GOM: Chain of Hearts: CHAPTER THREE

by Alina <alinasan@yahoo.com>


GOMCOH 3
1. The beginning is dark, but I promise the ending scene is funny.
At least, it is to my oddball sense of humor.

"Route Venus"

Open that window
The time of yours
is beginning now
Close the lids of your eyes
I wanted to have
One last kiss at night
Remember it

Truly
So much
That the sky crumbles down
I am crying in my heart
Our paths are separate from each other
It's destiny, the stars decided
The one that I chose
The blue route
The future looms ahead
Don't forget about it--

Route Venus, translated by Alex Glover
***************

"Silver Millennium"

Under the darkening dome covering the Moon Kingdom, Venus gripped the sword
the Queen had given her. The very sky seemed to be crumbling down on her.
Avoiding the shadows who attacked, she turned and looked for reassurance
one last time from her Queen. Selenity smiled at her,
and slid to the ground.

"Mother!" Serena cried out, seeing her mother faint. She rushed to cradle
her. "This is all my fault!" Venus could see the silvery
drops of liquid splash down her friend's beautiful face.

Venus observed as Selenity comforted her daughter. Was she telling
her goodbye? Or even now, did she lie to her daughter to
protect her? She saw Serena press the crystal back into her mother's
hands, as she refused to take it.

Venus looked up as dark forms replaced the shadows they'd struck down.
Heading straight toward the weakened Queen and distraught
Princess, four dark horsemen flew down. Taking command, Venus yelled
"QUICK EVERYONE! SURROUND THEM" She didn't need to tell
them what to do next. Mars used her flame arrows to shoot the
figures down.

Venus kept her concentration on the oncoming attack, realizing too
late that Serena had broken through their formation.

She turned, in time to see why--Endymion appeared, battered and
bloodied but intent on reaching Serena. She couldn't hear
what he said, or what Serena replied. Her relief that he was
alright died immediately. A huge explosion separated the pair.
Instinct and a noise pulled her attention back to the battle.

The enemy was closer now, having run on foot to attack.
They circled the Sailors, each facing a different opponent.

"You'll never get to the Queen!" Venus shouted, raising her glowing
stone sword. She could hear Serena's screams in the background, expressing
emotions she could not. Malachite had not died. Something far worse
had happened to him, Venus knew. She remembered what Selenity had
said about Beryl's possession. "It's not him" She told herself. "Not
anymore."

Malachite's expression didn't change as he stepped forward, sword raised to
strike her down. With a coolness Venus hadn't known she'd possessed, she
raised her sword and ran him through. Her face did not betray the tears
in her heart.

He didn't look surprised. A faint cynical smile curved his lips as he said
bitterly "I knew you didn't love me." His body crashed towards hers, but
Venus caught him in her arms. "Duty is your only companion. " He said, as
green blood oozed out. He braced himself against her. She drew back her
sword, and as he stumbled again, caught him. She stood
locked in that moment, while several things happened around her.

She saw Serena's body reflected in his eyes, as she heard Serena's scream.
The scene was lit for a second by the splintered light of Serena's sigil,
and then cast into a dim shadow.

Venus heard a man shout Malachite's name with all the longing and
pain she felt.

Finally, she heard Mercury's voice calling Serena's name, and without
looking up, Venus knew Serena was dead. The moment ended and Venus
began to react.

She placed his hands on hers, and on the hilt of the tear-slicked
stone sword. Softly she answered his accusations, realizing as she
did that he would never hear her now. With one hand, she reached up
and gently shut his eyes.

"I couldn't love you in life." She closed her own eyes to brace for
the impact.

"So let me try in death" She said the dramatic words almost casually,
as if that suggestion was natural in the circumstances. Even then,
she hesitated, thinking of Beryl's conquest. She'd sworn
to protect the crystal and Serena both. She couldn't abandon her duty,
no matter how much she wanted to do so. She wasn't even free to die,
let alone love.
She tore her hands from his, and whispered "Let me have one last
kiss to remember."

