and their skin slowly began to turn back to normal as the frost melted from their bodies.

Gunnr walked up to Freyja and knelt before her. "Milady, I am glad I could be of service to you. I understand though if you find my presence offensive. After all, I carry the blood of Loki."

Freyja crossed her arms. "You realize I knew Loki personally. Even though he committed some very wicked deeds, he was not all bad. Besides, when I look at you, I do not see Loki at all. You are nothing like him."

At this point, Brother Olaf and the other monks approached. "Lady Freyja. We cannot thank you enough for what you have done."

"I did nothing more than reveal the frost giant's true nature," Freyja responded. "Your thanks should go to Sailor Gunnr. When the people of this village awaken, make sure they know it was Gunnr who saved them."

"We shall. I assure you that everyone here will know of what happened this day."

Freyja nodded and turned to Gunnr. "Come Gunnr. Let us be off. We still have other allies to find."

Gunnr nodded. "Whatever you wish, milady."

As her past came back to her, Grete closed her eyes. "Thank you, Sigrun. Had you not reminded me of my past, I would've willingly played along with this farce of a trial."

Julius slammed the palms of his hands onto the wooden desk of his judge's bench and rose to his feet. "What is the meaning of this!? How dare you interrupt my performance?"

"Sorry, but I'm canceling your screwed up play," Sigrun responded. "It's bad enough that your buddy tried to get me into a fake marriage to him, but I really can't stand it when anyone tries to put down Grete the way you've done with this fake trial!"

Julius sneered. "From what I was told, the girl deserved death. After all, she is the spawn of a wicked being."

"That may be, but though I am of Loki's blood, I do have a purpose in life," Grete responded. "And that purpose is to keep this galaxy safe from abominations like you! Gunnr Star Power MAKE-UP!"

A pillar of silver light enveloped Grete, and faded away seconds later to reveal her as Sailor Gunnr. Soon after, everyone in the courtroom besides Julius transformed into living grey mannequins with glowing red eyes. The mannequins quickly surrounded Gunnr and Sigrun. The two Sailor Valkyries stood back to back as they summoned their weapons.

"I sense this will not be an easy battle," Gunnr remarked as she kept her eyes on the mob of mannequins.

Sigrun smirked. "We've been in worse spots."

"If there is one thing I can't stand, it's actors who go off-script," Julius declared.

"I am not one of your actors," Gunner responded. "And I will not willingly let you take my life in order to conform to your script."

"Then in order to give His Majesty the show he desires, I suppose I will have to take matters into my own hands."

Julius leapt over his desk and flipped through the air with more agility than one might expect from a man of his age. The moment the mad actor's feet touched the ground, Julius became enveloped in a pillar of sickly yellow light. The light faded to reveal Julius clad in tarnished silver armor and a long red coat with gold ruffles on the cuffs of the sleeves. His head had become covered with a yellow helmet made to look like a head of long hair that curled at the ends. Atop the actor's head was a five-pointed gold crown, and his face was covered by a silver mask with a gold goatee. A large sword was sticking through the sides of the mad actor's head. With his right hand, the actor reached up and grabbed the hand of the sword, and pulled the sword from his head as though he were simply unsheathing it.

"Call me Suicide King," the actor declared as he pointed the tip of his sword at the two Valkyries. "And for violating my stage by going off-script, I shall make you pay with your blood."

"So how do you wanna do this?" Sigrun asked Gunnr.

"Keep Kingsbury occupied while I deal with his minions," Gunnr responded.

"Sounds like a plan," Sigrun responded. "Let's tear it up!"

Satoru came down to the library looking for Setsuna. After what Ami had told him about Setsuna earlier, he decided he needed to have a little talk with her. Taking her recent behavior into account, Satoru the library was one of the most-likely places where Setsuna might be. The other possibilities were the control room and her room in the mansion. His plan was to try the other two places if he didn't find Setsuna in the library, but right off the bat he found the green-haired woman sitting at one of the tables, scowling at something on her laptop.

