Chapter 36: Thousand Year Romance
Mars faced me while Darien stood up and went after Rini. "I care about you," Mars said quietly. "I was never good at showing it to my friends."
"Neither am I," I admitted. I knew that she cared...I remembered how happy she and Mercury were after I told them I was coming to live at the Palace with them. Mars smiled back...but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Venus frowning at the floor. No doubt she felt like the person she loved was gone, replaced by the stranger lying in his hospital bed.
Artemis leapt out of Venus' handbag and his footsteps pattered along the floor. "Raye, why don't you catch up with Darien to make sure Rini's OK?" After Raye nodded and left, Artemis said "I'm sure Charon's hungry."
"Yeah, mom warned me about the hospital food," smiled Mercury.
"Why don't you and Lita pick up something to eat?" Artemis suggested.
"Why do I need to go too?" asked Jupiter. Artemis gave her a firm look. Jupiter glanced me. "Oh - gotcha!" she winked at Artemis.
"Mina, would you like us to get you something?" Venus didn't respond when Mercury asked her. "Mina?"
"Huh?" Mina looked up, but wore the same spaced-out look on her face. "Oh...no thanks, I'm OK. Artemis?" She called out the talking white cat's name when he started following the others out the door.
"I thought you'd want some privacy," he admitted.
"It's fine. You can't go wandering around the hospital," she said. After several seconds of quiet, I glanced at Artemis, who turned his head towards Venus. I'd have to be the one to start talking.
"You were the first person I met at the Palace...on the Moon, actually" I told her.
Venus faced me, but her eyes carried the inquisitive look reserved for complete strangers. "Yeah, you mentioned that earlier. I got the feeling you were too embarrassed to tell me the whole story." Both times she said 'you', I saw her mouth forming to say 'Logan' before she corrected herself.
"I'd never seen ice skating before, so I tried walking on the frozen lake and fell down in front of everyone. You laughed when you saw me, then you introduced me to Queen Serenity...but I was so shy that I barely said two words to you," I told her.
At least now, Venus was smiling. I could see her trying to picture the scene in her head. "Then we went to a ball at the Palace together and everyone was there: Serena, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and even Prince Darien. It was the best night of my life. Queen Serenity told me that once we defeated Queen Beryl, I could come live with all of you at the Palace. But then..."
Mina and Artemis stared attentively, fidgeting as they waited for me to finish the story. I wasn't ready to tell them about what Queen Serenity did...at least, not yet. "But I went on a mission and things went horribly wrong," I continued. "It broke my heart knowing our first dance was also our last one," I told them.
Venus' eyes twinkled. "Well, we'll have to fix that!" She extended her hand towards me to help me stand out of bed. Artemis backed up into the door to close it. Venus reached into her pocket and pulled out a strange white, rectangular-shaped object that fit easily in her hand. "Let me see if I have any dance-appropriate music on here."
She pressed a button on the device and music started playing: "I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world - "
"Ugh, why did I keep this one?" She pressed the button again.
"I like big butts and I cannot lie - "
"You're not dancing to that! You call that music?!" Artemis frowned, clearly disgusted. I'll say one thing for the Moon Kingdom: they always had better taste in music.
"I just kept them in case I needed inspiration for writing songs, OK?" sighed Venus. She pushed the button and the music changed.
Venus gazed at the screen when the sound of a drum and piano started playing from her device. "I...didn't know I still had this one," Mina said. Artemis looked up at her.
"Open that door the rest of the time - " I recognized that was her voice singing the words. Her thumb hovered over the button that changed songs.
"Wait! This one's perfect," I said before she pushed it.
Venus looked surprised. "Do you mean that?" she asked.
She blushed when I nodded. I raised my right hand in the air and held my left towards her side. She held them, but we just stood there looking in each other's eyes for a few moments as the music kept playing. Not that I minded...
"I thought you were going to dance," Artemis finally asked after Venus' song had played for thirty seconds without either of us moving.
"You told me to follow your lead, last time," I told her. The left side of Venus' face tightened. "You said you made it up as you went along."
Venus' face brightened. "I can do that!" She alternated between lifting my left arm and right arm in the air, then started shaking me from side to side. I nearly flew out the door when she started twirling me around the room. Artemis groaned and placed his paws over his eyes. OK, so we look ridiculous...but she finally started laughing.
"That was a great song," I told her when the music ended. "Why wouldn't you want to keep it?"
