GOM: Chain of Hearts: CHAPTER TWO

by Alina <alinasan@yahoo.com>


GOMCOH 2:
AN:
1. A lot of those loose plot points start to tie in here.

"Route Venus"
Song by Naoko Takeuchi, translated
by Alex Glover

The Sea spreads out wide
The wind comes blowing this way
It may be a little cold
but start running forth

Do not forget about yourself
The one I love the most
Even though it's hard
from here I look out
and see the desert dawn

Silver Millennium:
******************
A shiver went through Mina as she sat, reviewing
the battle plans. She didn't want to be doing
this, but duty left her no choice. The shield
was holding, but keeping track of what was happening
on the planet below was vital.

"Queen Selenity asks for you."Artemis said
bounding in and onto her lap. "She's
in the Prayer room, at the top of the Crystal
Tower."

"What? Why?" Mina looked up as she stood
and transformed. She should have been in
battle gear to start, she thought frowning
at herself. Her mind was elsewhere--with
Malachite. Things did not look good for
him and the earth forces from the latest
reports. If only their information was clearer.

Why was the Queen summoning her?
This had to be important, and
guilt washed down her spine. Perhaps, Queen
Selenity knew how Mina had betrayed her
by helping Serena see Endymion. She was
going to chastise her for that. " The
day of beckoning is at hand." She said
to herself, as she walked, head down
to the High Tower.

Down the shiny marble halls she travelled until she reached the chamber
where the Queen stood, graceful as always,
staring out the window at the giant blue Earth.
Venus paused, hesitant to disturb the tranquil beauty of the
scene of the woman gazing up at the world. The Giant blue-green
Orb looked so peaceful from here, it was hard to believe
that far below the clouds war raged.

At the sound of her footfall creating a musical chime on the
crystal tile, the Queen turned towards her looking over
her shoulder. Her long white gold hair glowed with reflected
earth-light.

"Venus!" She said, holding out her hands as she turned around.

Venus stepped forward, and tried to curtsey
but was stopped by the tug of her hands
from her Queen. She kneeled instead, looking
up at the Queen. As always, she was struck
by the woman's beauty and grace. "She
makes me feel so peaceful." Venus thought, feeling
the gnawing ache in her heart stop. Perhaps
the Queen had called her to tell her good
news, and not to chastise her.

"Our peace is at an end." The Queen shut her eyes against her
fear. with quiet desperation she whispered "An ancient evil
has returned." Like the planet above her, the calm
surface was but a facade covering trouble.
"Selenity?" Venus asked very surprised. She'd
never seen the Queen express hopelessness before.
Of all the things she'd expected, this was not one of them.

"After a millennium of peace, this Kingdom will be
attacked. " The Queen opened her
eyes,which were moist with unshed tears. A ruler does not cry.

"Already the Outer Kingdoms are falling under the assault.
I'm afraid an attack on the Moon is inevitable."

"What!" Venus cried, not wanting to
ask her next question. She could already
see the answer in the Queen's eyes.
"But what of Earth?" The words tore
out of her. Malachite's face flashed
through her mind. "Has it fallen?" She
wasn't sure she'd asked the question aloud.

"Yes." Queen Selenity's voice was so quiet that Venus did not hear it
at first. When the words registered, Venus slid slowly to the ground,
detransforming as she went. Salty tears slipped silently down her
face.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't cry." Mina
replied her voice cracking on the words.
She struggled to swallow and speak, but she couldn't.

"Venus...Mina..."Selenity whispered,
as she folded Mina into her arms. "I'm
sorry. I knew you cared for Malachite."

Venus wondered how the Queen
knew that, when she'd barely had the
chance to know it herself. Venus jerked,
suddenly realizing through her own loss
and pain--SERENA. ENDYMION. No coherent
thought formed, just the realization that
if Malachite was---she couldn't say the
words---then Endymion must be----how could
she protect Serena from the stabbing,
twisting knowledge of his fate?

