Sailor Venus stood on te ledge of the building, watching the night streets below. No activity, but that was to be expected. How many nights had she stood in this very spot and peered down at men and women carry on with the life she wish she had. She lad long since given up trying to be normal. But that didn't mean that the thought didn't come back from time to time to haunt her.
"Venus do you copy?" Artemis's voice came in through the tiny headset she wore. She sighed quietly and sat down, her feet dangling off the edge.
"All clear here Artemis. So tell me what's so special about this place? I've been here a thousand times. Over."
"A strange heat source is right below your feet. Check it out. Over." She sighed again.
"Roger that. Over and out." She touched the headset and turned the volume down. Without standing she pushed off the ledge and fell, passing window after window, after window. She caught herself on another ledge to slow her decent. When she reached the ground she let out a third sigh.
It wasn't that she hated pursuing criminals. It was just that after a while a magical girl wasn't so great when she started to get older. Here she was in her mid twenties and she was still running the streets to catch bad guys.
She walked down the alley between two buildings and saw all that she needed to see. Two yahoos were using torches to melt a solid steel door that would lead them to the back exit of a highly secured gem storage and cutting facility.
"I didn't realize that guys liked to stay up late to shop." She drawled. The thieves snapped to attention. Normally she would go into a speech and introduce herself. But it was getting late and she really didn't have the energy to deal with all the movements and poses.
It was over in ten minutes. She had them tied on the corner and Artemis had contacted the police. It was just routine.
Minako, the infamous Sailor V. The uncompromised Sailor Venus. The protector of Tokyo. That's who she had been and still was. She didn't fade and die like other heroes. No, she was still going strong. Becoming wiser and more efficient. But she was alone.
"Why do you think I'm the only one left Artemis?" She asked her trusted companion and advisor. Her other comrades, Usagi, Makoto, Ami, and Rei had all lost the power to transform into senshi almost three years ago. Their henshin pens disappeared with Luna's death.
In a way it made sense. Luna was the ones who gave them the henshin pens after all.
"I don't understand it myself." Artemis said. He crawled onto her bed and settled by her side, curling into a white fluffy ball. Diana was curled up in a small basket at the foot of Minako's bed.
The little kitten, Luna and Artemis's child, had come into the world while sleeping and had not wakened. after Diana was born Luna didn't have the strength to live one. It was the saddest day any of them had ever experienced.
"It's just that," Minako stared at the ceiling as she lay in bed. "I'm getting a bit to old for this." Everyone had moved on and she was the only one still stuck in the past.
Usagi and Mamoru's were married for almost two years now and Rini was on the way. Makoto had taken botany classes and opened up a small florist shop under her apartment. Rei, after her grandfather died, took over the Shinto shrine as head priestess. She was always busy. And Ami. Ami wasn't even in Japan anymore. She off doing some clinical research somewhere. They rarely herd form her.
The last time she had seen her friends was at Luna's funeral. But since the break up of the team, they had gone separate ways. Graduated high school, went onto college and vocational schools. They stopped calling all the time, and since they were always busy they hung out less and less until it stopped all together. It was like watching a plant die in slow motion.
"All I can say is that there must be more for you to do Minako." Artemis said with a yawn. Minako nodded absently, knowing the cat couldn't see her. No matter how she looked at it, the facts were facts.
When Luna died after Diana was born the henshin pens that belonged to Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and the Moon vanished. The girls lost the ability to transform. Beings from other dimensions and worlds stopped invading Tokyo and there were no monsters. It was a time of peace fro Tokyo.
Minako, on the other hand, still had all of her magical powers. In fact, her powers had actually increased since three years go. Her costume had changed from a short miniskirt to ancient Greek styled light armor and a longer skirt. She carried the stone sword with her and it grew lighter every time she used it.
She let her powers grow and develop. Her Love Me Chain was obsolete due to her sword. Her Love and Beauty Shock had changed to a powerful white beam of light. Artemis renamed it as her LBS beam.
She was growing with no end in sight and it disturbed her somewhat. She wanted to settle into a simple routine, but she had gotten too used to the idea of her life being on hold indefinitely.
She closed her eyes and let herself fall into a dream would. She sat in a meadow surrounded by flowers. The sky was a perfect blue and she could see the moon hanging over head.
Then a sharp wind came and blew away everything around her. Even the light. Darkness. She turned in her sleep. A man appeared before her. he was bathed in darkness. She couldn't see his face. It was blurred, but his frame was that of a panther. Powerful and sleek.
He unsheathed a sword. Her stone sword. Usagi faded out of the darkness before the man. He lifted the sword as Rini appeared in Usagi's lap.
Minako couldn't more. She couldn't scream. Chains on her wrists and ankles held her in place. Her voice was mute.
He lifted the tip high and skewered Usagi and Rini over and over and over again until they bled black blood. Then all faded to darkness.
Minako could feel her tears. Her hands suddenly fell loose and dropped to the floor into something warm and wet. She looked down and saw blood. She was sitting in a pool of blood.
She quickly examined herself. She was unharmed. But there where was it coming from? Her eyes scanned the darkness until they settled on the source. Bodies. Hanging lifelessly from an invisible branch with a noose around each neck. Makoto, Rei, Ami, Mamoru.
Blood dripped from their fingertips and toes from the fresh wounds on their lifeless bodies. The blood dripped into the pool she sat in. The pool of their blood.
Finally she screamed. She could hear her own voice again. And she screamed some more. She screamed until the sound of Artemis calling for her forced her to open her eyes.
She jackknifed up and stared around her room. She could see the outline of furniture in the dark and finally they eyes of a worried cat.
"Minako, it was a dream. Are you alright." Minako sighed with relief and nodded. Convinced, Artemis settled back in.
Minako laid back down, but did not sleep. She couldn't. Her hands still shook. She could still feel the blood, see the bodies of the dead.
What was that? What was that dream? Or maybe some kind of premonition. If she was still in contact with Rei, she would probably have the ex-senshi of Mars take a look into the fire, just to be sure. But things were no longer what they were. And it was times like this that Minako found it hard to move on.