Disclaimers and the
like:
The characters mentioned
in this story do not belong to me, and I'm not making any money with this.
As promised, we're finally beginning to get some plot. I noticed quite suddenly as I was writing how much more the original "Cycle of Our Souls" centered on the "relationship" aspect than this one does. I guess that's because I just don't relate to Mina as well as I do Raye, so instead I'm having the relationship as more of the backdrop for the beginnings of the main plot that will flow through all the remaining sections. The point is, if you were hoping for something more like the original, with no "Scout" activity and just whole bunches of personal stuff, then you're gonna be a little disappointed. There is the romance, of course, but I had to do something to keep this one from being just like the other one!
Ok, I wrote that little bit ^ before I wrote the actual story chapter, so now I'll say that Part 3 is an exception. I didn't realize this was gonna end up being an entire section, but it is... so next time will be more plot, less romance. Woops. :)
As always, The stuff between the lines of "@-" symbols is all Silver Millennium, the text between lines of "*" symbols is Mina's thoughts and takes place between SMR and SMS, and everything else is just a few weeks prior.
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It was the first question from everyone's lips: "Where's Serena?" No one knew the answer, not even Darien. "I heard her scream..." he explained in a shaky voice, "and I knew all of you would be here."
"Here" was Raye's temple. Yes, it was the middle of the night, but some things were more important. "I heard it too," Jay said softly, "I don't know how or why... but I knew to come here, I knew that it was Serena screaming."
"Mina?" a voice said from the shadows. "Is that you?"
Her spine stiffened as she recognized the voice. It was Malachy Levinworth! "Malachy? What are you doing here?"
He stepped into the pale light of paper lanterns and shook his head. "I don't know. Something woke me up and it's like... it's like there was a compass pointing me to this temple. I've never even been here before."
Before anyone could
reply to this, Amy came running up the temple steps. "Has Luna gotten
here yet? Isn't it strange that they're both missing?
I only felt Serena scream, so why hasn't Luna come here in a panic?
I tried scanning for her, for both of them, but I've found nothing.
I can do a more in-depth search from the Command Center." Just then
she noticed Malachy and her faced turned bright red. "Oh... ha...
hello, Malachy! We were just... ah... playing a sort of game... a
role-playing type game... So how come
you're here in the
middle of the night?"
"He felt it too," Mina said softly.
"Oh?" Amy replied. Then, as it sunk in, "Oh!"
"Exactly," she said, running a hand through her long blond hair. It felt strange to be not wearing her bow, but she'd run out of the house so quickly... oh well, maybe she could borrow some hair something from Raye. "So where do we begin? I don't think going to Serena's house in the middle of the night is a good idea."
"May I ask something?" Malachy said, his voice tight and strange. "What the hell is going on here?"
Mina smiled sadly. "Don't worry about it for the moment, Mal... just follow along. I think you'll figure it out before everything's said and done."
He frowned. "Mina..." He shook his head slowly and looked carefully at each one of them -- Raye, her face pale and scared; Amy, still blushing from her slip; Darien, nearly crazy with worry; Lita, angry that someone would dare mess with her friend; Jay, his azure eyes kind with understanding; and lastly Mina, his beautiful Mina. His gaze settled on her and he smiled. "All right, Lady Love, I trust you. I just... I just hope you'll explain this to me sometime."
She smiled. "Hai, I promise. Now shall we go search for Serena? I think we should start at the Command Center, as Amy said."
"And how are we going to get in?" Lita asked.
Mina shrugged. "Luck? Magic? Venus Crescent Beam Smash? Does it really matter? Let's go."
"Should we... should we change?" Raye asked hesitantly, glancing at Malachy.
This quiet question, so unusual for Raye, stopped Mina mid-stride. She, too, looked at Malachy. "I... I guess so." With a sigh she pulled out her henshin wand. "Venus... Star... POWER!" she cried.
"Jupiter... Star... POWER!"
"Mars... Star... POWER!"
"Mercury... Star... POWER!"
Each girl transformed as, in a flash of light, Darien became Tuxedo Mask and Jay became Jadeite, complete with silver and red uniform. Darien smiled. "It's been a long time since you've worn that, ne?"
