Stars in Love - Chapter 02

Stars in Love

A Journey Through Time and Back

Author's Note

Signs at the beginning of each paragraph

stands for the place, city or whatever or just a time jump

() stands for the POV I'm writing from

Chapter Two: First Encounter

Silver Millennium (Minako)

"Ugh..." Slowly, I opened my eyes. What had happened? Where were we? Ah, yes. The time travel. The gate to the past had suddenly sucked us in. And without any warning. Really, Pluto could have warned us. Typical.

But where was...? "Hotaru!" I cried out my eyes wildly scanning my surroundings. Had she gotten lost? Did she vanish between time and space? Did we do something wrong? Was it my fault? Oh, Kami-sama!

"Oh, my head... Why are you shouting like a maniac, Minako-san?" I let out a great sigh of relief when my eyes finally located the figure of my friend and teammate lying on the ground, several feet away and I hurried over to her. I kneeled down beside her and gently helped her up.

"Daijobu ne? You're not hurt, are you? Why are you not transformed? Do you feel sick?" Hell, stop that, Minako! I scolded myself. I must have sounded like a mother or something. Hotaru looked up at me and blushed a little, but I didn't noticed. I was too busy soothing myself.

"You have detransformed too. You know?" I looked down at myself surprised. She was right. "And to answer your fury of questions, besides a little dizziness - which I suppose is normal after such a hell ride - I feel perfectly fine." I smiled and this time caught her blushing. Was it me smiling? I decided it was nothing. Maybe just the moment.

"So this is the Moon Kingdom. Such beauty..." I stepped beside her and followed her gaze. We were a few miles away from the kingdom's capital, standing in the middle of the wide fields surrounding the capital and right by the huge sea known as Mare Serenitas. The sight was mesmerizing and I promised myself I would never forget it again. This was nothing compared to the dream memories.

The streets were made out of white and blue marble, as were the houses, which were built in an ancient architecture - partly Greek, partly Roman. Crystal ornaments were sparkling everywhere. And high above all the buildings, mighty and spreading a feeling of shelter, stood the Moon Palace. Nothing more could be seen from our position, but it was enough to let us just stand there with no movement or intention of turning away from the sight.

"It's a shame", I whispered. "A shame and a waste of such beauty." Finally Hotaru broke the contact. "We should go. We are not here for sightseeing." Her eyes betrayed her words, but still, she was right. We should get moving. Like Pluto said, locate the demon, confront it, destroy it, then go home. Simple... wasn't it? Maybe we could stay a little while after defeating it...

"What are you doing?" Hotaru was standing there, eyes closed, body relaxed but heavily concentrating. I could tell that. I saw it much too often with Rei. "Locating the demon..." I frowned. "You mean it's here? On the moon?" That wasn't a good sign. If the demon was here it could lead to major trouble any moment.

Hotaru nodded then gasped and pointed directly towards the palace. "There?" I asked. "Almost. Let's hurry." So we did.

(Hotaru)

As quickly as possible, but still with an inconspicuous speed - we wouldn't want to attract to many attention, wouldn't we? - Minako and I made our way through Silver Avalon, the capital of the Moon Kingdom. I must have chuckled a bit about the irony of the name upon hearing it from the guards.

We decided to stay in our civil forms for now. It was less dangerous and we were able to walk freely. Now, the task at hand was a little bit trickier to solve while in this form. My senses had detected the demon right in the palace garden and we weren't up for long talks with the palace guards. So we decided to climb the high walls around the palace area.

Gracefully, Minako landed on top of the wall after climbing it in nearly five seconds. Really, I envied her for being able to do so. Even with this reborn body, without any illnesses or sudden power drains, I was never the athletic type. I assume old habits die hard and after living up to ten years with a fragile body, I became overprotective of it.

Finally, I reached the top of the wall and Minako grasped my hand to help me up. I looked up thankfully and froze. Looking directly in her eyes, I wasn't able to move. Those clear blue eyes. So full of happiness and joy. They had seen so much but still… They fully enjoyed every second of life. Oh, how I wished mine could be like hers. That I could push the darkness aside and just live my life as happy as she did. But I couldn't. And so those eyes stayed unreachable, in more than one way.

"Hotaru!" I snapped out of my trance and saw Minako slightly panting. "Would you please come up now? You're a little bit heavy, you know?" She smiled faintly and again, I was threatened to be frozen. I shook my head to clear my mind. Minako had caught me blushing earlier, I didn't want to explain this trance any further and let her get the wrong thoughts.

