Act 45

The strong white light made Minako blink, but finally she managed to open her eyes. Around her everything was bathed in white light. Did that mean…?

"Venus!"

She lifted her head and looked at Zoisite, who was suddenly standing before her. "Zoisite?"

He smiled sadly and nodded. Minako frowned. Something was strange. For some reason she knew that she wasn't dead. Not yet. But if Zoisite was here too… And then she remembered the sudden pain that overtook her, when she had collapsed.

"No!" she whimpered, "Zoisite, please don't say that…"

He took her into his arms and held her tightly as she started to sob into his chest.

"Forgive me, my love," he finally said, "I… wasn't strong enough."

She wrapped her arms around his waist, unable to stop the loud sobs that came from her throat. Zoisite, Zoisite was dead. The man she loved, her true love, had left the world she lived in.

"You can't stay here," Zoisite said now, "You don't belong in this place. You must go back before it's too late."

She dug her fingers into his back. "I won't go back without you."

Zoisite took her face in his hands and dried her tears with his thumbs. "My time is over, but not yours."

"Zoisite…"

"Venus," he cut her off, and placed one palm on her forehead. "I know what's going on."

She winced, knowing very well what he meant. His hand stroked her head and then stayed on her neck.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked softly and without any reproach.

"I… I couldn't," she confessed. "I thought that I would be strong enough to combat it somehow. The same way I fight for the mission."

"Forget the mission!"

Minako looked at Zoisite in surprise. "What?"

"You heard me, my love. Forget the mission, forget the princess. What is it that you

want?"

"I… I want to fulfill…"

"That's not your true desire," Zoisite answered. "I know that there is more inside you than the wish to fulfill the mission from the past."

He hugged her. "Do you remember… that last night, back then, during the Silver Millennium?"

Minako nodded against his chest.

"And do you also remember the decision I made that night?"

Now she looked up at him. "Decision? What…?"

"When the battle is over, I won't go back to the Earth."

Minako's eyes widened.

"All I need to live… is sitting right here beside me. If you accept me… There's nothing I wish more than to stay by your side."

"That night…" Minako gasped and Zoisite nodded, caressing her cheek.

"I had forgotten it too. Forgive me, my love."

Minako started to sob again. Zoisite wrapped his arms around her, and while she was crying he caressed her back tenderly.

Finally he grabbed her by her shoulders and looked at her very intensely.

"Venus," he began, "My beautiful, beloved Venus. That day you came to me in the Dark Kingdom, you asked me who you really are." He took her face in his hands and gave her a soft kiss. "You are you," he said, smiling. "You are Venus, the strong warrior; you are Aino Minako, the talented singer; and you are the one and only woman I've ever loved in all my lives. That's because I want you to live. Not for the mission, not for me, but for you, the wonderful person you are."

Minako couldn't suppress the deep sobs that came out from her chest. Zoisite dried her tears and leaned towards her to kiss her again.

"Live, my love," he finally said. "Do it… for you."

"Zoisite… was all Minako was able to say. He smiled and kissed her for the very last time.

"I will see you again," he said then. The light became stronger and forced Minako to squint. And though she tried not to fall back, she felt that she was returning slowly back into her unconscious body.

xxxx

Actually, Ami hadn't wanted to come back to the Karaoke Center. But when she had hurried out this afternoon together with Venus and Makoto, she had forgotten her bag, which wouldn't have been so bad, except for the fact that she'd left her keys inside; and as her mother had to work again until the next morning, she had had no other choice than to come back.

Though this time she wouldn't meet him for sure. It was night already. Ami had stayed at the hospital with Makoto. Only when the nurses assured them that they would contact them if there was anything new about Minako, the two girls left.

Minako, Venus. Zoisite's… beloved. And now Zoisite was dead. At least this had been what Usagi had told them on the phone about two hours ago. He died because he had protected her from Metallia's Youma. Zoisite knew that he didn't have much time left. And he had been right. How would Minako take this?

Ami sighed and finally walked down the stairs slowly and opened the door with her year-passport.

It was dark and empty inside. She walked quickly to the senshi's room. Only when she had closed the door behind her she turned on the light. There was her bag, on the sofa where she had left it. She walked down the stairs and grabbed it. Then she quickly ran up the stairs again, opened the door and rushed through it.

