Sailor Venus was not the Princess.
Kunzite stepped away from the screen and brought his hand to his temple. The knowledge felt like physical pain, like something buried being ripped out of barren ground. His mind fought the knowledge- how could he have been so deceived? He took a deep, steadying breath and looked up to meet the eyes he knew.
"I hate you". Her voice was poisonous even as it faded. "I'll hate you for eternity."
Kunzite started to laugh.
Sailor Venus lowered her arm and took a deep, steadying breath as she watched Zoisite's body crumble to ash. It was over as quickly as it had begun.
"Rei!" She cried out with sudden realization, running forward to her friend who was crouched on the ground. "Rei!"
"I'm okay." Sailor Mars said slowly, as Jupiter helped her sit up. "Just sore. Bastard." She added looking toward the place Zoisite had been.
Sailor Venus burst into tears. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to lie to you. I didn't know what to do- I thought maybe no one would ever have to know about the Princess. I didn't mean to hurt you." She lowered her head, afraid of Rei's reaction. "I was so afraid when I watched him attack you. Please don't hate me."
"Minako." Mars said patiently. "I am angry at you, I won't lie. I want answers." She sighed. "But I don't hate you."
"Yes." Jupiter added. "I feel the same. I know you must have had a good reason for what you did. It doesn't mean I agree with it. But that doesn't mean I hate you."
Venus looked up with red-rimmed eyes. "I'm so sorry. I promise I'll tell you everything."
Rei nodded. "You will." She turned and looked around the ruins of the psychiatric ward. "But we need to get out of here. And not alone."
Jupiter nodded and turned to look down the hall but Ami was already standing there, watching them with wide eyes.
"You're coming with us." Jupiter said. "Like it or not."
"I know." Ami said, glancing at the disaster around them before looking curiously at Venus. "It's not like I could stay here. And I want to hear what she has to say too."
"Good." Jupiter let her transformation fade. She took off the long coat she was wearing and wrapped it around Ami's shoulders. "We'll go to my place." She said. "It's closest."
"Okay." Rei said. "Let's go."
Breaking a patient out of a locked ward went smoother than it should have but Minako had to admit that trashing the place first definitely helped. In the ensuing chaos the four of them had been able to slip out of the hospital without anyone noticing. The trip to Makoto's apartment was equally uneventful, still, Minako didn't let herself relax until the door was shut and locked and the blinds closed tight.
Without a word Makoto walked to the kitchen and put the kettle on the stove while the Minako, Rei, and Ami sat awkwardly around Makoto's low table.
"So.." Minako said carefully as Makoto set cups of steaming tea in front of them. "What do you know…" she paused, trying to find words that didn't sound like an interrogation and looked up to meet Ami's empty gaze. "What happened to you?"
Ami wrapped herself tighter in the borrowed sweater Makoto had lent her, so large it was more like a dress. "That's a difficult question to answer. It's not a happy story."
"Please tell us." Rei said kindly. "We want to listen."
Ami nodded. "My memories started to return almost 10 years ago. At first I thought they were dreams, I was so young that my mother thought they were the product of an overactive imagination." She shook her head. "The signs of a prodigy. Knowledge always came easy for me, it was easier to bury myself in my studies than it was to accept that what I was remembering was real."
Makoto nodded and Ami continued. "Over time it became clear to me that my visions weren't dreams, they were memories. My powers awakened too. I was afraid." She paused. "I was strange and unnatural to everyone around me but I tried to find out what was going on- I could feel the presence of my fellow soldiers in the city, I had visions of you Venus."
"When I was Sailor V." Minako said.
Ami looked up at Minako and nodded. "I found out about the princess because you did. I saw it because I saw you. I could feel your despair but I couldn't find you." She laughed bitterly. "I was in so much pain-I didn't know what to do. Everyone thought I was insane, I've spent half my life in and out of doctors offices and hospitals because I couldn't tell them what was really wrong. They couldn't believe me. They didn't know the world was what was really wrong."