Pushing myself up, I sat down beside her on the wall. "Gomen ne. I think I'm still a little bit dizzy." Her eyes told me that she didn't believe me at all. Certainly she was wondering what was going on in my head. To tell the truth, I was searching for an answer myself.

A cry echoed through the air and I was almost thankful for the sudden distraction. "I would say… it's near." My blonde companion retorted: "Have your senses told you that?" I saw that typical twinkle in her eyes, every time she teased me and I had my answer already prepared. "No, call it intuition."

Without any further words we jumped down the wall – this time I didn't hesitate or cared for any scars, not that they wouldn't heal in an hour's time – and ran through the beautiful gardens of the Moon Palace. Battle sounds could be heard and we quickened our pace.

Eventually we reached the palace entrance and skidded to a halt. There, right in front of us, four girls wearing colored Sailor-fukus were engaged in a fierce battle with nothing more than a woman of seemingly middle age. The senshi were around fourteen years old or even younger, but it still was easy to identify them. After all, I saw their old versions every day.

Mercury held back a little, her visor active. Mars had already taken a blow and was breathing hard, while concentrating on the fight. Jupiter and Venus still fought side by side, but not with much effect on their enemy.

The woman, on the other hand, was barely scratched by the attacks. It seemed that the attacks of the senshi's past selves were no more powerful than the first attacks they had when the inners were first revived. The woman was of striking beauty, with long midnight blue hair, mixed with shades of gray and white that gave her an exotic touch. Her body was such a pale color, that not even mine could be compare with it. Her eyes were a dark crimson. She was dressed in a combination resembling that of a warrior, or better yet, to that of an ancient amazon in colors of blood red and brown. A black cape hung around her shoulders. Her boots, tall and black, seemed to hover right above the ground, barely touching it. I could sense her power, the darkness and cruelty inside of her, the emotionless, cold soul that only knew one thing. Her goal. Whatever that might be.

A tap on my shoulder brought me back to reality and I saw Mars falling to her knees by a shot of pitch-black water. Minako was looking at me concerned, but with determination and self-confidence. "Let me handle this. They might panic when they see you in senshi form." I wanted to protest but I found myself realizing that she was right. So I just grasped my henshin crystal and nodded slowly. Venus raised her own wand to the sky - or what you could call sky on the moon.

"VENUS CRYSTAL POWER…"

The crystal on top flared with orange-golden energy and I saw the battle pause and the senshi as well, as the demon looked towards the source of power. Venus was gasping quietly, Jupiter drew her brows together, Mars stared blankly, and Mercury just looked on in confusion. The woman wore no expression at all. "MAKE UP!"

The power rushed down Minako's body and I found myself unable again to turn away from the sight. What the hell is wrong with me? It's not like this is the first time. I've seen her transform before. The all too familiar fuku was formed quickly and in less than a second Super Sailorvenus stood there, glaring at the enemy, posing similar to our princess before battle, but in her own fascinating way. Fascinating?

"You dare to disturb the peacefulness of this kingdom? On behalf of the Senshi of Time Sailorpluto, we're here to punish you for disturbing time and space." She paused for a moment and fixed her gaze on the women. "Ai to bibou no! Sailor-fuku bishoujo senshi! Sailorvenus! Kinsei ni kawatte, oshioki yo!" The woman looked perplexed as did the Inner Senshi. "What?" A sweatdrop appeared on Venus' forehead. "Um, home language." The women's face became stone cold. "Enough talk. So Pluto sent you? Then you will die. You are nothing compared to me, little senshi."

A bolt of black lightning exploded on the ground where Venus had stood a breath before. Catapulting herself into the air she unleashed her own attack. "VENUS…" Venus brought her hands to her lips and blew a kiss, producing a golden heart. "LOVE AND BEAUTIY…" Accompanied by a chain of tiny hearts, the big one was thrown at the woman. "SHOCK!" The attack collided with the time demon and threw her back a little, but didn't imply further damage.

Concern.

"Wow", I heard the Past Venus comment. "I wish I could do that." Jupiter shook her head. "I don't think we're ready to wield such power", she commented. Venus and the demon fought in a fury dance of attacks. "Nevertheless… Even her powers seem not to be enough." I had to agree with Mars' bitter words and Mercury's silent nods. Venus was holding her ground, but was slowly becoming weaker with every attack, while the demon didn't even show any signs of sweating.