She saw the shape when it was already too late. Ami bumped forcibly into the other body and slammed with her back against the wall.

"Ouch!" the other person called out and Ami's heart started to beat faster when she recognized his voice.

"I… I'm sorry," she stuttered. "I didn't see you."

She heard a noise and the lights went on. He was standing right before her, looking at her in surprise.

"Ami? What are you doing here at this hour?" he frowned. "And how did you get in? It's closed."

"It's because of my year-passport," she tried to explain and fortunately he didn't ask more questions about it.

"And what are you doing here?" he repeated his first question instead.

"I forgot my bag," Ami said. "And since my keys are inside…"

"Did I hurt you?" he suddenly asked, and Ami was so surprised by that question and the worry in his voice that she was only able to shake her head.

He sighed and bowed. Only now she saw the black backpack he had lost when they had collided and for some reason her heart contracted painfully.

"You… you're leaving?" she asked.

He looked at his backpack and finally put it over his right shoulder. "Yes."

"Where… where are you going?"

"I don't know. I'll try to find a way… I'll find a way."

"That's… a pity," Ami said softly.

"But it's better this way," he answered, obviously more to himself than to her. He passed her by, but when he had reached the door he stood still and looked at her.

"Come on, let's go," he said.

And when all Ami did was to look at him quizzically he added, "Do you have any idea what time it is? You shouldn't be alone on the road at this hour. I'll take you home."

Ami smiled. If only he knew how capable she was of looking after herself… "Thank you. But you really don't have to do that."

"No discussion," he insisted with a firm voice. "Come on!"

Ami followed his instructions, unable to suppress the happiness she felt by thinking that she would spend the whole way home with him. Why did it felt so good to be with him? So… familiar?

She glanced over at him carefully. As he did so often, he looked as if he was evaluating something very important in his mind.

For a long time they were just walking one beside another without saying something. Finally Ami gathered up all her courage. "Umm… you… I mean… These… My cookies… Were they really that… horrible?"

"Yes," he answered honestly, but there wasn't any bad intention behind his answer.

"But… why did you eat them up then?" Ami asked.

He looked at her, and Ami's heart seemed to stand still for a moment due to his caring expression. "Because you made them," he said and smiled.

Ami's heart started to beat even faster. They looked at each other, neither one ready to break the gaze. And there it was again. That feeling that was so familiar, so well-known, and it made Ami's heart jump out of joy now, as if… as if she had finally found…

"Here we are," he said now, disrupting that moment… again, and somehow Ami knew that he had done it on purpose. Every time. So this meant that he had felt it too? But…

"So long," he finally said.

"Wait," Ami said, completely unwilling to let him go. "Isn't there… any way to make you stay a little longer?"

He shook his head. "I don't think that that would work out."

"Why?"

"Because. Goodbye, take care of yourself… Ami."

He turned around and suddenly Ami realized that she had never told him her name. How had he known it from the beginning? And why did he know where she lived?

"He's closer than you think. I can feel it."

Ami slapped her hand over her mouth as everything crashed down on her at once. The similarity, his strange statements, his moody behavior, his rage…

"Your heart will recognize him."

Her heart hammered in her chest and she gasped as he walked away.

"Nephrite?" she wheezed.

He winced and stood still; then, slowly, he turned around and looked at her. And now Ami's eyes and her mind finally recognized what her heart had known all along.

"Nephrite!" she screamed and ran towards him.

"Stay away!" he shouted, making her freeze at once in deep surprise and confusion.

"Nephrite," Ami said. "It's really you! You're alive!"

"I'd rather be dead," he said with an icy voice.

"What? How can you say that? This… this is a miracle!" Tears started to accumulate in her eyes.

"You're wrong," he answered harshly. "This is a disaster and it would have been better if you never had recognized me."

Everything in Ami went numb from those harsh words. "Why do you say that?" she whispered.

"Look at me, Ami. Really look at me!" he shouted.

She bit her lip and clenched her fists, unable to hold back the tears now. "I don't understand," she finally said.

"Don't you see what I am?"

"What you are?"

"I'm a human!"

