Kiss From A Rose Chapter Eleven. By EternalSenshi. I don't own SM. Please R&R.

Minako opened her eyes, and looked up to find herself in a courtyard. She studied her surroundings. "Where'd she go now?" she muttered in frustration.

"Away to Earth," a voice said behind her. She turned to see a blonde general behind her, his long hair fluttering in the wind. His hand was softly touching the roses, admiring them.

"O-oh," Minako stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

"Admiring the gardens of the moon," he said simply.

"I meant here, without your comrades," Minako said softly.

"I got sent away by the prince," he said. "You know, Venus, you've got to keep a better eye on the princess."

"You've got to keep one on the prince!" Minako said, embarrassed by her apparent lack of care.

He smiled. He walked closer to her, and whispered, "Maybe it's a good thing I don't..."

He leaned down to her lips, and before Minako could do anything, he held her in a hold, with a tight grip on her neck.

Minako screamed before her air supply was cut off. She tried to move his arm away from her neck, but he held her tighter.

"You're not completely dead yet," the general said.

"Who are you?" Minako was able to gasp out.

His arm squeezed her neck again, so she was unable to speak. "You don't know?" He laughed. "Foolish girl."

Minako raised her arm, and elbowed him in the stomach. He loosened his hold, letting Minako slip out, and stand in a fighter's stance.

"Not so foolish, am I, Kunzite?" she said.

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Zoicite ended the electricity, and noticed Minako's limp body.

"Minako-chan...MINAKO-CHAN!!" Usagi cried. How can Minako-chan be dead? Sailor V's invincible! She can't die!

Zoicite laughed at the immobile corpse. "So, I killed one of the guardians of Silver Millennium."

"Minako-chan! Wake up! WAKE UP MINAKO-CHAN!" Usagi screamed.

Pictured flashed through her mind, like an old film projector had just been turned on: first meeting Sailor V, meeting her idol, talking to her, being comforted while comforting. She couldn't be dead.

Zoicite turned to the shocked Usagi, a smile on his face. "One down, four to go," he whispered maliciously. "Are you ready to surrender?"

"Don't give it...to him..." Rei said softly.

"Keep it safe...princess..." Ami said, her head dangling to one side.

"Go for it...Usagi...chan..." Makoto whispered.

Usagi stared at her friends. She wasn't going down like this. She was going to win.

"Zoicite!" she cried. She slowly and shakily got to her feet. His smile changed into a look of disbelief.

Usagi took a deep breath. "You messed with the wrong senshi!"

Zoicite glared at her. "All right, Princess. If that's what you want to do."

Minako stared at Kunzite in front of her. "You're the enemy," she said softly.

"Good guess."

"Why?" Minako asked. "Turn your back on everything for the Dark Kingdom? For what?"

"We were tired of the White Moon's spies," he said. "We were so damn tired of it!"

"We were never spying on you! That Beryl...she was only playing tricks with your head!" Minako cried.

He turned, his cape and his hair swishing from the sudden movement. "Every word, every breath you waste here brings you closer to death," he said.

"Kunzite!" Minako cried.

He turned his head slightly. "Venus, you don't even know what you're saying. Right now, your princess is about to face death in Zoicite's hands. And you just stand here."

Minako gasped. Usagi! "Kunzite! Onegai!" she cried pleadingly.

"I'm going to kill you, Venus," he said. "I have to kill you."

"Kunzite!" Minako cried. "Why can't you just help me?!"

Kunzite sighed. "How can you be so naïve?"

Venus bowed her head, tears coming to her eyes. She clenched her fists and held them at her sides. "Damn you..." she whispered, a tear falling to the ground. "DAMN YOU!"

Kunzite turned his head slightly. "Venus,"

"Who are you? What are you? Some ghost, some vision in a dream, here to torment me?!" Minako cried, her voice getting louder and louder.

Kunzite turned. "Die, Venus," he said, and shot power at her, knocking her off of her feet. She hit a wall, and slid down to the floor.

Kunzite walked forward. "I'm not a ghost," he said.

Minako breathed in deeply. "Then you must be my dream."

"No. A memory, perhaps, but not a dream," he said. "We're not letting your soul go." He glared down at her. "Not now."

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Usagi stood, glaring at Zoicite. He smiled malevolently, and let Minako's body fall to the ground. Her long blonde hair was lying askew on the ground around her body. Her fuku was ripped at the bows and skirt, and static was still running over her body.

Usagi looked over at Minako. She was surprised to see a look of pain - almost as if her heart had been broken - upon Minako's face.

Without warning, Usagi was blown off her feet, and her body smashed into a far wall. She screamed in pain.