Worry.

"This is enough now!" Past Jupiter growled and leapt towards the battle, thunder crackling.

"Jupiter, wait…" Mercury called out, but the short-tempered senshi had already cast her attack. "SURPREME…" The woman blocked a blow from Venus and shot a dark flame towards Jupiter, slamming the burned and tattered senshi into the palace wall.

Rage.

Enraged, Past Venus shouted a battle cry and raised her arm. "Bitch! CRESCENT BEAM!" The woman didn't even flinch as she deflected the golden ray of light back towards its owner. Past Venus was slammed to the ground and I could see Venus flinch at this, not from sympathy, but from real pain. That gave the demon enough of an opening to unleash another dreadful attack on her. Venus let out a whimper as she crashed into the wall next to Jupiter. Mercury and Mars rushed over to them.

Burning, flaring rage... And then I found myself giving into the familiar feeling of rage again, turning it around, twisting it into a cold and sharp spear of power. This... thing had dared to harm those I cared for, those I had sworn to protect. Most importantly, it had hurt Minako! That could not be forgiven!

(Venus)

"ENOUGH!" Hotaru's - no, Saturn's voice sliced through the air like a swing with the glaive she used to wield. Everyone directed their attention to the small, slim girl standing before the demon that had just defeated us all. A purple aura was shining brightly and with such overwhelming power, I was sure it could be felt on earth by any kind of sensible life form. The sign of Saturn flashed on her forehead and drew gasps from all the Inner Senshi, even the nearly unconscious Jupiter beside me. I wanted to assure them everything was alright but I wasn't so sure of that fact anymore.

Saturn's fuku materialized around her and her glaive formed in her hand. "By Serenity, it's her", I heard Mars stating the obvious. "The forbidden one", added my past self. Meanwhile, Saturn's transformation was complete. She stared with a cold gaze at the woman.

"I am the Silent Messiah of destruction. You have gone too far, demon. You will be punished now, for I am Sailor Saturn!" The women didn't show any signs of fear. Still she eyed the senshi cautiously, maybe deciding whether to attack or wait. "Nice, at least I understood that. And how are you planning on doing that?"

Saturn didn't answer. I could see the cold fire in her eyes. She couldn't... "I mean you wouldn't risk destroying all your precious companions and your own kingdom with you. Right?" She wouldn't... A purple globe appeared on top of the Silence Glaive, slowly increasing. "You wouldn't..." No answer. Energy crackled at the tip of the glaive. The demon's face showed the first signs of doubt. "You wouldn't dare..." Fear and terror were written clearly in the demon's face now.

"Death..." Saturn whispered and the energy sprang to life, purple-black ribbons poured out from the silver blade. The Inners were holding their breaths. I stared, unbelieving what my eyes showed me. It couldn't happen. Control, Hotaru. Control. But it was too late. The darkness had taken her too far away and there was no one to stop her. No Chibiusa, no Usagi, no one.

"Reborn..." No one but me. Thunder crackled and a heavy storm threatened to rip the palace right out of the ground. I forced myself up. The faces of the Inner Senshi were of pure horror. "It's over," Mars said quietly. No, not yet. It could not, it wasn't meant to...

My eyes caught Queen Serenity appearing in the entrance, Moon staff in hand. Upon seeing what was going on she froze immediately. I didn't pay much attention. I wouldn't let it end like that. I was not ready and would never be to let this goddamn destructive part of Hotaru take over.

"RE..."

"IIE!" I cried out. "Stop it, Hotaru-chan!" For a short moment the power decreased. Saturn blinked two times, then shaking her head repeatedly as if to focus on her task. The demon relaxed for a moment. Then the glaive flared even brighter with energy. "... CALL!" I didn't close my eyes. A sphere of purple energy slammed into the demon and the whole area was suddenly filled with blinding energy. Then everything went silent.

Blinking several times I opened my eyes. A deep furrow decorated the route Saturn's attack had taken. On it's end, the time demon lay motionless on the ground. Besides that, nothing had happened - like I expected.

The battlefield was dead silent. No one dared to breath or move. A flicker of energy caught my eye and I rushed over to Saturn's falling body just in time to catch her. As if someone has snapped his fingers, a collective sigh could have been heard from the Inner Senshi. I couldn't care less. Carefully, I laid Saturn down as her eyes fluttered open.

"Mi... Minako-san. I'm sorry. I didn't want to..." She burst into tears and I held her close. Dully, I heard Mars talking. "Why haven't we all been destroyed?"