As if reading her mind, the Queen continued
softly. "Serena must not find out. If she
knew that Endymion--" The Queen could
not say the words either."My daughter
must not know." She said more forcefully.

"YOU KNOW!?" Mina sat up, surprise
stopping her tears. "How!?"

Gently the Queen laid a hand on Mina, willing the girl's emotions to still.

"I knew." The words floated like moonbeams. "I knew all along about
her trips to Earth, and Endymion. About your role covering for her.
My discovery was inevitable, Mina, for they never would have met if
I had not allowed it."

"All this time, we hid, snuck and you knew..."She accused, the words
boiling out of her.

"Yes. I had no choice. I could not openly encourage or permit her
to love another woman's fianc?. Not when the price was war--but I
searched the stars for answers, and was told, war was inevitable.
The longer I waited, the worse the war would grow to be."

"It's pretty bad right now." Mina observed, her arms holding
herself as she rocked.

"I know." The Queen lowered her eyes from Mina's, and turned
to walk back to the window. "And the real reason for that
lies not in my resisting that old curse, but even further
back in time." She paused, gathering her thoughts.

"A very long time ago, the Dragon of Night swam in Chaos.
A great warrior sealed Chaos inside of her, and I
chased the Dragon to the Earth where it went
to sleep, awaiting the birth of a new
order. I took the form of a human,
and stayed with a poor woodcutter's family. I
started searching for the Dragon, so
I could kill it and take its jewel"

She paused only to reassure herself that Mina was still paying
attention. She was, but seemed a little entranced.

"A Prince fell in love with me and for my sake, killed the
Dragon, removing the jewel in the Dragon's forehead"

The Queen swivelled, and brought up the shining silver crystal in her hands.

"The Power in this crystal is so great, that with it, I created the
Kingdoms's
of the Silver Millennium, and created a home for my people among the people
of this world. I've used this to preserve the good of humanity."

"What does that have to do with the
war?" Mina asked shakily. She didn't
want to be disrespectful, but she was very
confused why the Queen was telling her this.
She didn't want to hear a fairy tale. Not
now, not after--

"That is what this war is really about.
This Crystal belonged to the Dragon Metallia
which is not dead, just partly banished
from the physical world. It wants the
crystal back,and its using Beryl to get it. "

Mina bit her lip, but held the Queen's gaze.

"Beryl is possessed by Metallia. Metallia
has no form of her own, and will take
over Beryl when she can." Selenity paused, swallowing hard.
"Her power is so immense, that the Earth forces
and our own will crumble before her. I
am not sure that I can stop her this time, if
I did not succeed before."

"If she's so powerful, why does she need this crystal?" Mina asked
looking at the small glistening object.

"I don't know. I sought this gem based on a
legend, and am now acting on a prophecy."
Selenity lowered the crystal. "Foolishly, I had thought the
dragon defeated the first time I gained the crystal."

"And it's back now?"

"For the fourth time. I reawakened it twice before--
Once, when I pledged Endymion to Beryl. I used
the crystal then to create a star-seed for him, the first
new star-seed to be created. But that triggered
the Dragon's reappearance. We fought her to
Nemessis, changing the orbit of that planet so wildly that
it was lost from the sun."

"But I thought it's ruler cursed you?"

" In a way, that legend is right. The ruler
of Nemesis was already angry at me, for reawakening
the dragon. When my daughter was born, I used
the crystal again to create her star-seed. I
thought that I knew better how to control the process
this time--but I was wrong. I did make her more powerful,
but still the Dragon appeared. She attacked the sun."

"And that's when my father and uncle..."

The Queen shut her eyes briefly. "Yes.
That time, your father and
Serena's smashed their own sailor crystals
to save the sun and destroy Metallia's
corporeal dragon form forever. Only your father lived,
reduced to pure human form."

"I wasn't told any of this...just that
old legend" Mina replied. "and I liked that
version better. I don't understand this tale.
It's too complicated. You're an alien.
Beryl's possessed by a demon. And the demon
wants the silver crystal?"