He grinned back rather sheepishly. "I didn't even know I could until the other day. It's just like the one I wore in the Silver Millennium... I hadn't realized how much I missed it."
Malachy looked to be on the verge of fainting. "M... Mina?" he stuttered, staring at Sailor Venus with eyes as round as saucers.
She bit her lip and turned away. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Mal... I... you... if you hate me, I understand. I should never have lied to you..." Wiping angrily at a tear, she faced him with a shrug. "I should have told you, honestly... but I... gomen nasai, Malachy," she whispered.
"We'll go on ahead," Mars said, understanding this moment and recognizing their need to be alone. "Come on, minna," she told the others, taking off at a run in the direction of Crown Arcade, otherwise known as the Command Center.
"I would have understood, Mina," he said at last.
"Would you have?" she questioned, unusually somber. "How could anyone understand? This life... it's unlike anything that can be imagined."
"Jay understands. Darien understands."
"Jay and Darien are
part of it!" she countered. "Darien is Tuxedo Mask and Jay is Jadeite,
one of Prince Endymion's protectors from--" she stopped, suddenly realizing
something. "Oh my Gods!" she breathed, her bright blue eyes widening.
How could she not have seen it before, especially after he and Jay both
responded to the call of Serena's scream!? The same way, she supposed,
Raye had never seen it in Jay: she didn't want to see it, didn't
want to acknowledge that the man she loved had been her enemy, had betrayed
her. "Malachite!" she cried softly, staring up into that darkly handsome
face that was now -- and had once been -- so familiar to her.
@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-
"I was wondering...
well, I mean, I was hoping... that is... could you... would you... ah...
might you consider accompanying me to Queen Serenity's ball tomorrow evening?"
Malachite asked his own reflection.
"I've heard of narcissism, Mal-san, but isn't this a little extreme?" a sarcastic voice said from behind him.
"I was practicing, Zoisite," he growled, not even turning around.
"Practicing... of course. Are you planning to ask Lady Mina?"
"You know he is," Jadeite said teasingly, striding into the room flanked by Nephrite and Prince Endymion. "He hasn't been able to take his eyes off her pretty blond head since we got here."
"Just like you and Lady Mars. You're planning to ask her, ne?" Malachite replied. "She's a bit too prickly for my taste."
"She's tough," Nephrite defended. "I like her."
"Not as much as you like Jupiter's Princess," Endymion said with a grin.
"And not as much as you like Queen Serenity's daughter!" the four chorused at him. He grinned and blushed, but didn't deny it, and the Generals were heartened to see their melancholy Prince so happy for once.
"I should say you need a bit more practice," Zoisite told his commander with a grin.
"I don't see you winning any confidence contests when it comes to asking Lady Mercury," Malachite tossed back.
The younger General blushed and smoothed his blond curls. "I will. I just haven't had the time yet, that's all," he said defensively.
"Oh no?" Jadeite asked. "You've only spent every moment with her since we got here. You can't tell me chess is that absorbing."
"It depends on the company," he said with a wry smile.
"I don't think any of us have room to talk," Endymion said. "None of us have asked our respective ladies to the ball yet, have we?" His gaze encompassed the small group, and no one would meet his eyes. "I thought not. I have a perfectly good reason, of course, but none of the rest of you do, so go on and do it! Consider it an order from your Prince!"
She stared up at the
beautiful, blue Earth and gave a long sigh. It was a dark night,
but the Moonscape glowed with its usual silver light, illuminating what
should have been a stark, barren land. "One must find
beauty where she can,"
she told him, "and I guess Queen Serenity understands that better than
anyone. Look what she did here... the flowers, the fountains, the
buildings... it's paradise."
A silver brow rose and he replied, "You've never been to Earth, I take it."
"Nai, but could anywhere be more wonderful than here? Except Venus... sometimes, on a night like this when everything's so quiet, I find myself missing my home... my former home, I mean, because the Moon is my home now."
"Is it? Or is the Moon just the place where you live?"
Minako looked up at him, startled. "I... never really thought about it." There was a long, comfortable silence before she said, "And what of you, Malachite? Where is your true home?"
"With you," he replied softly, simply.