"Because... she changed the attack at the last moment," my past self answered. I could feel her eyes on me, worried, but full of unspoken questions.

"Shh." I whispered while rocking Hotaru back and forth like a child that had a nightmare. Well, you could call it something like that. With shame echoing in her voice she said: "It was all too much... Forgive me, I was weak... I shouldn't have given in to rage and revenge."

"Shh, it's okay. I understand. Don't worry..." Her aura brightened for a short time, then died down and her transformation faded away, leaving only the worn out body of Tomoe Hotaru. "No, you don't... understand. I lost control... because of you..." Her eyes closed. Mercury had knelt down beside me and started to examine her. "I think she's only unconscious." I breathed a sigh of relief. For a short moment I had feared that the power drain was too much. Softly, I brushed a few strands of loose hair out of her face.

"Look!" my past self cried out. I looked up and saw the time demon struggling to get to her feet. She looked up, directly at us - no, at Hotaru. Then she laughed, laughed like such a maniac that I really thought she had gone insane. "I knew it. She was too weak. Her feelings are holding her defeat." She raised herself up into the sky. "I have time, senshi. You don't." With that she disappeared.

"One thing I don't understand", I heard Jupiter with a harsh, pain-filled voice after a long silence. "Why did she change the attack at all? She must have known that it wouldn't kill her." I wanted to answer that question but someone else answered for me.

"Because", the calm, yet slightly trembling voice of Queen Serenity spoke, "the power level was already too high. If she didn't released it..." She didn't finished but I knew the answer very well. "It would have destroyed from inside to outside, taking anything in reach with her. Probably the whole moon," I whispered. Still everyone heard it. Jupiter gulped and didn't say anything more.

Slowly and carefully, I lifted Hotaru's unconscious body up in my arms and met the gaze of the queen without hesitation. There were no questions asked, no explanations demanded, just the soft, caring eyes that rested on me and Hotaru.

"Sailorvenus", she finally spoke, but didn't mean me. "Show our guest their quarters. Then go and tend to your wounds. I want all of you, except Saturn in the conference room in an hour." With that she turned and left. Locate the demon, fight it and destroy it. Nothing easier than this... Yeah, sure... My past self sighed and motioned for me to follow. Flanked by the limping senshi, we made our way into the palace.

(Past Venus)

The walk through the palace was in utter silence. My double - no, future self, ah whatever - sometimes stopped and looked around as if to remember something. But then her eyes shifted back to the sleeping girl in her arms and she walked on with a quicker pace. I had once tried to motion for a servant to help her but she wouldn't let her go. Somehow I pitied that girl and that scared me. The black-haired senshi wielded the most destructive power in creation and she was only inches away of destroy us all... Still I pitied her. Her destiny was a sad one. No one deserved something like that. Finally, we reached the guest chambers.

"We have a lot of guests and high politicians staying with us at the moment. I could arrange you two rooms, if you insist but..." She flashed me a brief smile. "That's okay. She needs someone there for her. Not a lonely room to greet." I nodded. "I assumed that."

I stepped before the door and pressed my hand on the Crystal scanner. "I think since we should have the same star seed, there shouldn't be a problem." She looked surprised at me as the door opened without any sound. "You can scan people's star seeds? I didn't remember that..." Perplexed, I asked: "What do you mean?"

"Blurry memories. They have been returning lately but still..." Without any further word, she walked into the room and over to one of the beds. There she laid down Saturn gently and just stood there for a moment. After a while she sat down on the edge of the bed and brushed some hair out of the girls face. Are they... No, impossible. I would feel it. Nevertheless, the care was there... both ways. Otherwise she wouldn't have been able to reach her in her state. I wonder if she could feel the emotions between themselves. Probably not. I could tell, but I hadn't been able to do so with Kunzite and myself either.

Silently, I let the door close and walked away. There were more important things to do. Like fixing some of my wounds and then preparing for the meeting.

(Venus)

It took me awhile to locate the conference room. Like I've been saying to my past self, the memories were still clouded in mists. In fact, with every corridor I walked down, they were coming back more clearly now. Still it took me some time. Sure, I could have waited for someone to accompany me, but I couldn't sleep. I had tried, but it was of no use. My worries about poor Hotaru-chan kept coming back and I still didn't fully understand what she meant by her last words. I lost control because of you. Well, I would ask her when she woke up and felt better.