"You know, I have a little secret for you," Zoicite said.

Usagi struggled to get up, but Zoicite shot more power at her, throwing her down again.

"Sailor V isn't dead," he said. "Her soul has been...taken, you might say. And as soon as it's destroyed, she'll disappear."

"She won't," Usagi said defiantly. "She won't die!"

"Shut up!" Zoicite cried, and hit Usagi on the back with his foot.

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"Then let me help Usagi!" Minako screamed.

Kunzite laughed. "Help the princess? You'd be wasting your time."

"Kunzite!" Minako screamed.

"Quiet! There's no way you can save her anyway! Not from here! As soon as she's dead, we won't have to worry about your damn spies, or be jealous of your longevity."

"There were no spies!" Minako pleaded.

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"Shut up!" Zoicite yelled after Usagi screamed. "Do you realize what pain and suffering we went through? All of it...it was all your damn fault!" He hit her again with more power.

"Stop it!" Usagi cried.

"Die!"

"NEVER!!"

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"All the pain and suffering we went through...the moon, a symbol of perfection, something we wanted to strive for but could never achieve...did you White Moon Soldiers ever notice our pain?!" Kunzite roared. "We never wanted to submit to your rule!"

"What submission are you talking about?!" Minako cried. "She told you lies, Kunzite! That evil Queen Metallia took control of your heart!"

Time was rewinding itself in Minako's mind. She remembered...everything. She remembered coming to the moon all those times to find Princess Serenity, keeping her away and trying to prevent her from falling in love with that Prince Endymion - when she herself had committed the worst crime a soldier to the kingdom could commit.

"We already knew we were in submission. You of the moon, who had a longevity span we envied - you don't understand!"

"No, you don't understand, Kunzite!" Minako dropped her head, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "I would never try to make you submit to us, because..." She bit her tongue, unable to tell him anything.

Her tears hit the stone ground next to her limp body. He stared at her. "Crying, Venus? Is it the truth, because you can't bear to hear it spoken from my lips?"

"You're wrong, Kunzite. I would never let them try to control you," Minako weakly protested.

"Why would that be?"

"Because I love you," she whispered.

He stared at her, not believing what he heard. "W-what?"

"I love you," she said, crying fully.

He knelt down beside her, and angrily slapped her across the face. "This won't help your princess. Don't even try to manipulate my emotions."

"I'm not," she pleaded.

He stared into her watery, blue eyes. "How could you love someone like me?" he asked humbly.

"Because we share the same promise and same burden - protecting a bundle of curiosity that is our ruler."

He smiled, and leaned into her, capturing her lips in a tender kiss. "I'll help you," he whispered.

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Usagi screamed as she once again hit the floor.

"Surrender the crystal, Princess Serenity," Zoicite demanded coldly. "I won't ask again."

"NO!" Usagi cried.

As soon as the word left her lips, a white light in the corner caught their attention. They looked to see Minako's stationary body glow brightly. Slowly, her blue eyes opened, and she stood up to glare defiantly at Zoicite. She held her arms up towards the ceiling.

"My planet of love, Venus! Give me your power of love!" she cried. Her arms came in front of her, and a red heart formed between her hands. "Rolling Heart Vibration!"

The power shot out of her hands, knocking Zoicite high up against a far wall.

Minako grabbed Usagi's hand. "Quickly! Use the tiara to free them!"

"H-how...?" Usagi said weakly.

"NOW!"

Usagi nodded, and raised her arm. "Moon Tiara Action!"

The glowing tiara cut through the vines holding the senshi hostage, letting their bodies drop heavily to the floor. Usagi and Minako ran over to them as fast as they could.

"Are you okay?" they cried.

Weakly, all fallen senshi nodded.

Zoicite fell to the floor, and stood up shakily. "You may have your fellow senshi back, Princess, but where is your beloved Tuxedo Kamen?"

Usagi took in a deep breath. She hadn't seen him for a long time. Was he...? She couldn't bear to think about it.

"Right here!"

Everyone turned to the new voice. Prince Endymion stood in the hall, his sword drawn. "I'm here, Zoicite!"

Zoicite laughed. "If you want to fight me, then go ahead, Master Endymion," he said with a mock bow.

"To protect Princess Serenity, I'd do anything," Endymion said. "Let's fight!"

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I know, I lied. One more chapter. It's been a while, so I wanted to get this up. I've been reading the manga again and watching the first season (in Japanese of course), so I'm really getting back into this. This also has developed into a Minako/Kunzite affair, and those are really fun to write.

Anyways, I'll update ASAP, but that may take a while, because I'm about to start my SENIOR YEAR (shiver). I'll see you soon!

EternalSenshi