"Having problems?" Satoru asked as he approached, getting Setsuna's attention. "If it's a computer problem, I'm pretty good at tech support."

"It's nothing," Setsuna responded. "I simply got some unpleasant news."

Satoru took a quick peek at the screen of Setsuna's laptop. The screen showed an email from the library at Miskatonic University. The start of the message itself said that the library had considered some sort of request Setsuna had made to them.

Setsuna slammed her laptop shut before Satoru could read any more of the email. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Satoru's face became serious. "Ami told me about what you had asked her to do. I thought I should inform you that she has no intention of carrying out your request."

Setsuna let out a heavy sigh. "Fine. I had a feeling she'd say no."

"One other thing. I don't approve of you trying to get Ami involved in whatever unsavory business you're caught up in. While I'm sure you're acting with the best intentions towards our future kingdom, it seems to me like you're beginning to tread a dark path."

Setsuna rose to her feet and glared at Satoru. "Butt out. An outsider like you has no business lecturing me on my actions."

With those words, Setsuna quickly gathered up her things and stormed past Satoru. As Satoru watched her leave, he started to think he and the others had another serious problem on their hands besides the Great Old Ones.

Gunnr had been surrounded by a trio of mannequins, but as they moved in on her she suddenly vanished into a wispy black mist. Seconds later, all three mannequins were cut to pieces. Gunnr reappeared and turned her attention to the rest of the remaining hoard. Meanwhile Sigrun was still facing off against Suicide King. The blue-haired Valkyrie was easily able to parry and dodge the swings of King's sword with her long-handled ax.

"You are a disgrace to the stage!" King declared as he thrust his sword at Sigrun, only for the Valkyrie to fall back.

"You certainly take this acting stuff way too seriously," Sigrun remarked as she parried another thrust of her enemy's sword.

"Acting is my vocation, though in my former life I had little success. So many failed auditions, and whenever I did get a part the audiences for those performances always ended up being small. Critics panned me every time I took the stage. After years of failures I began to consider taking my own life. Then one day my old friend, Peter, wrote his masterpiece, The King in Yellow and thought I would be perfect for one of the parts."

"His script was the most sublime thing I had ever read. When I had finished reading, Peter handed me a gun and told me I could go to Carcosa to perform for the King himself. So I put a bullet to my brain and arrived in His glorious kingdom! Today I am one of His Majesty's most favored performers, and every show I have done has been for His entertainment. Therefore I cannot abide anyone who would make a mockery of one of my performances the way you have just done!"

"Yeah? Well I don't give a damn about entertaining your freak of a king!" Sigrun declared as she raised her axe. "Valhalla Half-Moon Arc!"

With a vertical downward swing, Sigrun sent a large blade of blue light at King. The mad actor cut into the blade of light with a horizontal slash of his sword and caused the attack to shatter like glass. Suddenly the King's sword turned into a silver whip burning with yellow flames. With one swing of King's arm, the whip wrapped around the handle of Sigrun's axe. He pulled the weapon from Sigrun's hand with one strong tug, knocking the Valkyries onto her rear in the process.

Suicide King loomed over Sigrun and raised his sword to stab her. "And now for you, I shall lower the final curtain."

Suddenly a thin sword blade stabbed its way through King's chest. King and Sigrun looked and saw Gunnr standing behind the mad actor, with the sword in her left hand having impaled him.

"You're the one who the final curtain is falling on," Gunnr declared.

Suicide King glared back at her. "You…truly are…a wretched creature."

"I will not argue with you," Gunnr responded. "But even a wretched creature like me serves an important purpose in this universe."

With those final words, Gunnr pulled her sword out, causing Suicide King to fall to his knees. Gunner then swung the sword in her right hand and cut the mad actor's head clean off. As King's head fell to the floor, cracks of white light formed all over the courtroom. Suddenly there was a blinding flash of light and both Sigrun and Gunnr felt the ground vanish beneath them. As the light faded, they fell back onto the carpeted floor of the theater lobby.