She leaned forward, her lips meeting his as he slid the sword through
her body. Without her as support, his body crashed forward knocking them
both to the ground. Maybe she imagined it, but the last thing she heard
was his voice saying her name. Was it a plea for forgiveness or a
condemnation of her actions?
* * * *
PRESENT
*************
Reluctantly, Mina picked up the phone and dialed the number that Amy
had jotted down for her.

She felt her heart wobble in its path, as Katarina answered. After an
exchange of pleasantries, Mina swallowed her heart and asked
"How's Alan? Did he come?" It bothered Mina that even if he
fell in love with Katarina, that he had never called her once.
In all the years since he found out she was alive, he'd never
spoken to her again.Even if her love for him had been one-sided,
she'd thought he cared about her as a little sister. Surely one call
would not have been too much to ask? But she was the one that had
hurt them, by faking her death. She thought she'd been noble, to
let the two grieve together while she suffered the dream of her
love alone. Did he hate her for that? Or did Alan's silence just
prove that she had *never* even been an important friend, let
alone a lover?

"He's fine, but he didn't come to Japan this time either. He sends his
love of course. But the reason I'm here is that I'm in the middle of
a case and may need your help."

"My help? Really?" Mina tried to keep her voice even.

"I can't discuss this over the phone. Are you free for dinner tonight?
On me of course." Katarina suggested. "We can talk over old times, even
if we'll get down to some new business!"

Mina agreed, and took down the room number and time and switched
off the cordless phone.

She sank to her bed, weighed down by a heaviness in her heart. Why was
nothing
working the way she wanted it to work? Why had nothing *ever* worked
the way she wanted it to work? She could list so many men--Ace, Adonis,
Alan,
Andrew, Aoshi, ..and that was just starting with the letter A. Some goddess
of love, she was.

She jumped a minute later as the phone went off her in her hand. Somehow,
her
heart started again, and she switched the phone on.

"Hello?" She said into the device.

A low, male voice spoke her name. "Mina? Is that you?" She didn't recognize
it, but the sound melted her right into her covers.

"Yes? Who is this?" She asked, her pulse fluttering. She didn't usually
pay attention to voices, but on the phone the sounds were isolated. She
felt entranced.

"Mina, It's EZ. You left your purse in the lab." He said rapidly, the
words as sharp as gun fire, breaking the spell.

"Did I? I'm sorry." She said automatically, then flinched. Sorry? She was
sorry?! He should crawl on hands and knees and apologize, because he was
the maggot, the amoeba, the ....low life form underneath her foot! She was
too
upset to speak. When she didn't say anything else, he spoke again to dispel
the silence between them.

"I'll bring it over." He said. "I'll be there soon. Wait for me." And then
he hung up.

Her first impulse was to think over how she looked, but as she met her own
eyes in the mirror she squelched the thought. He'd been a *jerk* this
afternoon, and she couldn't just sit here awaiting his arrival.

She got up and rapidly began to dress for dinner. In less time than she
usually liked to spend, she'd attired herself in a sunny yellow
mock turtle-neck silk dress that left her shoulders and arms bare, while
skimming down her figure. Like her old school uniform, the skirt was
short and flared out. Pulling her hair into its familiar style, she edged
out
the door. She stopped, and turned. Too bad she didn't have time to go to the
beauty salon, but she'd do the best she could. "I'll just comb that man
right
out of my hair!" She said, as she whipped her hair into a french twist.
"Dressed to the tens!"She smiled, admiring herself, looking for any money
stashed
in her other purses. "But very low on yen."

After a frantic search, she approached Amy, her eyes blue pools of
innocence.
"Hey, Amy, I'm meeting Katarina for dinner at the Tokyo Tower View
Hotel. But could I borrow some money? I left my purse somewhere."
She said, clutching an empty matching evening purse.

"Sure." Amy smiled sweetly, and put down her book, and then fished about for
the requested sum. She paused before letting Mina's fingers close
over the money. "Do you know where? It's not good to have something
that important lost--maybe we should go look?"

"Oh, no, EZ has it. I just forgot it there." She blushed, the innocence
cracking a little.

"Then why don't you go get it?"Amy asked teasingly. "He
called you just now didn't he?"