She blushed and smoothed imaginary wrinkles from her skirt. "Malachite, I... that is... may I ask you something?"
He looked startled for a moment, but then he nodded. "Of course, Mi'ko-chan, you can ask me anything."
She smiled, but then turned away. "Well, you see, tomorrow night, as you know, Queen Serenity--"
"Is having a ball. Yes, I remember."
"Of course you do. I was wondering, actually--"
"Would you like to--" he interrupted.
"Go to the ball with you? Naturally, silly, that's what I've been trying to--"
"Get up the courage to ask--"
"All afternoon!" she finished with a bright grin, turning to face him again. "You really do need to stop reading my mind, Mal-chan. It's disconcerting."
He grinned, impressed. "'Disconcerting', hmm? You've been friends with Lady Ami too long!"
She laughed. "Truly told. So... shall I see you tomorrow evening?"
He bowed, his gray-violet eyes twinkling. "If not sooner, Lady Love."
Minako stopped just short of the entrance to the ballroom and took a deep breath. She had run all the way from her room, and it wouldn't do to enter breathing heavily. After a moment she had control of herself again, and with an elegant gesture to the guards, entered the glittering room. "Oh!" she gasped, her azure eyes wide as she gazed all around her.
Had there ever been a more beautiful sight in the Universe? Had there ever been ladies as elegant, men as handsome, food more temptingly presented? Minako couldn't imagine that there had been -- or would be again -- and her smile was even more dazzling than the shimmering jewels most of the women wore.
Just then Zoisite appeared at her side, and, with a lavish bow, asked her to dance. "And where is Ami-chan?" she asked teasingly.
He grinned brightly and gestured across the crowded, noisy ballroom. "Dancing with Jadeite, as you can see. She left me all alone," he pouted, "and as far as I can tell you're the most beautiful woman in the room besides Ami, so here I am."
"I'm sure you've said that to every woman in here, but they were all smart enough to turn you down. Ami-chan may seem gentle and meek, but I pity anyone foolish enough to make her angry!"
He laughed. "Surely you're brave enough."
She took the hand he offered and smiled brightly. "I'm sure I am."
As he danced her around the room, she managed to ask, "You haven't seen Lord Malachite, have you?"
He grinned knowingly at her. "Look over there at your friend Makoto!"
"Oh dear... how's Nephrite taking this?"
"Pretty well, I should think: he just snatched up Lady Rei!"
Minako laughed, realizing quite suddenly that she was having the time of her life. "You, Lord Zoisite, are more fun than I thought you would be! Do you do anything besides play chess?"
"I delight in making lovely ladies such as yourself laugh," he quipped. Just then the music began to fade and he let her go. "One lovely lady in particular, so if you will excuse me..."
Minako grinned and curtsied in response to his elegant bow. "Certainly, Lord Zoisite. I had a marvelous time." She turned away from him and went to find Malachite, whom she nearly knocked into in her haste. "Oh! Gomen, Mal-chan, I wasn't paying attention."
He smiled fondly. "Something on your mind, Lady Love?"
"Nai," she said with a shake of her head, "it's just a bit warm in here."
"Perhaps a stroll then?" he suggested in a deceptively mild voice.
"That would be lovely." It wasn't long before they were away from the crowded, stuffy atmosphere of the ball and Minako was up to her usual chatter once again. "Did you see Ami-chan with Lord Zoisite?" she was saying. "They've hardly stepped away from one another all evening! Isn't it marvy, Malachite? It's so nice seeing everyone happy!"
He shrugged. "Hai, Zoi-kun does seem rather smitten with Lady Mercury... and Nephrite with Lady Jupiter... and Jadeite with Lady Mars."
"Poor Jadeite. Rei-chan can be... well, stubborn."
"I've heard," Malachite said dryly.
They came to a bench set among an arbor of roses and she settled down on it while he stood with his back to her, staring up at the full Earth. "So I ask as I did yesterday, Lord Malachite, what of you? Is there no one you're smitten with?" she said, struggling to keep her voice light so he wouldn't know how much his answer meant to her.