"So what?!" Ami suddenly shouted back and then burst into tears. "It's still you, Nephrite. Oh my God! All this time I thought that you were dead, and sometimes I felt that I never would be able to go on. Do you have any idea how often I had to force myself to get up in the morning? How often I've prayed for a… miracle like this? And in front of the others I had to pretend that everything was all right. And all that time you've been here! Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because you deserve something better!" he called out. "Don't you understand? I'm not a Shitennou anymore. I don't have any powers anymore. I'm useless and weak. I'm unable to protect you."

"I don't need a protector, I need you!"

"You don't know what you're saying!"

"You broke the curse," Ami said now, her voice suddenly strong even though tears were still running down her cheeks. "You swore that once you did you would come to me, and I swore I'd wait for you and… here I am."

"If I knew that this would be the way to overcome…"

Nephrite trailed off and Ami's heart contracted as she understood the meaning of his words. "I don't care if you're a Shitennou or a human. All I want… is to be with you, Nephrite."

He looked at her for a very long time and for a second she was sure that there was an expression of grief on his face.

"I… I can't. Not like this," he said sadly. "Forgive me, Ami. Take care of yourself."

With that he turned around and started to walk away. Everything in Ami screamed and cried in deep desperation, unwilling to let him go, unwilling to lose him again, and so she did the last thing she could do. She ran behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, burrowing her face in his back.

"No, Nephrite!" was all she was able to whimper.

...

When Nephrite felt Ami's arms around him and her face in his back, his first reaction was to grab for her wrists, liberating himself quickly. He stretched his body away from her but still didn't let go of her. And then something happened.

He looked at Ami and saw the expression of deep grief and desperation on her face, and the way she sobbed almost broke his heart. He didn't know why, but for some reason he felt as if he had already seen her like this, and there was something else. Still holding her away from him, he realized that it was the first time he'd touched her… without the gloves that he had always worn when he was still a Shitennou. He had never dared to touch her for real. She was too pure and good for him.

But now he was holding her wrists with his bare hands, feeling her skin on his. She was trembling, the sobs he had caused wracking her body. He had made her suffer… again.

All those thoughts went through Nephrite's mind in just one second and suddenly he knew that he didn't have the strength anymore to stay away from her.

"Oh… damn," he said and pulled her into his arms, embracing her tightly. She wrapped her arms around his waist, sobbing loudly against his chest now.

Nephrite didn't know how long they stood like that, embracing each other for the first time since… what seemed so long ago, but finally Ami lifted her head and looked at him.

"I thought… I had lost you," she whispered.

He lifted one hand and dried her tears away, enjoying feeling the moisture and the softness of her skin.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I wanted to tell you, but… I couldn't. The way I am I feel so… I…"

"It's alright," Ami said now, tightening her embrace as if she had to ensure herself that it was really him. "It's alright." And then she smiled at him, and to Nephrite it felt as if the sun was rising. "This is so like you," she whispered then.

Nephrite frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You felt like you weren't… good enough, right? So you thought it would be best if I never found out." She lightly punched his chest. "That's so stupid, you know?"

"I thought it would better that way. I didn't want to disappoint you."

"You… idiot!" she shouted to his surprise. "Zoisite was right."

Nephrite looked at her in deep surprise. "Zoisite?"

Ami nodded. "He came to me, saying that he wanted to keep a promise he made… to a friend."

So he really kept his promise, Nephrite thought, but…

And suddenly he remembered the strange sensation of pain he'd felt in his heart today at Crown, while he had been cleaning the entrance hall.

"He's dead," he whispered at the same time Ami did.

"Do you know… how he died?"

"All I know is that he was protecting Usagi-chan… our princess, and then… I'm so sorry. I know he was your friend."

"He truly was," Nephrite said.

Ami sighed and buried her face in his chest again. He tightened his embrace, glad to feel her so close again… though he didn't deserve it.

"You… you won't go anywhere, will you?" she mumbled.

"That depends," Nephrite answered. Ami looked up to him, her gaze worried. He smiled and caressed her cheek. How good it was to feel her warm skin in his palm. "It depends… on what you want."

"Don't go," she said quickly. "Stay… with me."

"Are you really sure about that?" he wanted to know.

She nodded. "More than anything else."

"Even the way I am now?"