"I made it to the final round of star auditions with that song...but the Scouts needed my help. Four years later, it seems like I'm no closer to making my dream come true." Venus sighed. "Don't get me wrong, I would never turn my back on my friends for anything...but sometimes I wonder if that was my last chance. I've been wondering if it's time for me to look for something else."
"Don't give up, Mina. You can still make your dream come true!" Artemis had peeked out from under his paws to provide some encouragement. He then turned to me and explained, "we're trying to keep their identities as Sailor Scouts a secret on Earth...though the Spymaster already knows who we are. He's been watching us." I had to make a point of remembering their 'other names'...and my own.
"I thought that Logan and I could form a duet!" Mina announced to the white cat. "But I've never heard him sing. And I never asked what kind of music he likes. What if he doesn't even listen to music?" She must have realized that she was talking about Logan as a completely separate person from me because she looked at me sadly. "I wanted you to open up, but now that I think about it...there are so many things I never told you either."
"You only started dating him yesterday, Mina. With everything that's going on, you two haven't had much time to yourselves," said Artemis.
"It just...feels like we've been dating a lot longer." Mina gazed longingly into my eyes...perhaps she was looking for Logan. "We didn't trust you at first. "When I met you I saw this shy, cute, really brave guy with a big heart that I had to get to know," Venus made me blush. "But you were also a Shadow. Artemis warned me a long time ago that if I fell for a guy, I had to make sure that I liked him for who he truly was. Not who I wanted him to be."
"He was right. That's great advice," I told her. I caught Artemis smiling.
"But I didn't stand up for you as much as I should have," she lowered her head. "I wasn't a very good friend...and I haven't been a much better girlfriend, either."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Mina," said Artemis.
"I know you care. I can see it in your eyes when I talk to you," I said to her.
Venus gazed at me longingly again. "We didn't tell you that your bracer also restricted your powers and prevented you from attacking us. When you found out, you left because you were so angry at us for not trusting you. The others told me that I needed to give you space and let you make your own decision...but I felt like I had lost you before. If I couldn't convince you to come back to the group, I wanted to know that you were safe. So I followed you."
"But I came back," I asked.
Venus smiled. "Yeah. You were scared that the others would be mad at you too, but you came back with me. That's when we started dating."
"Maybe you feel like we've been dating a lot longer because we have," I suggested to her. "I thought about you every day."
Venus gently pulled me towards her and leaned in closer. "When you woke up and told us that you didn't remember everything, I thought that my boyfriend was gone. But now I see that Raye was right: even if we don't remember the same things...you're still the guy that I...that I..." She took both of my hands, interlocking fingers as she leaned even closer towards me. She tilted her head so that her lips were facing mine and closed her eyes halfway.
"Um, are you sure you don't mind me staying?" Artemis asked. Venus wasn't listening. She was in another world...another time...
I knew exactly what she wanted me to do. I was slightly afraid to kiss her at first...maybe Logan - if he was a separate person - would have been even more afraid. But then my final memories played again in front of my eyes. I remembered lying in Titan Castle, clinging on to the memory of the ball as everything around me faded into darkness. What did I have to be afraid of if I kissed her? I had more to fear - and regret - if I did not. I gently pulled her towards me, closed my eyes, and allowed my lips to touch hers...
"OK then," said Artemis blankly as he watched. The moment our lips came together, I knew everything about it was right. Maybe I feared that she wouldn't feel the same way, like she was cheating on her boyfriend for kissing me, but that didn't happen. Her body pressed against mine and she held my hands even tighter as if she wanted to hold on to me forever. And I never wanted to be separated from her again.
I heard the door behind Artemis creak slightly, barely enough that I could hear it...and saw one green and one blue pair of eyes peeking through.
"Someone's watching," I whispered to Mina after our lips had parted.
Mina charged at the door and swung it open. "Amy! Lita! GET BACK HERE!" she screamed into the hallway. "I've gotta hunt down those two!"
"I hope Rini's OK," I said to Mina.
"Hopefully Darien and Raye caught up with her. They might be in the lobby. I'm sure it would mean a lot if you talked to her." Mina pointed behind me. When I took her hand, she smiled and gave me a light kiss on the lips. "I can't wait to give you your present."
"Present?" I asked myself when she charged down the hall in the opposite direction.
"Oh no, I'd forgotten about that," sighed Artemis. "Today is your birthday. All of us tried to convince her to get you a gift card or write you a song, but she wanted your present to be..." Artemis shuddered, "special."
"Daddy! Raye!" Artemis and I both heard Rini's voice screaming down the hall.