Selenity smiled in amusement and amazement.
"I wouldn't have put it that way, but I think you
understand quite well. I wouldn't say I'm an
alien though. The Selenity you know is the fusion
of two life forms. My star-seed nests and interacts
with my human heart-crystal. Together, they
create my "Sailor Crystal." This gives me powers
which makes me different from the ordinary humans
of earth, even the more powerful ones."

"I'm an alien?" Mina asked backing up.
And she'd *thought* her day had hit its low
point.

"I placed within you a "Star-Seed "
during the ceremony of transformation. So,
I suppose you are not wholly human anymore."

"But I don't want to be inhuman!" Mina
whispered, her arms unwrapping from around her body.
"I want to be me!"

"Mina, your powers give you a better chance
to fight Metallia. We alone stand a chance because
of what we are. Ultimately though, the battle
can only be won with this." She
indicated the silver crystal.

"Why did you tell me this!?" Mina yelled.
"I don't want to know these things!"
All her anger, grief and confusion erupted
in this challenge. She blushed immediately, seeing
the gentle look on Selenity's face. She bowed
her head. "I'm sorry My Queen" She covered
her hands with her face. "I know there is
a reason for this." She transformed, for the
first time aware of the significance of the
energy swirling around her.
"I am ready to fight for our Kingdom.
Metallia will not conquer and she shall
never get this Silver Crystal."

"You have a lot to bear, Venus. You do
not need to bear the full load alone."
The Queen closed her eyes for a moment and
two glowing objects appeared from her body, a long sword
and a small crescent-shaped compact.

"What's this stuff?!" Venus asked in awe.

The Crystal began to glow in Selenity's hands. Weakly Selenity replied "My
sailor- crystal, and my heart crystal--the essences of both my selves."

"But that means!"Venus paused, understanding now why the Queen had told her
the story. She wanted Venus to understand this
sacrifice. The Queen expected this to be her
final battle. "Do my Crystals do that?" Venus asked.

"May they never need to be so used. They are not like this in their natural
states, and I altered them with the help of the Master Engineer. Only
the Silver Crystal keeps me alive now, with the loss
of both my crystals."

"Shouldn't I give these to Serena? She's the Princess!" Venus asked.

"She must not know! I've told no one else--not even Artemis and Luna.
To fight our best we must have hope, but as Queen I must prepare for the
worst."

Venus nodded, realizing how destabalizing the Queen's loss of hope
would be for the kingdom. Especially for Serena---her mother's
impending self-sacrifice would devastate her just as much as knowledge
of Endymion's death.

Venus looked up at the Earth, and through sheer force of will pushed her
grief over Malachite aside. It was hard to face what
would come, but she had to be strong.

"Forgive me for placing this burden on you."
The Queen said again. " Protect Serena for me"

"With my life" Venus started to reply, but then
felt her self gripped by Selenity's pale, almost
translucent hands, and drawn into a fierce hug.

"Will you tell her I'm proud of her? I never said it to her. I never told
her---I never told her so much. Let her build a new path. Let
her create a new world of hope" Selenity whispered "And love."
The sigil on her forehead glowed faintly.

"Hey! We haven't lost yet!" Venus smiled weakly, through her tears, she
reached up a hand to wipe the older woman's tears away. "This could all
work out!"

For the first and last time, Selenity shed her Queen transformation, and
gathered Venus to her.

"I love you, Mina." She said simply, as the light of the crystal which
kept her alive pulsed around them.

* * * * * *

Mina groaned as the light hit her.
"AMY!!!" She muttered. "Why did you
open the drapes--It's too early."
She put her head under the pillow
and attempted to rejoin the dream
she was having. She'd been in a beautiful
room of exotic hot house flowers, and a soldier
had been looking up into her eyes.
He held her hands, professing
his undying love to her, and she'd
been about to see his face.

"They've been open, Mina. It's
just that past noon, the direction of
the rays changes enough to enter through our window."