She frowned. "What do you mean? What's so wrong about it?"

"Come on, don't try to hide it. We both know that I've become … unsightly."

"You're not unsightly at all!" she burst out and suddenly blushed. "Actually, I… I think you're really… good looking."

Nephrite suddenly had to laugh. Could it really be that easy? But when Ami joined in his laughter he didn't care anymore.

"So," she said now, looking up at him. "You're really a human? No powers anymore?"

"I'm weak and useless," Nephrite answered, but before Ami could reply he said: "But I'm pretty sure that I'm still able to beat you in chess."

Her face brightened. "Oh, Nephrite, you shouldn't have said that."

She released him all of a sudden and jumped up the steps to her building. There she turned around and stretched one hand towards him. "Come on."

"Where?"

"Upstairs, of course! I don't know if you realized it, but you just challenged me."

"Ami…"

"Come on! Just one game," she begged.

He hesitated, evaluating the pros and cons to following her into the empty apartment.

"I'll make some hot chocolate too," she said tentatively and grinned.

"Alright," he answered immediately.

Ami laughed. God, how he'd missed that wonderful sound. He walked up the stairs to the building too and reached out to grab for her hand, following her through the entrance door.

xxxx

Jadeite walked down the tunnel of the Dark Kingdom.

Nephrite… dead, Zoiste… too. Who would be next?

"You guys… are the ones that are really suffering, right?"

Jadeite clenched his fists and snorted. Suffer. What did his… Master know about real suffering? His woman hadn't rejected him for another man. She had not forgotten him and all the wonderful moments they had shared back then.

The princess' feelings for the prince were still alive. As alive as they had been in the distant past.

Jadeite stood still at once and leaned his head against the raw, cool wall.

Mars, he thought sadly, why?

Suddenly the plan he had devised in his mind recently rose up again.

"I won't hurt him… not yet."

He nodded. If she recognized how desperate and… deeply in love he was with her, she would change her mind. Maybe this would be what would cause the right reaction in her. The realization that he was the one she really loved.

"It's the wrong way!"

Jadeite grabbed for his head. Again that voice, his own voice. He thought that with Zoisite's death it would have disappeared…

"You've already betrayed Nephrite! Now you'll betray the woman you love, too?"

I haven't betrayed him, Jadeite thought, I just gave reports to Queen Beryl. I only followed her orders, that's all.

"You're lying to yourself. You're a liar and a traitor, a traitor, a traitor…!"

"Shut up!" Jadeite shouted and silenced the voice in his head. Suddenly he realized that he was standing exactly at the same spot that Nephrite had always been sitting. He quickly took a step back.

He was breathing hard for a moment, but then he made a decision and with a smile of satisfaction and anticipation he walked back down the black tunnel.

xxxx

Rei jumped and looked around. Though she was alone in her room, there was still something. She could feel an energy near the temple. This had been what woke her up. She quickly got dressed and left her room, stepping outside into the temple's yard.

Everything was quiet. Too quiet.

Then she saw Takai standing there and she knew immediately that something was wrong. For one thing, she knew that he would never come here in the middle of the night; but his gaze was also very different. And when he smiled at her, Rei knew: this wasn't Takai, only his body. She knew that smile. She had already seen it. The day at the amusement park, when…

"Hello, my love."

Jadeite stepped out from behind a tree and put one arm around Takai's shoulders. "I would like to introduce my new friend to you."

"What… have you done to him?" Rei whispered, terrified, "You… you said…"

"I said that I wouldn't hurt him," Jadeite replied and smiled triumphantly. "He isn't hurt, right?"

"Release him," Rei shouted, trying to suppress the desperation and fear inside her.

"Of course," Jadeite answered, "Whatever you want, my love. But there's a condition."

Rei clenched her fists. She knew very well what kind of condition that was. She looked at Takai. His smile was evil. Just like the Youma that was inside his body.

That's not fair, Rei thought, he has nothing to do with all this. Why does he, nevertheless, have to pay for it?

And then the rage came. Rage about that damned past life. The past life that caused all this. Usagi, Ami, Venus, and now she herself too.

No, Rei thought, the past life… can be ignored. It must be ignored. Otherwise…

She looked at Jadeite, holding back the tears that were accumulating in her eyes.