"Were you listening!?" Mina blues blinked like the flashing
lights of a police car, her voice rising just a bit.

Busted, Amy thought blushing, and sheepishly adding "Gomen, but I answered
when you did. I didn't hear everything, just when he said his name."

Mina grabbed the money, and winked. "Sure Amy--but remember this if I
"accidently" read Greg's next love letter. Thanks for the cash, but
I've got to dash! Be back later!" She called, slipping out.

Amy relaxed in the silence of the quiet room, after
hurricane Mina had left. She contemplated calling Greg,
when a loud knock at the door startled her. For a second
she wondered if Mina had forgotten something else.

"EZ?" Amy asked, a little shocked to see him holding Mina's purse
by the strap.

"Is Mina here?" He asked calmly, as if there was nothing odd about
the object in his hands or the practical way he held it.. As always
he seemed completely unruffled, the exact opposite of Mina's excitable
nature.

Amy shook her head. "She just left, but I could--"

The phone started ringing. Amy held up a hand as if to say, be
with you in a minute and answered.

[[Hey Amy! It's Serena. I forgot to ask, were you coming tonight?]]

"Where did she go!?" He asked, leaning in. She
could tell he was annoyed because his eyes were turning grey.

[[Ooh, listen to that *voice* who's the guy Amy?That's not Greg! Amy!!]]

"To dinner at the Tokyo Tower View Hotel, but I could--"

[[Whatcha talking about? You're having dinner? What about Greg!?]]

"I'll catch up to her." He said turning away quickly.

Amy peered out the door, with a perplexed expression. "What was *that*
about?" She wondered, then blushed as a slow smile spread on her face.

Maybe things had gone much better for her friend than Mina had thought.

[[AMY! Say something would you!!! HEY!]] Serena's voice blared
over the phone.[[ARE YOU ON A DATE!?]]

She giggled, and returned the phone to her head. "Serena, that was *EZ*
looking for Mina...."

[[OOOH--That's interesting...Hm..Maybe I should help those two out...]]

"Stay out of it Serena." She warned.

[[But!!!]]

"So, what are we up to tonight?"Amy said distracting her friend. She knew
all about Serena's "match making" proclivities. To Amy, they were
only slightly less painful than having Mina as a nurse. Even the thought
made her wriggle uncomfortably.

"Hey Amy, I just saw Mina dressed up, where's she going?" Artemis
said casually, as he padded in.

Amy wasn't fooled. He had that "protective father"
note in his voice, the one they'd all heard so often
in Ken Tsukino's voice. Impishly, Amy said straight
faced "Oh, she's meeting EZ. Tokyo Tower View Hotel."

[[EZ &;MINA IN A HOTEL!!!]] Serena gasped.

Apparently, Artemis deftly leaped to the same conclusion. As much as a cat
can look flabbergasted, Artemis did, shock sending his body into a
stiff arc of white fur.

"HOTEL!!!! Amy, how *could* you let this happen! I
thought you were the sensible one! Why didn't
you stop her! I'd better go after her!!!" Artemis
growled, jumping out the window before she could open her mouth.

"It's ok, Serena, she's meeting Katarina for dinner, and EZ's going
to find her and return her purse that she dropped this afternoon."

[[oh]] Serena's voice went back to its regular volume. [[I was going to
suggest we go spy, but now, well, now its ok, I guess. Besides, Molly had
something in mind for us!]]

Amy sighed and contemplated going back to her physics book. "Don't
worry, I think Artemis will tell us all about it."
* * * *

Mina entered the dining room, and approached the head waiter. Modeled on
an English style restaurant, the room seemed heavy and hushed.
Dark oak wood panelling surrounded her, brightened by brass fixtures.
Mina tapped her foot on the indistinct pattern of dark greens and
burgundy on the thick plush carpet. A somber room, and more suited to
business
than romance. She felt out of place in her sunshine
dress as most of the other people were dressed in
conservative dark suits.

"Mina Aino? Is that you!?" Katrina called, dressed in a rather stylish
version of a dark suit. "You look wonderful." Mina felt Katarina deserved
that more than she did. Especially because Katarina appeared to be pregnant.