There was a long silence, and she noticed his gaze never wavered from the crystal blue orb of his home. "Do you really have to ask that?" he said at last. "Haven't you guessed by now, my sweet Ai no Senshi?" He turned to her then, eyes a deep, dark, stormy purple.
Minako blushed deeply and looked away from his intense gaze. "Hai, well, I thought maybe it was just--"
"Wishful thinking? Nai. Minako, I--"
"No," she said softly, "don't say anything. I know you understand how things are, Malachite. I am the leader of my Princess' Guardians... and you the leader of your Prince's. Our duty--"
"Duty, Mi'ko-chan?"
"Duty, Malachite. I can't forget that Princess Serenity comes first. You understand, I know you do... Doesn't Prince Endymion come first to you?"
He frowned and shook his head. "Minako, there's more to life than duty!" These words gave him pause, for he had never thought to hear himself utter them. "More to life than duty... oh, Minako, before I met you I never would have said that! But I can say it now, and I can believe it," he said, sitting down beside her and taking her small, pale hands in his large dark ones. "I do love you, Minako, with all my heart. I don't understand it, honestly... I don't believe in love... but, damn it, some part of me understands that you are love, and that pretending to feel something other than what I truly do would be wrong and just plain stupid."
Startled, Minako realized this was the longest she had ever heard him speak at a stretch. Her own eyes traveled across the Moonscape and up into the dark, starless sky to settle where his had once rested. "We are so different, Malachite. I belong here, on the Moon, with my Princess, and you belong..." she trailed off, but as she turned back to him her eyes spoke volumes and he could see the light of his home planet reflected in their sapphire depths.
"Don't, Minako," he whispered, "please."
"Mal-chan, you know we can't--"
"We must," he said, his voice softly urgent.
"Nai... you know we have a duty to perform."
"Duty be damned!" he cried, the angry words carrying him to his feet.
She stared helplessly at his broad, straight back, desperate to make him understand. Oh, Malachite... Malachite, my darling, my love, my brave, strong Prince... Minako's eyes burned as she tried to contain her tears, and she didn't speak for fear that her voice would betray her.
"I can't let you go, Minako. I can't... I can't live my life haunted by the memory of a love that never got born, that was killed before it was even given a chance." He turned back to her and she saw something glinting golden from his hand. "I had this made for you, Mi'ko-chan," he said softly, holding the ring out for her to see.
She gasped, taken aback by its simple beauty: it was a chain made from golden hearts, the one in the center larger than the rest and set with a beautiful yellow stone. "Oh, Mal-chan, it's so lovely," she said quietly, her words seeming paltry and cheap in comparison to the ring.
"It's a yellow diamond, Minako, a rare, beautiful and precious thing... just like you, Lady Love, Mina mine. I honestly don't believe I could live without you, and those words would sicken me if I were speaking them to anyone else. I don't need people, Minako, but I need you. Don't ask me why or how... but I know I do."
She shook her head, astounded. "I don't know what to say," she finally admitted.
"Say you love me too. Say you'll wear my ring until we meet again. Say that when I come back to you, we will be married. But just say you love me, Minako, and nothing else will matter."
Jumping up, she threw herself into his arms, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Mal-chan no baka, of course I love you. Of course I love you. Mal-chan no baka..." she repeated the words again and again, and he just held her, stunned.
When she finally pulled away, he slipped the ring onto her finger and kissed her deeply, pouring all the love he felt into the act. "We leave tomorrow, my darling... you know that, don't you?"
She nodded sadly. "Her Majesty told me, hai. I requested she not tell the others... I wanted them to be happy tonight, to not have to worry about it."
A gentle smile graced his handsome features for a moment. "I shall miss you, but I promise I'll come back."
"I'll wait for you,
Mal-chan. I'll wait for you forever."
@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@-
"Mina?" Malachy asked, concerned at the strange, distant expression on her face. "Mina, what is it?"
Shaking away the cobwebs of memory, she focused her attention on him again. "Nothing, I just... I was..." she shivered. "I'm just... tired... our friend, Serena, Sailor Moon, seems to be in some sort of trouble, and now..." she trailed off, unable to meet his eyes.
"Did you just call me 'Malachite'?" he asked after a moment.