"So?" he asked.

"Release him," Rei answered, "and… I'll do whatever you wish."

Jadeite's smile widened. "Whatever my love says."

"But," Rei said now with firm voice, "This won't mean that I'll be… yours. You may take my body, but you'll never have my feelings, my heart. These will always belong to… Takai. And that won't ever change."

Rei took a deep breath, surprising herself with the confession she had just made. "So think it over well," she continued, "if that's what you want."

...

"You can't force a woman's feelings."

Jadeite looked at Mars, remembering Zoisite's last words. He saw the way Mars looked at the young boy. The fear and desperation in her gaze and… the deep affection, and suddenly he knew that he had lost. She would never look at him that way. Maybe she did back then. But that was all. Back then. But it was over now. He had lost her. Mars would never be his in this lifetime.

Jadeite sighed and finally waved his hand. The boy fell to the ground, unconscious, as the Youma stepped out of his body. It wasn't really a strong Youma. All Jadeite had needed was a creature that was able to possess a human's body. Mars would get rid of it easily.

"I… release you," Jadeite said. "You're free."

Then he teleported away.

...

Takai slowly regained consciousness. He tried to figure out what happened, but all he remembered was that for some odd reason there had been that strange guy standing in his room. Afterwards… nothing.

"I… release you. You're free," he suddenly heard somebody say.

Takai opened his eyes and watched as a strange blond man, the same who had been in his room, just teleported away. But there remained a horrible creature. Its face was white and motionless with an evil smile. The rest of its thin body was black, and instead of hands there were claws.

And then he saw Rei.

"Mars Power…!" she called, "Make up!"

Takai watched in disbelief as Rei transformed before his eyes. Her hair grew down to her hips now. A golden diadem with a red stone adorned her forehead, and she was adorned in a red dress and shoes.

"Youma Taisan!" she shouted now and from her hands a fire ball came out which she threw against that creature. It cried out and was engulfed in flames until nothing but dust remained.

Rei sighed with relief; a white light covered her body and she transformed back to normal. Then she turned around and looked at him, and Takai realized that she was aware of… what he had just seen.

She walked over to him and kneeled beside him.

"Are you… hurt?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he said and sat up slowly. "What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yes. Looks like you are the warrior here, or am I wrong?"

Rei bit her lip, but finally she answered: "I'm… a Sailor senshi, and I fight against those kind of… creatures you've just seen. We call them Youmas."

Takai nodded. He somehow always had suspected that Rei wasn't just a… regular girl. "I see, so, is this also the reason you… rejected me?"

She sighed. "I never wanted you to get involved in this. I'm sorry."

Takai reached for her hands. "I don't care," he said honestly. "All I want… is to be with you."

Rei withdrew and stood up. Takai did too. "Rei…"

"No," she cut him off. "I've told you already that this won't work and I meant what I said."

"Rei…"

"Please," she said in a trembling voice. "Please… Takai… go."

Takai tried to ignore the pain those words caused inside him. Finally he nodded. "Whatever you want, Rei. But, nevertheless, there's something you must know." He sighed once before he continued, "My feelings for you are completely genuine. I've never played with you. I've fallen in love with you. There's nothing I wish more than to be with you, and this… won't change."

And then, though everything inside him wished nothing more than to take her into his arms, he forced himself to turn around and walked away.

xxxx

Ami tapped her king with her forefinger, tipping it over. Then she folded her arms in frustration, avoiding Nephrite's triumphant gaze.

"You want another rematch?" he finally asked, an ironic tone in his voice.

"No," she said shortly and stood up to put the figures back into their little box. "It's late and I'm tired. I need to sleep."

She tried to reach for the box, but Nephrite was quicker.

"Ami , are you…alright?" he asked.

"Yes. Please, give me the box," she answered, still avoiding his gaze.

"Really?"

"Really."

But as Nephrite still wasn't willing to return the box, she took the two empty mugs and carried them into the kitchen. She heard how Nephrite put the box back onto the table to follow her. She had barely been able to put the mugs into the sink, when he grabbed her by the shoulders to turn her towards him.

"Ami, come on, look at me," he said softly.

She did as he said, looking at him defiantly. He smiled at her lovingly. "Don't tell me you're…huffy."