As the waiter led them to the two overstuffed chairs at their table, Mina
missed the scene behind her as EZ attempted to get her attention.

He started to follow her, but the host simply cut him off. Even though
EZ was by far the taller,the little old managed to look down his nose
at EZ. "Sir? This requires a Jacket *and* tie."

"Or a dress" Snickered a passing waiter.

EZ eyed him oddly, but briefly contemplated his attire. Fresh from
the lab, he still had on the grey slacks and white dress shirt that
formed his "casual wear". Ever since he'd gotten a real job, he'd
vowed to dispense looking like a poor graduate student or a punk.
Instead, he'd started resembling someone on the cover of GQ,
long whitish hair aside. How much of his sudden attention
to fashion had been inspired by Amy's own neat style? He wouldn't
admit that to himself, let alone anyone else.

Suddenly he realized he was holding Mina's purse. He set it down, as
a feminine looking waiter winked at him.

"We do have something you can borrow." The host suggested, intimidated
slightly by the cold look EZ gave him. He turned and fished out a dark blue
coat made of some cheap material and a matching tie. They looked like they
belonged to a school uniform, EZ thought disdainfully.

Reluctantly, EZ started to grab the offensive garments, when the Host
pulled them back. "Sir! We DO NOT allow cats in here!"

EZ looked down to see a familiar looking white cat curled around his feet

"It's not mine." He protested.

The cat licked his shoe, and sweetly "Meowed." as if to suggest otherwise.

"I'm afraid we have to ask you to leave." The host said.

EZ swore internally, and walked out. He didn't feel like arguing
the point. He wasn't even sure why he'd followed Mina so impulsively.
She could damn well wait for her purse, he thought.

"Sir!?" The Host called, voice hesitant and polite.

"Yes?" He said imperially, without even deigning to turn around.

"You forgot your purse." A gleam in the Hosts eye indicated he was
quite amused by that.

EZ was not. "IT"S NOT MINE EITHER!" EZ stated loudly, trying
to stay calm. And failing.

"Of course not, Sir. Then I'll just--"

"GIVE IT TO ME!" He shouted, anger breaking through his resolve. Sullenly,
he walked across the hotel lobby, and sat down at the bar. Grabbing a
newspaper, he wrapped the purse in it, and ordered a drink. He needed it
now.

"Meow." The cat said, padding after him.

"Sir, I'm afraid we don't allow cats in the bar." The bartender said.

"It's not mine." Resignedly, he paid for the drink, drained it, and
said "Come on, Kitty, you and I are going someplace else." He grabbed the
cat
in a vice grip, and stormed out. He paused at the crystal chess set
displayed
in a lobby area. He recalled sitting there, waiting for Amy. That day seemed

so far away now. He tried to picture Amy's sweet smile, and again feel the
sadness that she smiled for Greg instead of him. Yet all he saw was
Mina's winking smirk. Well, whoever Mina was meeting at least it wasn't
his best friend. The thought should have made him feel better, but it
didn't.
Angrily he shoved the pieces over.

* * *
Mina frowned, "I'm sorry, I thought I saw someone I knew. What
were you saying?"

Katarina smiled. "I believe I just talked Sailor V into investigating
the Sisters of the Millennium."

"Come again?"

"That's the club I've been investigating in England. I've spent months on
the case--the organizer, Lia La Met seems to cover her
tracks really well. Yet weird things are happening
and I bet she's at the bottom of it."

"Like what? I've heard of the SOM--saw one of their meetings today
actually. They just seem like a harmless bunch of rabid feminists."

" Not that being a modern women is wrong, it's just that there's
something else at work in this group. Lia La Met demands that all
the women turn over huge sums of money to her."

"A cult scam?"

"It's more than that. Science labs around England have been robbed
lately. A lot of scientists have reported valuable research missing."

"What?"

"Topics involving power sources, or genetics research. And if that
wasn't weird enough, the culprit appears to be none other than,
well, Sailor V."

"ME!?" Mina said shocked.