"It appears defeating Kingsbury allowed us to escape," Gunnr observed as she got back to her feet.

"Yep. The same thing happened when I killed that bastard, Jackson," Sigrun responded as she got up and picked her ax up off the ground.

Gunnr noticed the two other spheres of light inside the lobby. "It appears Sailor Venus and Kunzite are trapped in their own illusions. We should try to assist them."

"Maybe we should try calling for backup first."

"A prudent suggestion. I'll attempt to contact the base."

Sigrun crossed her arms as Gunnr got out her communicator. "Before that, I have something to get off my chest. You know how I told Kingsbury that I can't stand it when anyone puts you down? The same goes for you too. I really hate it when you put yourself down."

A look of surprise formed on Gunnr's face. "I only speak the truth about myself. I am of Loki's blood and thus…"

"Save it! I've heard it all before. You come from a long line of monster babies that sprang from Loki's loins. Maybe it's escaped your notice, but I don't give a damn about any of that! Neither do Brunhilde or any of the others. I know that Lady Freyja certainly doesn't give a damn about where you came from!"

Gunnr knew that Frieda certainly didn't care about her lineage. That had become clear a few nights after Gunnr had started serving Frieda. The blonde goddess had easily seduced Gunnr and gotten her into the bedchamber. It had been a one-time thing, but it had become clear to Gunnr that Frieda didn't see her as a monster. The experience had also made Gunnr realize that she was only attracted to women.

"My point is, I don't see you as the monster you see yourself as," Sigrun continued. "You're nothing at all like Loki or any of his other offspring. In fact, aside from Lady Freyja, you're the most amazing person I know."

Gunnr's cheeks turned bright red upon hearing Sigrun's words. She cleared her throat as she quickly composed herself. "Then from now on, I shall try harder not to put myself down."

Sigrun smiled and nodded. "Good."

Gunnr went back to fiddling with her communicator. "I shall try to contact the base for help."

Sigrun turned to look at the two glowing spheres still in the lobby. "Better hurry up. Considering what we just went through, I'm sure One-Eyed Pete's other two actors are doing a real number on Venus and Kunzite."

It was night, and Minako and Ace were on a date, eating at one of the most exclusive five-star restaurants in all of Tokyo. Their table was next to a large window that gave them a breath-taking view of the cityscape. As Minako looked at the full moon rising over Tokyo Tower, she found herself once again feeling that things were out of place.

"Something wrong?" Ace asked from across the table, shaking Minako from her thoughts. "You've hardly touched your dinner. If it's not perfect, we can send it back."

"Oh no. The food's fine," Minako assured him. "In fact…you used the word perfect just now, and I guess that's what's bothering me. I find myself thinking that maybe, I dunno…that things are just a little too perfect? Like everything I'm experiencing is just some sort of dream."

Ace chuckled. "I'm sure many people think that way when their lives are going well. They start thinking that maybe they don't deserve the happiness they've found, that something has to be going wrong in their lives. But I assure you, Mina. These lives we're living are the real thing."

"I dunno. It's just…part of me feels like I'm supposed to be living a different life, like I'm supposed to be doing something else."

"Maybe what you're feeling is just wedding jitters. I mean the big day is only ten days away. I can't blame you for getting nervous."

Minako smiled. "Yeah. Maybe that's all I'm feeling."

As soon as those words left her mouth though, Minako felt certain that what she was feeling went beyond simply wedding jitters. In a way, everything was perfect. Minako had become the star of a hit T.V. show and was known all over Japan. Her dream had come true and she had practically everything she ever wanted. There was just one thing wrong with her life, and it was the man she was with. Minako didn't know why, but she felt like she was meant to be with some man other than Ace.

Please review and let me know what you think.