Minako reached across the table and set her hand over Ami's cold one. "I'm so sorry." She said with tears in her eyes. "I woke up by myself too but I wasn't alone- I had Artemis. I don't think I could have done it without him."
Rei looked up at Minako. "Tell us about the princess. How did you find out?"
"I can't completely explain it." Minako said. "Something in me felt wrong. I looked for her for a long time but some part of me knew she wasn't there. The part that was Venus remembered her presence. I could feel it but it was far away." She shook her head bitterly. "By the time Artemis and I figured it out it was years too late."
"I don't entirely understand." Makoto said. "You said the princess had a weapon that could defeat the Dark Kingdom. If we don't have that then what chance do we have?"
"I remember them clearly." Ami said, looking at Minako curiously. "I remember how they destroyed everything. It was so easy. They caught us unaware."
Minako nodded. "That's what we need to do to them. It's our only chance. We have to beat them at their own game."
"How do we intend to do that?" Makoto said.
"We draw out their forces and set a trap." Minako said grimly. "It's time for pop idol Aino Minako's farewell tour."
"You're going to use yourself as bait?" Ami said.
"It's the best plan I have." Minako said. "We'll Have the concert near where Artemis and I think their portal is. There's no way they won't be drawn to it then."
"Well have to be careful to make sure the public doesn't get hurt." Makoto said.
"I've thought of that." Minako said. "But it's the only way to get their attention. If they sense that many people at the portal they'll show up."
"I think you're right." Ami said. "I don't care about myself anymore, but if we can stop them we can protect what the princess loved."
"Right." Artemis said as he stepped out of the hallway.
"Artemis?" Minako said. "How did you get in here? Where have you been?"
Artemis walked over to Minako who reached down to touch his face. "Something is about to happen. Everything we've done so far has led to this." He shook his head. "Are you ready?"
"Yes." Makoto said without hesitation. "This is where I'm meant to be."
"We can't run and hide." Rei said. "Whatever lies ahead can't be worse than what's behind us."
"Yes." Ami said. "I can't go back."
Minako nodded at her companions. "It's what the princess would want."
Outside the sky darkened.
Minako and Artemis walked back to her apartment on the unlit street, shadows passing through slivers of pale moonlight. It caught in Minako's hair like a halo and Artemis's fur shone silver.
"I know I should feel ready." Minako said. "But I feel afraid." She shook her head. "Not for me, for the others. Makoto and Rei don't remember. And Ami… she… she wasn't there."
"I know." Artemis said, knowing there was no place for false reassurances.
"I failed the princess." Minako continued in a quiet voice. "I should have protected her then. But I couldn't protect her from herself."
"I always suspected that you were the only one besides Luna to see her." Artemis said gently. "She was young, in love, and impulsive." He sighed. "There was nothing you could do."
Minako looked up at the moon and the light caught her tears. "I was the leader, her protector. And I couldn't protect her from herself." She stopped and leaned backwards against the iron fence that lined the street. "You were trying to contact Luna, weren't you?"
Artemis didn't answer but jumped up onto the fence post to face her. "Promise me you'll be careful. Promise me you won't do anything rash."
"Oh Artemis." Minako said sadly. "Don't ask me to make a promise you know I can't keep. I won't do anything dangerous without a reason, but I won't let anyone hurt the girls."
"I am proud of you." He said. "You really are a leader."
"Thank you old friend." Minako said as she wiped her eyes. "Tomorrow waits."
Note: I'm not dead! I promise to finish this story- we're in the endgame now.
One of the things about Sailor Moon that really bothered me was Princess Serenity's/Usagi's suicide. It was brushed over as some tragic, romantic thing. As a child reading the manga for the first time I was upset that she didn't think her friends, or anything else was worth living for. As someone who has lived with depression for most of my life, I never liked how it was handled, and have never been a fan of Romeo and Juliet style plots. This will be addressed again in a later chapter.