"That's why I had to see you. I knew it wasn't you, because I know you."
She handed Mina some grainy photographs of a red-blonde haired, masked
girl in a loose grey suit, that had a dark
black V on it. Her hair was in a low ponytail.

"That's not my uniform!"

"I know. It's the "New" sailor V--the one in the new comics that
started coming about six months ago."

"It's an impostor!"

"Obviously. What I want you do to is find out *who* and what they're up to.
I figure you've got a personal stake in this."

"You just bet I do!"

"And, as it happens, in this very hotel, they're holding a big convention to
unveil some big experiment tonight. I'd infiltrated their group for
awhile, but had to quit when..." She smiled patting her stomach. "They don't

approve of married women, especially pregnant ones."

"That's sick. They wouldn't--"

"Well, I'd rather not risk little Mina... We're naming her
after you, by the way. It was Alan's idea, but only because he thought of
it first." Katarina smiled. "You brought us together after all."

Mina swallowed a piece of ice in her water. "Uh...Wow." She blushed.

"It's just like old times isn't it? You and I on the trail of the same
culprit...." Katrina smiled.

Mina smiled wistfully, before her eyes cleared. "Then let's go do
some strategy."

* * *
In a bar in a not so good part of town, men dove into alcohol to flee
their troubles. Near the port, the bar was frequented by men of unsavory
characters as well as usually upstanding citizens.

But two normally upstanding citizens were having trouble standing
at all. Not feeling very steady and rapidly getting worse,
Ken and Joe were pounding a couple of shots in their favorite bar.

"Hey man--thash exactly how I felt when Lita dumped me..." Joe said.

"Dumped you! Get over it! You two weren't even goin out...not like' Kerri
an I...four years!" Ken splattered whiskey across the table, his face
as red as the cheap lamp shades. He'd already had enough to spin his
world as much as Kerri had. "She didn't even care! Her eyes were so cold.
Said that Sister's of Millennium didn't' approve of me. ME!
They never even met me!"

"At least it wasn't another guy." Joe complained. "I see her face
everywhere,
her sweet green eyes, and I know he's holding her--"

"Wanna beer? I can't do another of those." Ken said interrupting. He'd
heard Joe go down that road once too often in the last few weeks.

"Uh--hey, look, that guy at the bar, I know him from somewhere..." Joe
frowned, grasping at his mental fil-o-fax of names.

The man had shaggy brown hair, that looked like it had just grown out of a
shorter cut. His clothes were nice, but a little dishevelled. He
was pounding the drinks as fast as Ken and Joe. Feeling Joe's stare, Chad
briefly turned his head and turned back.

"HEY! Chad" Joe said recognizing the man when he turned. "I was at your
wedding man..." He broke off "Lita and I were so happy that
night...such a perfect night."

Chad drained his drink and ignored them.

Drunk and as gregarious as he was maudlin, Joe leaned over and hugged
Chad. "How's the wife, man?"

Chad shrugged Joe off.

Ken apologized as Chad's biting reply flew "She's asked me for a divorce."
He swore quickly and unintelligibly, except for the phrase Sisters
of the Millennium!"

"Aw, man that sucks...we've been dumped too." Joe explained. "Let me
get you a drink. Women."

"Can't live with 'em, so join them." A tall man with almost white hair said
over his drink. He was seated a few bar stools over, but had
obviously been following their conversation. His speech was'nt slurred,
but from the number of empty glasses it ought to have been.

Ken eyed the white-haired stranger, He was holding a cat in a tight grip
under one arm. A small newspaper-wrapped bundle sat in front of him.
The cat looked, maybe because Ken was drunk, resigned.

"Will you drink with me? Even my kitty here won't." As if to test the
theory he held the glass of bourbon to the cat's lips. It made a face and
tried
to scratch. "Guy can't drink alone." Though he obviously had been.

"Wouldcha look at that--guy's drinking with a cat! Weirdest thing I
ever shaw..." Another fellow commented to the bartender.

"Nah, Sailor Pluto came in here once. Real Looker too, but she almost
took Bob's head off!"

"Red eyes man, Scarry." the bartender concurred. " I'd take a weirdo
with a drinking cat anyday."