"NOON!?" Mina shot up. "I'm late!!!
I have volleyball practice!! OH NO Why didn't you wake me!?"

"I attempted to do so, but I got no response. Besides, I'm not
your mother!"

"AMY!" Mina whined, a whirlwind of clothes and toothbrush, and hair
ribbons.

Amy giggled. "Besides, I figured you had a late night with EZ."

Mina paused, looking up at Amy over her shoe.
"You set me up."

Amy blushed. "Mina, I--let
me explain--OHHHHH"She gasped
as a whirlwind of Mina all but
knocked her over.

"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU-- I"M LATE LATE LATE." Mina
said hugging Amy tightly before running at full speed out the door.

"Mina WAIT!" Amy screamed. "I think EZ dropped a disk here yesterday!Can you
give it to him, since you're going to campus?" She tossed
the disk to Mina who caught it neatly
with a wink, and nodded. "Will do! I've got
to book it majorly now though!"

"You'll explain later why it was under the table!" Amy called
with a barely suppressed giggle.

"For a girl who was quiet about her own love life, she always managed
to pry into other people's"Mina mumbled as she jumped down the stairs.

* * * *

"Professor Spade? He's in his laboratory, but he said he didn't
want to be disturbed." His assistant informed her when
she went to find EZ later.

Mina frowned. She'd spent awhile on her hair before coming here, enduring
the other girl's teasing in the locker room about why she couldn't join them
for lunch. A few of the girls in the "Sisters of the Millennium" (SOM) club
had snubbed her when she'd said she had a date.

She didn't of course, she just planned to get EZ to
join her for lunch. But of course, the plan was not working.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes Miss....if you like, I can leave a message." The assistant fiddled
with an odd dragon shaped pin, a sharp contrast to the white lab coat she
wore.

Mina noticed it was the same as Hikari's. "I see that everywhere!" she
thought.

The intercom buzzed. "Keiko, are you *sure* the disks' not in the
office?"

"I looked already sir. I'm sorry sir." The frazzled woman replied.

A low muttered curse signalled the end of transmission. "Look again."

"And thank you too, Professor Spade." Keiko said. "Of course I had nothing
else to do but come in and search for *your* lost disk. Typical male
attitude. I'm late for a meeting too!"

"If you like, Keiko," Mina offered " I'll look for it, I'm not busy."

"WOULD YOU!?"The woman's eyes lit up, as she grabbed her purse. "You're
an angel. Here's the description of the file name. May the Goddess smile
on you!!"

Mina giggled to herself at the odd woman, as she entered the lab.

Hunched over a microscope, squinting with one eye, Spade stood. "Keiko,
did you find it?" He asked not even turning around.

"Sure." Mina replied smiling, as she handed it to him.

Hearing her voice, his fingers forgot to close around the disk, and it fell
to the floor. They both bent immediately to pick it up, their heads hitting
each other.

"OW---" Mina cried, rubbing her head.

"Damn it!" He said. "What are you doing here? Who let you in?"

"I brought you your disk, and you're welcome." She was more than a
little taken aback by his manner. She had been so excited to see him, that
it was all she'd thought of all day. Now that she was here, he seemed to
act as if he'd all but forgotten who she was.

"I suppose you can find your way out." He said distractedly.

She tugged self consciously at the straps of the dress she wore, biting her
lower lip.

A minute later, he realized he could still hear her breathing softly.

"Oh, yeah, thanks." He said.
She continued to stare at him, making no move to leave. "So where was it?"

"You dropped it last night." She
said. "Under my table."

"Oh yeah." He paused and looked up at her. "Do you want something else?"

Your attention. She wanted to say it, but she couldn't.

"No, I was just leaving." She felt so confused. After last night, she'd
thought they were a couple.

She'd been so happy all morning, just thinking of seeing him.
Wondering when he'd kiss her for the first time. Where
they would go on their next date? Laughing
over the little things he'd done that night.