"Mina still has your bracer! Find a place to hide, I'll get the others!" Artemis ran in Mina's direction. But Rini's screams reminded me of Sailor Saturn's...I couldn't let another child get hurt, not again. Especially if she was my friend.
"I don't know where she is! I'm not going anywhere with you!" cried Rini. I crouched down the hall until I found the lobby, where I took cover behind a blue couch. I peeked over to see three Shadows back Rini into a corner. They wore the exact same robes that we wore 1000 years ago. Even though the others told me they were the enemy, I still couldn't believe I would have to face down my former allies, even if I never met most of them. I found Darien and Mars lying unconscious in the chairs next to her.
A black cat-faced ball bounced off the head of one of the Shadows. "Get that stupid thing away from me!" The Shadow swatted it a way and yanked Rini's pink hair, making her scream. "Stop whining or I'll knock you out, you spoiled brat!"
That's it! Bracer or no bracer, I'm not letting them torture her! "I'm over here!" I came out of cover and shouted to them.
The Shadow smirked. "The Spymaster finally ordered us to bring you in after your little stunt at the Crystal Palace!"
"Come and get me then," I taunted.
"No! Run, Charon!" Rini shouted.
"I said shut up!" He pulled her pink hair again. The other two Shadows vanished and reappeared right next to me, but I quickly grabbed one of them by the arm, flipped him over my shoulder, and ducked under the other one as he attempted a dark energy punch. I then kicked him into the wall. I didn't feel as physically fit as I was 1000 years ago, but I was adequate.
The Shadow that had been tormenting Rini stared at the downed Shadows in abstract shock. He pulled out a dark energy sickle with a weighted chain at the end. "Remember this, turncoat?" Rini ran to the side of the room and shouted 'Moon Prism Power!' The Shadow swung the weighted chain in my direction, but I was able to jump over it. I quickly saw that it was a feint: he was coming towards me with the sickle end. I stepped off to the side, grabbed both of his wrists, forced both his arms together, and twisted him around to spin him to the ground. His grip weakened enough for me to wrest his weapon from him.
"Moon Tiara Magic!" That was Serena's voice! She appeared from another hallway and threw what looked like a disc of light at the Shadow I had head-slammed into the wall earlier, knocking him over. The others had told me she was a Sailor Scout before, but it was still a shock to see her wearing the uniform. I was even more shocked when I saw Rini dressed in a pink and white version of the same uniform.
"Luna-P Attack!" cried Rini. The cat-faced ball slammed into the other Shadow's head, knocking him to the ground as well. Luna-P...that name sounded familiar. I remembered I had something similar...but that was another memory that didn't fit with the rest.
"I'm Sailor Moon, the champion of justice! On behalf of the Moon, I shall right wrongs and triumph over evil...and that means you!" Serena posed as she gave her speech and pointed at the Shadow behind me. I had to wonder if the whole routine was really necessary. Serena stared at me as if she just noticed I was there. "Hey, you're up! And you're kicking their butts without the bracer!" she exclaimed.
"You're not the turncoat! He never would have been able to take us without his bracer!" jeered the Shadow whose weapon I had taken.
"Who else would I be?" I taunted.
"Charon, here's your bracer!" Venus appeared behind Sailor Moon. She tossed a silver bracer with the dark shard towards me: everything down to the engravings was identical to the one I had worn before. The same black and gray Shadow robes formed around me in a flash of blue light. The three Shadows were now completely cornered by the Sailor Scouts, with Raye and Darien beginning to stir.
"Last chance to surrender!" warned Serena. Sailor Mercury tossed me another item that I hadn't expected to see: a transformation pendant in the shape of the Moon. I placed the necklace around my neck.
"You won't humiliate us like you humiliated the others at the Palace," the Shadow sneered. I saw him reveal his own transformation pendant and clutch it. I held my own pendant and raised my bracer arm towards him. He stood there paralyzed with shock when pendant became encased in dark energy and flew towards me. I channeled my own energies into it and sent it back flying towards him, taking the form of a black screeching bat as it crashed into him.
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" Sailor Mercury summoned a watery harp that fired a water blast after she finished playing it. She hit the stunned Shadow that had attempted to transform, slamming him into the wall and causing him to disintegrate into shards of ice.
"You'll regret that, parasite!" screamed one of the remaining two Shadows. Before he could attack any of the Sailor Scouts, I teleported out of sight and charged into him like a streak of light, slammed him into the wall on the opposite side of the lobby.