"The cat's *not* drinking." The man said. "I even tried something with milk.
Cat wasn't having that. And that was the camel's last stone." The
stranger with the cat winced "Or last straw. Or whatever...Now she's got
*me* doing it!" He ordered another drink.

"Felines can instinctually tell that alchol is bad for them." A thin,
dweebish looking guy with glasses said. Calmly he ordered a
glass of milk with prune juice. "You really shouldn't drink so much, sir."

"If y'or not drinkin' why you in a bar?" Joe asked, moving into
belligerance from joviality.

"My beloved light of my life, my dearest sweet Molly, said she won't see me
any more!" The man burst out crying. "I've gone on bended knee to prove my
love to her!" One hand raised, he shouted dramatically "But nothing works!
I've proposed, I've pleaded! I've asked her friends! NOTHING! I'm
condemmed!"

Joe cocked his hand and said as an aside "How patehtic!"

Ken mentally rolled his eyes. Pot calling the kettle black, he thought.

"That's the kettle calling out the pot!" Muttered the stranger, who was
of course, EZ.

"I don't think those are the right expressions" Melvin said to EZ. "Perhaps
you'd better stop drinking. Drinking is a very harmful activity!"

EZ swore again. "I'm harmed enough. This has been the worst day...
Cat won't get off my trail, the dean won't get the donkey off my back,
and she won't get out of my peace of mind, which I'm losing."

"Don't drink huh? So why you here?" Joe shoved Melvin backwards.

"Karaoke. They do it at 9, and I'm going to work on my song to
serenade my sweet Molly back into my arms."

"Now there's a picture I didn't need in my head." Joe complained, irritably.
"Hope you sing better than you look. Ah hell, I'm just gonna hit you. " He
said menancingly, as Ken pulled him back. Joe swung wildly.

"Knock it off Joe, what's wrong with you? You wanna start a fight?"

"Too late, buddy your friend just knocked my drink over." A large man with
a mowhawk said. "Am I gonna have to make you apologize?"

His friend next to him cracked his knuckles.

"I'm not scared of you, even though you're ugly enough to make a baby
scream." Joe shot back.

The man took a swing, but someow, the swing ended up off course, pulled
by an unseen force. Unfortunately, that pushed him into EZ, who turned
around and neatly pinned the man to a wall.

"Do you mind? I have a cat here." EZ said, gesturing with one hand to
Artemis. Artemis squirmed, still caught in the vice like grip.

Chad stepped forward. "Hey! No body wants any troubl---OOOPh" He exclaimed
as the second man belted him.

Ken ducked as a fist came his way, and the brawl ensued full
throttle. Ken barely noticed the exact moment the management had kicked
them outside, but figured it was somewhere just after the strange
white-haired guy had rendered one of the big motorcycle freaks
(at least, that's what Ken assumed they were) inoperative.

The white-haired guy's clothes didn't even looked wrinkled, Ken
thought, fingering his cut lip. Joe had the makings
of a large black eye, a result of a sucker
punch when he wasn't looking. That unlucky nerdy guy was
unconcious, his glasses lying broken next to him.

Chad was limping, the blood on his hand not his own.
He too had held his own in that fight.

Joe sighed, knowing the police's arrival would be inevitable since normally,
people didn't fight like this. Of course, that's when the two guy's friends
showed up.

"Duh, you're gonna pay for that!" The large blonde punk like guy said.

"Look at them, brawling like the inferior life forms they are." A high
pitched voice called out then, as a dark-reddish blonde haired woman
jumped from a lamp post and lithely landed on the ground.

"Sa-Sa-Sailor V?" The blonde punk stammered, and then turned tail and ran.

She sniffed and said "Men."as if it were a curse. She was attired in a
loose fitting grey uniform of sorts, with black boots and a mask. "These'll
do though for our experiment. Round them up girls!" She threw something at
them that flashed in a black cloud of smoke, and the world went black.

The last thing Joe heard was the sound of an eerily familiar laugh.
Maybe it was just cause he was drunk, but he had the oddest
sense of deja-vu.

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