How could a person change so much from moment to moment? He almost seemed
like two people sometimes. One she liked and
the other that made her want to use him for target practice.

"Hey, Mina, wait." His voice called her just as she was stepping out
of the lab.

"Yes?" She swirled around, her eyes hopeful.

"Get the door on the way out. I don't want to be disturbed."

She slammed the door so hard, that the
crystals he was working on shattered.

"Curse it! Now I have to start over." He moved, and almost tripped over
a small cloth object. He recognized it as Mina's
purse, from the faint whiff of her perfume
that clung to the yellow leather. The
clasp had come undone, and a small cylindrical
pen-shaped object rolled out. The top of the
orange pen had a heart on it.

"What in the world is this?" he muttered, turning
the object over. The crystals began to glow
faintly. He turned around, shocked. Slowly
he moved the rod away, and the crystals quieted.

"There's something about this." He thought
as he put it away in the drawer.

After half an hour, he moved over to the phone and called
Mina. Hearing the answering machine, he hung
up, disappointed. He should have known
Mina wouldn't have reached her apartment
by then. Still he'd wanted to talk to her.
He'd been in such a bad mood when she'd come
by, and he knew he hadn't been nice.

"If only I didn't need to finnish this research so fast." He frowned.

He stared at the letter he'd received that
morning. He'd come into the lab excited and
full of energy, planning to kill a couple of
hours until he could call Mina. But all that
changed when he read the note.

"Professor Spade:
I've received numerous
complaints about your appointment. A women's group
on campus has targeted you for disfavor--they complained
we do not hire enough women and we hired unqualified men.
Specifically, that we hired you. Normally
I would dismiss student complaints, but your case
is special.
I hired you, without much teaching experience.
Just a favor to the new CEO of Stanton Electronics.
They donate so much money, I decided you would be
an investment.
But you are not worth this fuss. I'm giving
you three days to astound me. Show this campus
what a great research scientist you are or you're
fired." The dean hadn't minced words in the scribbled
note.

"Publish or Perish indeed" he thought "Usually you
at least get longer than this!" He needed
a break through and he needed it soon.

His pride had stopped him from
telling anyone of this development. He
didn't like being a failure."I'll make it up to her,
when this is resolved." He thought, turning
on his disks and analyzing the patterns again.
* * *

"Hey! You're late Mina--but you're
lucky the talk hasn't started yet. You just
missed the movie." Hikari called as Mina
walked by the student center.

"I'm late? For what?" Mina said.

"For the Sailor V lecture--I gave you the tickets yesterday
remember?" Her friend laughed "Good thing I saw you,
or you'd have forgotten, right?"

Mina cocked her head to the side. Lecture? On a
Saturday? Still, she could use some time to get
her mind off EZ. She'd been about to go play
some video games, but maybe this would be better.

She entered the room and pushed her way to
a look for a seat. "Gosh, it's crowded." She
thought.

"Hey! Mina! Its Molly..." A voice called. "Do
you need a seat? I saved one for Serena, but I
guess she's not coming."

"Do you mind!?" Mina asked "Knowing her,
she's probably running here late!"

"She can get a seat at the back then, *if*
they let her in. They're strict at these things
I hear." Molly commented. "I was lucky to get her
a ticket in the first place!"

"What is this anyway? My friend Hikari talked me into it."

"You don't know? It's a Sisters of the Millennium
meeting--oh, the lecture is starting!"

"Welcome back! For those of you who have just joined us " She looked
straight
at Mina "I'm Lia la Met, founder of the Sisters of the Millennium Movement.
Our special guest is none other than Kaona Chitakeu! The artist behind the
phenomena that is Sailor V!"

The crowd of women cheered, snapping and chanting her name. Mina sighed.
Didn't she have any *male* fans? Specifically,
any *cute* male fans? At least then the meeting wouldn't be so boring.

She tried to listen, but she found the speech didn't have very much to do
with
Sailor V at all. The woman seemed to be rambling on about female superiority
to men, and how one day, cloning would allow women to be rid of the inferior
men once and for all.