"Jupiter Oak Evolution!" She spun around and sent leaf-shaped shards of green energy towards him after I jumped out of the way, destroying him.
"Venus Love Chain Encircle!" Sailor Venus trapped the final Shadow after he recovered and teleported behind me.
"The Spymaster could have destroyed you all, but he showed you mercy. He offered you peace, and you so readily - " I teleported to the third Shadow and grabbed him by the collar before he could finish his rant. He glared at me through yellow eyes, and his skin had taken on a dark purple hue.
I remembered how angry Tithon became when I 'suggested' using Serena as a hostage...now I was sure that he was the Spymaster. "Can you send a message to the Spymaster?" I asked the Sailor Scouts.
They stared at each other warily. Sailor Moon looked especially confused...they must not have told her yet. "Uh, he usually hacks our communicators when he wants to talk," Jupiter explained and held up her arm to reveal a bracelet wrapped around her wrist with a crystal star face. I rolled up my own sleeve and realized I was wearing the exact same model.
"You will take a message to the Spymaster. If he wants me, he can come for me himself," I told the last Shadow.
"What?!" exclaimed Serena. The others looked petrified.
"If he's truly wants peace, then I'll meet with him one-on-one," I said.
"Charon, you can't!" begged Sailor Venus.
"I know him," I told her...but my words didn't seem to ease the lines of tension written on her face.
"What makes you think you can demand to speak with him, traitor?" the Shadow snarled...but not loudly enough for the others to hear him.
I leaned into the Shadow's ear and whispered, "tell him I know who his daughter is." The defeated Shadow breathed heavily and clutched his throat when I dropped him to the ground. "Now go!" I ordered.
The black guardian cat with the crescent moon forehead came forward after he left. I'd seen her before with Queen Serenity...she must be Luna. "I haven't seen any of the Shadows we've faced use attacks like the ones you just used. Where did you learn them?" she asked.
"Charon remembers everything that happened during the Silver Millennium, including his training and experience. He knows how to use his dark magic more efficiently," explained Artemis. "With the other Scouts, we might have a chance against the Spymaster now." Other Scouts, I wondered.
"You remember the Moon Kingdom? That's so cool!" exclaimed Sailor Moon.
Darien and Raye had returned to consciousness and joined the rest of us, rubbing their foreheads. "There was a tradeoff. He lost his more recent memories," explained Darien.
Serena eyed me closely. I still couldn't believe that she was a Sailor Scout. "How recent? From a couple of hours ago? Yesterday?"
"More like a thousand years, give or take," suggested Sailor Jupiter.
"WHAT?!" Serena's eyes started filling up with tears. "You mean...you forgot about all the talks we had?"
"I'm afraid so," I answered.
"All the romance advice that I gave you?" Serena's lip started quivering.
"Half of which you probably 'borrowed' from my routine!" Venus pointed her index fingers towards the sky to make quotation marks when she said 'borrowed'.
"I wonder where you got all that from since your relationship experience was zero until Logan came along!" taunted Sailor Jupiter. Venus held her arms at her sides, made fists, and fumed in Jupiter's direction.
Serena's eyes shook like a pair of dams about to give way. "What about...the twenty dollar tip you promised me?"
"I know he never promised you that!" challenged Raye as Serena sniffled.
"He didn't even get a chance to order anything, Serena!" added Luna.
"What do you mean by 'tip'?" I asked. Serena gasped, then the waterworks began...
"WWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Serena came down on her knees and began wailing loudly while the rest of us watched in embarrassment.
"I remember Princess Serenity being more...dignified than this," I told the others as tears flowed from Serena's eyes. Now I knew she wasn't ready to hear the truth.
"Hopefully, Princess Serenity will wake up in Serena's body one day," sighed Rini.
"To her credit, she doesn't cry every time something dramatic happens anymore," said Sailor Jupiter.
"It's still really embarrassing when she does!" Raye stared down at the Moon Princess as she continued her tantrum. "You're twenty years old, Serena!"
"But I was his best friend! WWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Either Logan and I had completely different personalities, or he also wondered how that happened...
To Be Continued
A/N: Tomorrow is my birthday, so what better way to celebrate than with a new chapter? Last month was a record for Shadow of Silver Millennium: over 2000 views! That brings us well over 6200 views since I posted the first chapters in July! A huge thank you goes out to everyone who has reviewed and sent me notes! I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter - we were due for some Logan/Mina fluff ;)