"Of course not," she said quickly. "It was just a game."

He was still holding her as his smile widened. "Don't try to hide it. Even a blind man could figure it out."

Ami felt how she blushed and lowered her gaze quickly. Nephrite laughed and took her into his arms.

"Don't be angry, my smart senshi," he said softly, as he started to caress her back. "You almost beat me this last time. So, who knows, maybe you'll be able to beat me…"

Ami frowned at the sudden pause and looked up at him.

"… in about fifty years," he finished his sentence.

The idea of Nephrite still sitting across from her in fifty years playing chess made Ami laugh out loud, and it brushed away her bad mood. She wrapped her arms around him, enjoying having him so close again.

"I'm sorry," she said, suddenly feeling very silly. "That's not the way I normally behave when I… lose."

"It's your game," Nephrite said affectionately, "It's very understandable that you're upset. I can give you a few tips, if you want."

Ami freed herself from his embrace and laughed.

"Don't get cheeky," she warned him. "Or have you forgotten who is the one who's shown you your real talent?"

"Not at all," Nephrite answered, still smiling teasingly. "But who would have thought that I'd be that good at it, right?"

"You really want me to say it, don't you?" Ami said sulkily.

Nephrite grinned and took her into his arms again. "I would never dare to ask you to do that."

Ami smiled at him and reciprocated his embrace, convincing herself that he was truly here, alive. And suddenly she was overwhelmed by another feeling. The desire to kiss him, to feel his warm lips on hers… again.

"I'd better go now," Nephrite whispered, his voice trembling. "Before… your mother comes home."

Ami glanced at her watch. It was 5 am! She hadn't felt the time pass at all and, indeed, her mother would be coming home in the next hour.

She looked at Nephrite, suddenly feeling unsure and timid. "Will I… see you soon?"

"Is that what you want?" he asked, just as he had when they met on the top of that building so long ago.

She nodded.

"I'd love to, Ami."

"So, you really won't leave?" she wanted to assure herself.

He shook his head. "I won't leave."

"Really?"

"Really. But now I have to go." He released her and grabbed his backpack.

"Where?" Ami asked worriedly.

"Back to the Crown Center, of course. That's where I live these days. I'm sure Motoki has told you."

Right. Ami remembered how Motoki had told Makoto, Usagi and herself about it.

"And you're really going back there, right?"

Nephrite looked at her very intensely. "You obviously don't trust me, huh?"

Ami bit her lip. How could she explain that all this seemed to be too good to be… real? And that she was scared to death that once he walked through the apartment's door she would wake up, forced to realize that everything had been nothing but a dream.

Nephrite suddenly smiled at her lovingly, as if he had read her thoughts. He stepped before her and took her face into his hands.

"I won't leave, Ami, I promise. I'll go back to the Crown Center now and tomorrow I'll be waiting there for you." He looked at her for a long time and then he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

Ami felt as if her heart would jump out of her chest when she felt Nephrite's warm lips on her skin. All she could do was close her eyes, digging her fingers in his shirt.

Too soon he released her again. "See you later," he said, smiling.

"See you later," Ami whispered.

Nephrite caressed her cheek once more, and then finally he left the apartment. He had barely closed the door behind him when Ami ran straight into her room and looked out of the window. Though it was only minutes, to her it felt like hours until she finally saw him stepping out into the street. He hesitated and suddenly, as if he had felt her gaze, he looked straight up to her.

Ami smiled and waved shyly. He smiled too and lifted his hand waving back. Then he started to walk the in direction of the Crown Center. Ami looked behind him until she was truly unable to see him. Then she reached for her mobile and quickly dialed the number. It took a while until finally the phone was answered.

"Hello?" a sleepy voice said.

"Mako-chan!" Ami said, excited.

"Ami-chan? Are you alright?"

"Mako-chan," Ami said again, a wide smile on her face, "guess what."

xxxx

Minako felt that she slowly regained her consciousness. Still she was unwilling to open her eyes, unwilling to face the truth…

"Minako," a very familiar voice resounded.

"Leave me alone," she mumbled.

"Minako, please, open your eyes!" Artemis begged and it was the desperation in his voice that made her finally do so.