Kanona exclaimed "Sailor V exemplifies a strong woman!
Despite her original skimpy outfit, she's more than just a male fantasy.
She's strong, smart and doesn't depend on a man to save her! I think that
women are actually stronger than men..and that's
how I draw V. She's not waiting for some man to save her!"

"Are they talking about *me*?" Mina wondered.
"Because I *want* to be protected by a guy, it just never happens.
I don't have to be, but I'd want it just the same."

"In contrast, the "Sailor Moon" stories
while concentrating on a team of women, throw
that gratuitous Tuxedo-clad twerp in to undermine
their abilities. Those girls are frequently shown
being caught off guard because of their
weak attitude toward men. "

"Hey, she doesn't understand it!" Thought Mina, noticing
Molly's rapt expression. "That's not how it is at all,
and 4 times out of 3 we're the one's saving Tux.
I can't believe it, they're all entranced! They're
licking this up! Doesn't anyone read the same stuff I do?"

"But Sailor V doesn't shirk her duty for a boyfriend!
She struggles, but ultimately
realizes that men are silly and useless. At
least that's how I draw her in my
latest versions." The woman rallied on.

"I don't know *any* such thing!" Mina frowned,
growing more annoyed as the woman continued.
"She's not drawing *me*...she's abusing my name!"

"So though she's lost popularity compared
to this Sailor Moon, I believe it is just a male
engineered plot! They can't stand seeing
a woman fighting on her own and winning!"

A certain side of Mina had always wanted to
hear the crowd roar her name, and worship
her but not like this. "Down with
the Sailor Scouts--Sailor V Sailor V
Sailor V!! She's a Sister of the Millennium"

"And in my latest comic, she joins the
fight of the "Sisters of the Millennium!"
Announced the artist holding up a large
poster of a Sailor V dressed entirely in
a grey pant/jacket uniform type thing, with a dragon
pin, her ribbon gone, and her hair tied back in a loose
pony tail.

Mina shouted "NO!!!!" And then blushed as the people around
her looked at her oddly. She shrunk down in her seat.
She hadn't been reading Sailor V comics lately,
not since Sailor Venus Mangas had started being published. How could this
have happened to her?! Her image was
being destroyed. This was like a nightmare.

"I'm sorry, I'm not feeling well at all I've got to go." Mina said,
running to the exit.

"You can't leave miss." A bulky woman in black said.

"Not without a pin. You must join."
The other said. They're eyes were kind
of glazed.

"Oh god!" Mina thought. "Somebody's
rotting in Denmark... This isn't
a nightmare, it's more like a Dark Agency or Negaverse plot."

She pondered what to do as she nervously
turned "I'll just sit down!heh heeh"
To herself she thought "Either I have
a talent for walking into these things, or
my imagination is on overdrive.
I don't know what that pin does but I'm not
taking it." All around the room,she could
see girls wearing the dragon pins.
The speech ended to a roar of applause
and that odd snapping. "Wear
the pins proudly women!!!" Lia la Met
called. "Give them to your friends!"

Molly and Hikari approached her,
their eyes curiously hollow for a moment
as they said "Mina, you *must* wear a pin."

"Not my style!" She said stumbling back.

"If you don't, you won't be allowed to see the great experiment!" Molly
pleaded.

"What's that?"

"It's tonight, and its going to be really cool." Molly gained some of
her expression back. "Come on, you act like you're afraid of joining."

"Uh, I belong to enough clubs already." She said, darting out the
door before anyone could stop her.

* * *

Mina entered her apartment and threw her book bag against the
wall. Amy ran out, holding the phone, "Serena, can you hold on?"
She asked, her gentle voice radiating concern "Mina?"

["Ask her about EZ"] the voice on the phone shouted ['I wanna
know what happened on the date!]

"Did you see EZ? Why'd you throw your bag?" She picked up the books.