She looked up at him, azure eyes narrow as she studied his handsome face. He obviously had no memory of either the Silver Millennium or Queen Beryl, that much she could tell. So, instead of breaking the news to him now, in the middle of all this mess, she shook her head. "Nai, I think you misheard. Shall... shall we go? The others will be wondering where I am."
He grabbed her arm as she turned away. "You could have told me, Mina. I would have believed you."
"Would you?" she asked softly, sadly.
"I knew you were the model for Sailor V, didn't I? It only makes sense..." he shook his head wonderingly, "it only makes sense that you are Sailor V."
"No, not Sailor V anymore... Sailor Venus, sworn to protect my princess."
A shadow passed over his face, and for a heart-stopping moment she thought he might remember. But then it cleared and that familiar, wry smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Of course, that's why you were so upset when I compared you to Venus. Oh, Mina... what made you think you couldn't trust me?"
"I barely knew you."
He looked stunned, hurt as though she had struck him. "You can say that after the other night?" he whispered.
Her stern mask melted away and she sighed so heartbreakingly that he wanted to weep. "Nai, Mal-chan, I didn't mean it," she whispered, her voice sounding strangely foreign. "You know how I feel about you... but..."
"But what, Mina? Why do I feel as though we've had this conversation before?"
"Because we have, my darling, and last time I gave in... and you betrayed me."
He frowned, more confused than ever. "What are you talking about?"
"I know my duty, Malachy, and this time no one is going to cause me to stray from it. I wish I had made that same decision before, but I was too weak, and I loved you too much."
"Mina..."
"I love you now, more than I even realized... and I'm so confused. I don't know what to do, Mal! What do I say? How do I act? You know my secret now. Does that change anything?"
"It doesn't change how I feel about you. I love you, Mina, so much that it scares the hell out of me. On a normal day, that fear would be enough to stop me, but with you, everything I know to be true isn't, and everything I've thought to be impossible can happen," he said, turning her around to face him. "I love you, Mina! Damn it, if you don't want this then tell me now, because I don't think I can stand another minute not knowing. I don't know if I can go back to the way I was without you... don't you remember my song, Mina? It was for you, every word, and every word was meant. Please, Minako, don't shut me out."
The use of her Silver Millennium name startled her. "Do you... do you remember?" she asked, stunned.
"Remember what!?" he cried, disgusted.
"You called me 'Minako', something you haven't called me in... a long time."
He frowned. "I've never called you that before. I just thought... do you not like it? Is this nickname the key to some other secret you're hiding from me?"
Her head dropped in shame. "Gomen nasai, Mal-chan. I'm not trying to hurt you. Please trust me, please just let this one lie."
"Gods, Mina, Gods... as if there is anything I could ever deny you. I would give you the stars if they were within my reach, I would give you the Moon and all the planets of the Universe. But, my dearest love, all I have to offer is myself... and this." Letting go of her arms, he reached into his pocket.
Mina closed her eyes, knowing exactly what he was going to be holding when she opened them. He lifted her hand and she felt something cool slide onto her ring finger. "It was my grandmother's. I... I'm not asking for anything, Mina, just letting you know how much I love you. Please give us a chance, Mina."
"I can't let you go, Minako. I can't... I can't live my life haunted by the memory of a love that never got born, that was killed before it was even given a chance. Please give us a chance, Minako." Malachite's words from so long ago haunted her as she stared long and hard at his current Self before glancing back down at the beautifully, poignantly familiar ring that graced her left hand. "The song..." she whispered. "You... gave me this ring... and the song... and... Gods," she said, her voice failing her completely. "What a fool I was, Malachy!" she finally managed. "How could I have ever thought there was a point in resisting you?"
Though the words confused him -- again -- he understood their point well enough and he swept her off the ground. "Do you--"
"Love you? Mal-chan no baka, you know I do."
"Say it," he whispered fiercely, his lips nearly touching hers.
"Malachy Levinworth, I love--" He didn't let her finish the sentence, instead cutting it off with a long, deep kiss that set her head spinning. When he finally set her down again -- and she had a chance to recollect herself -- Mina grinned up at him. "The oothers will be wondering where we are. Come on, Mal; I have a feeling we'll need you to help us find Serena."
End III