The white plushie was sitting on the bed table right before her and looked at her, very worried. But when she looked at him he sighed in relief. "Oh, Minako, thank God, you're finally awake!"

"Zoisite… is dead," Minako whispered.

Artemis nodded. "I know. The princess told us. I'm so sorry, Minako."

"The princess?" Minako asked.

"Yes. She… Zoisite had tried… to kill her… at first. But in the end he had saved her life. And she stayed with him… to the end."

"Good," Minako said in a low voice. "So he didn't have to die alone, at least."

"Weren't you listening to me, Minako?" Artemis asked, "I said that he tried to kill the princess!"

"But he didn't," Minako answered and looked at Artemis again. "He recognized his mistake and made it good again by saving her in the end… sacrificing his own life… Oh, Zoisite!"

She closed her eyes, unable to cry. So it was true what the poems and all those love songs said. The world was nothing without the one and only person you love.

But nevertheless, she still had something. The mission. She had to fulfill it.

"Forget the mission!"

"What is it that you want?"

No, Minako thought, Zoisite, this is one time you're wrong. The mission, the duty of the past life, has to be fulfilled. No matter what it costs. Even if it means that I have to die for it.

"Minako," Artemis said compassionately.

She opened her eyes again. The disease, that… bloody disease that didn't allow her to fight to the fullest anymore, that made her weak.

"I'm only getting in Jupiter's and the other's way," she finally said to Artemis.

"You should tell them the truth," Artemis replied. "They're your comrades after all." And after a short pause he continued, "That time when you were all together…"

Yes, Minako remembered that day at the TV studio together with the other senshi. It had been so much fun. She hadn't laughed like that for a while and afterwards, what nobody knew, not even Artemis: That night. That… wonderful night she had spent in Zoisite's arms. The first and only time she had allowed herself to forget everything, all her duties. All that had existed then was Zoisite and herself.

But this is over, Minako thought in overwhelming grief.

Now all that counted was the mission from the past. Aino Minako, the weak human, didn't exist anymore. Now there was only Venus. And she would do everything to fulfill her duty until she disappeared.

xxxx

Nephrite slammed the phone back on its cradle, unable to ignore the feeling of disappointment. He knew that everything was too good to be true.

"Bad news?" he heard Motoki ask from the storeroom.

Nephrite didn't answer. Bad news wasn't exactly the right expression. It was more a coming-back-to reality. He had forgotten something. The fact that Ami… still was a senshi.

And as such she would still have to fight against the Dark Kingdom and its Youmas.

And this was what she had to do right now. She had to cancel their date to fight against a Youma; and not just any Youma, but Metallia's Youma.

And he? He was forced to sit here and to wait. Unable to do anything. Useless. And he was afraid that something could happen to Ami. And this maybe will happen every day! He'll have to go through this again and again.

Nephrite sighed and leaned on the desk. He was thinking about the present he wanted to buy for Ami.

"I wonder about that."

Motoki's words sounded in Nephrite's head. Actually he wanted to buy something big for her, so, maybe, she could understand how big his feelings were for her. But now he wasn't so sure about that anymore.

"I hope that soon you can give it to her… again."

Nephrite reached into his pocket and took out the delicate silver necklace with its little diamond pendant that Kunzite had given him the night he had visited him here. He tapped the sparkly stone whose form was similar to a water drop.

"I hope that soon you can give it to her… again."

It was strange. For some reason Nephrite felt that he knew that necklace very well. He had seen that stone before, when he…

A sudden pain overwhelmed his head and he put his hand on his forehead.

"Nephukichi-kun, are you all right?" Motoki asked, stepping beside him.

"I'm fine," Nephrite mumbled and then, all of a sudden, something happened. He felt an energy. A very evil energy.

It was Metallia's Youma!

Ami! Nephrite thought in shock.

Something was wrong. Deep inside he felt that she was in grave danger. Quickly he put the necklace back into his breast pocket and jumped over the desk.

"Nefelin, man, where are you going?" Motoki called behind him, but Nephrite ignored him. He ran through the door, leaving the Crown Center behind.

Ami, Ami was in danger. And though he was more than aware that he had no powers anymore, there was only one thought in his mind while he ran through the streets.

Ami, please, hold on! I'm coming! Hold on!