"Sorry." Mina growled. "THAT MAN! I think I hate him."
She slumped on the couch, and reached for the Sailor-V
chips, but thought better of it. She got up and looked in the fridge.
"Sailor-V soda, candy-bars, ... Why'd you buy all this stuff!?"

"I didn't, you did. What's wrong??" Amy said puzzled.

["What'd she say!" the voice whined]

"EZ. "Professor Spade" I mean. I don't know how you can be friends with
him."
Mina flipped off her shoes, and grabbed a comic off the table.
She noticed it was the "New Adventures of V"
that she hadn't yet read. She crumbled it up and tossed it in the
garbage. Amy ducked to avoid a flying shoe.

["I can't hear!!!!"]

"Greg and I both think highly of him, Mina. What happened between you?"

"I don't want to talk about it." The blonde replied, picking up a Sailor
Moon
Comic "Things just aren't working the way I planned, that's all. For
anything."

"You can't plan to fall in love" Amy said gently.
Into the phone, she said "I'll call you back" And hung up.

"I don't know why he doesn't like me." Mina muttered again. "What
am I doing wrong!? What's wrong with me? We're supposed to be together!!!"

"Nothing is 'supposed to be,' Mina. People
and emotions change, especially across
lifetimes! I couldn't love Zoicite just
because of who he used to be. I would
have had to love who he became this time
around. And I wouldn't have, even if I
hadn't already fallen in love with Greg."

"I don't understand you Amy. You were against
giving EZ his memories of Malachite, but then
you pushed me and him together. Do you
think there's something to our past loves
or not?! Do you believe in soulmates or not!?"

"I don't know, Mina. Logically, I can hardly argue with the odds shown
by Neflite and Jaedite's pairing with Lita and Raye.
So I estimate a high probability for you and Malachite
to rekindle your love. Perhaps I'm just the odd exception
to prove the rule, by not loving Zoicite. Or perhaps
we never bonded our souls back then. I'm
just grateful that I love Greg now, in this lifetime.
But I suppose I prefer to believe we make our
own destinies and the past doesn't bind us."

"So why'd you set me up with EZ?" Mina asked.
She hadn't quite followed all of what Amy had said.

"Not just because of the past, because if I didn't
like him as a person I wouldn't have done it.
I just thought you'd get along.
So, do you like him?" Amy asked.

"NO. Yes. It's complicated." Mina shook her head.
" Just when I think I could like him, he says something
obnoxious. He's not like I remember on the moon!"
She blushed thinking of her romantic, passionate soldier.

"Didn't you listen to Serena, Lita and Raye talk
the other night!? Everything is different in this
lifetime, you don't just "pick up" where you left off."

"Well, I'm not sure we're even picking up at all."
Mina sighed. "I'm going to take a nap. This
had been a bad day. At least it can't get any worse."

"I almost forgot, your friend Katarina called.
She is in town...she wanted to see you tonight. It sounded urgent."

Amy sighed, as she pulled out a cloth to wipe the stain from the carpet
where Mina had smashed a Sailor-V cat food can.

Mina started to pick up the phone when her communicator went off.

"MINA!" Serena said. "What happened!?
Lita said she saw you and EZ having dinner!"
Eagerly she stared at her friend.

"Sorry, I don't want to talk about it, ok?" Mina said.

"You broke up already!?" Serena said "Oh no!"
She sighed "Did you know Molly broke up
with Melvin!? She suggested having a girl's
night out tonight, so you should come along."

"You have to be dating to break up." Mina said.
She turned around to face the mirror, the communicator
orienting on the huge Sailor-V picture.
"Well, the true course of love never
did run to those who wait. I'm not giving up."

"OMIGOSH! I totally forgot to go to this Sailor-V talk with Molly!" Serena's
voice blared.

"That's ok, you didn't miss much."

"She's going to be ticked at me! I'd better call her. See you later!" Serena
sang deactivating the communicator as she
said "It *was* an emergency Luna, really..."

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