Pushing the huge double doors open, I entered the huge round chamber. It wasn't extremely big, but it was at least thirty-five feet high, and therefore it was located in one of the higher towers. In the middle of it stood a huge oval-shaped table with eight seats arranged in a open crescent moon, while another one out of ten seats formed the closing circle to the crescent moon. The four Inner Senshi were already seated in the first circle that was reserved for the eight planets. Queen Serenity sat on the opposite side and the young Princess Serenity sat on her left.

"Ah, I see you found your way. Sailorvenus was wondering if you would", the Queen said. Silently, I walked over to the table. "It has to be the palace. My memories are getting better", I explained and sat down - on the chair reserved for the Senshi of Saturn. Mars and Jupiter stared at me but didn't say anything. Good, I had chosen that one on purpose, to represent both of us, Hotaru as well as me. I wasn't too surprised that the chair didn't feel like it had been used much.

The young princess looked at me thoughtfully. "This is strange. She looks a lot like Ishtar, only older." Ishtar. The name brought back some memories and I remembered that it was my princess name in the Silver Millennium. "That, my princess, is exactly how it is - well mostly..."

"Do you care to explain, Sailorvenus?" The queen didn't loose her serene expression, but I could sense her troubled feelings - she was worried about earlier and she had the right to be. "Call me Minako, so that we don't get mixed up." I received quick nods, then I took a deep breath.

"I cannot tell you much about the future I came from, Pluto would kill me, I think. Hotaru and I came here because she had trouble with a time demon. We were hunting it down before it could do any harm. She didn't mention it was THAT strong though." Mercury looked up from some typing she had been doing during my explanations. "Hotaru... that is Saturn, right?" I nodded. "Right. Pluto could only take two of us and our Princess chose Saturn and me."

"And", Princess Serenity stated dubiously, "that would be... me?" I nodded again and prepared myself for the storm of question that would sure follow. And they came.

"Why would our Princess do such a foolish thing?" Mars exclaimed furious. "Saturn is dangerous! She could have destroyed us all!"

"But she didn't." Mars' head whipped around and stared at my past self who had been silent until now. "Who's side are you on, Ishtar? That..."

"Mars!" Queen Serenity's command wasn't loud but still held such a force and command, that Mars immediately went quiet. She bowed her head slightly. "I apologize for the harsh tone, Minako. Mars is a bit short-tempered." I smiled in understanding. "I'm used to it." Mars shot me a death glare but I ignored it.

"Still. What Mars said held some truth. As you might know, the Senshi of Saturn is sealed in this timeline and is not to awaken until..."

"The end of the Millennia. I do know that, my Queen. I wished I could spare you from the truth, but... there is no Silver Millennium where we live." That brought gasps from around the table. I could see Mars already had her words formed and I held up a hand to silence her. Surprisingly, it worked. "I will not and cannot tell you anything about the end of this period, but we now live on Earth, reborn in human bodies. We know bits and pieces about our futures and there will be a new Millennium. Usagi... the Princess is almost ready to claim the throne. So don't worry about the kingdom."

Mars looked away, Mercury wore a thoughtful expression, while my past self bit her lower lip. The Queen and the Princess exchanged glances of worry, but kept silent. Only Jupiter dared to ask: "And Saturn was reborn with you?"

"Yes..." I searched for the name. "Callisto, right?" She nodded. "All of us were reborn, including the Outer Senshi. We are not exactly sure if Saturn's rebirth was a coincidence or fate, but we tend to call it fate, since she was necessary to bring the princess into her full power as a Sailor Senshi..." The moment I spoke the words, I realized I should have kept that a secret.

"WHAT? The princess a... That is ridiculous! Why should the Princess become a Sailor Senshi?" Mars blurted out and this time, she ignored the Queen's glare. Patiently, I answered: "Things change... Athena." It was enormous how the memories came back with every moment that passed.

"To be honest," Queen Serenity added, "I have been keeping the locket for Serenity for a long time." The Princess looked at her mother, shocked. "But, Mother..."

"Keep it. It is not the time now. I should have never told you anyway." I paused and looked at all of the senshi and the royals again. "To answer your question. I don't know why Usagi took us, besides some suggestions."

"That is not an issue to muse about now." The Queen rose from her seat. "I assume you don't know about the demon's intention either?" I shook my head. "The only thing I know for sure is that we have not much time." Because you are destroyed in due time, but I didn't mention that. Queen Serenity shifted her gaze to her senshi.

"We can't overlook a crisis like this. We are not supposed to interfere, but this is still our kingdom and our future that has to be protected." Looking back at me, she finished: "We will help you, future Senshi of Venus." No one protested, not even me. From the choice of words and her tone, I already knew those were the final words of the Queen considering this matter.

"You may rest now, Minako. Tomorrow we will decide what to do." Gladly, I leaned back and let my transformation fade away. I was getting tired of keep it up all the time, but I didn't want to appear disrespectful. "I thank you, my Queen."

(Hotaru)

Darkness. Pitch-black nothingness. A void as long as you could see. No, that wasn't right. You weren't able to see here.

A vision. A figure standing on top of a ruin, holding a long glaive and cloaked in gray-purple. The figure sadly looked down on a second figure with long blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes wearing a Sailor-fuku. The glaive was risen above the cloaked figure's head. And again, darkness.

Voices, two voices singing a beautiful, yet sad song... The ending of a song.

Let life spread through our light

Our souls shall be your guide

Look up now and see high above

They are crying out for us, the stars... they are in love

I awoke with a start, trying to sit up, but the sharp pain caused me to fall back to the light covers. Then I was greeted with a pair of the most beautiful blue eyes out there, looking at me with such concern, my heart nearly melted. I flushed furiously, trying to control my feelings.

"You feeling better?" her gentle voice asked me. The memories of what had nearly happened returned and shame rushed over me, reaching my face. I turned my head away. If I could sit now, I would look down at my hands. The hands that had nearly destroyed everything, including Minako - not to mention blow up the whole timeline or something like that. And it was all because I had lost control again. Lost control because of...

"Hey, don't blame yourself." Minako spoke softly and touched my right shoulder, sending shivers down my spine. How could she still put up with me? How could she still trust me after what I've done... nearly done? I didn't deserve her kindness. Not someone like me.

"Look at me." I faced her against my own will and froze. There was no anger, no impatience about me being stubborn, just sincere concern and... understanding? How could she possibly...? "Do not blame yourself. You had the strength to stop yourself. For what you are and for what you are gifted, or cursed with, you hold no responsibility. It is you to decide, what you do with your life, not your powers."

Every word touched my heart and melted the well-built walls around it. Besides Chibiusa, Minako strangely was the only one to do so. And I still hadn't figured out why. But I wanted her close. As a friend...

"You should sleep a little bit more. We have a hard day before us." Then she bent down and placed a tender kiss on my forehead. I tried to fight the blushing without success. My heart was doing jumps of joy inside my chest.

Minako got up and turned around to walk over to the bed across from mine. Before I could suppress the words, my mouth had already spoken and my arm had reached out to grasp her hand. "Would you... stay with me, Mina-chan?" Her expression was not one of shock but surprise. Still, I bit my lip and cursed myself wordlessly for letting this out. Why had I asked her anyway? I wasn't able to answer my question. The only thing that sprang into my mind when she turned away, was the feeling of being left alone again. Left alone with my fear and the darkness that would surely greet me when I closed my eyes again.

"Sure." I blinked. Nani? Did she just say...? Minako giggled while looking at me. Probably I must have shown a really priceless expression at the moment. "It's not that I haven't done it before." I stared at her dumfounded. She sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Usagi and me did that often." I gulped. The Princess and Minako had... "That's what close friends sometimes do during sleepovers, right? Ikuko-san called us crazy every time. Kids at our age shouldn't do such things, people could get the wrong ideas. Would you believe that?" I laughed. Laughed whole-heartily.

"Minako... you're impossible." She raised the covers in response and slid next to me. "Maybe. But that's my problem, right?" A smile played around the corners of her mouth. "Go to sleep, Minako." I said, trying not to laugh anymore. While sleep called me once again, I realized she had done it again. She had cheered me up. And for once in a long time, I had beautiful dreams that night. Just like every normal girl should have.

Author's Notes

Now, that was longer, wasn't it? If you still haven't guessed the couple yet, you are extremely slow...

Ok, there are some things to explain. The Recall part in Saturn's final attack is something I made up by myself. I explained Venus' super attack in detail because it fit into the situation and some of you might have not seen it yet. I really don't envy you for your dubs...

I will try to explain differences between the past and present senshi a little further in the following chapters and you'll also get a look into the life of the other planets in the Silver Millennium. So stay tuned for the third chapter of "Stars in Love."

Ja ne, yours

Matthias