A.N.: Ugh. It's nothing short of a miracle that I was able to get this done, as tired as I've been lately. My fifteen-year-old brother, you see, went out and bought two thirteen feet plus snakes and put them in tanks right outside my bedroom. If those things get out—and his creepy crawlies always do—they could quite literally eat me, or at least choke me to death trying. Is it any wonder that I haven't been sleeping? I'm living through Anaconda every night in my dreams, though my nightmares aren't nearly as cheesy as the movie was, and I'm not rooting for the snake this time around.

You know, I tried to sell this brother of mine once before, and nobody wanted him. The offer still stands. I'll even toss the snakes in for free.

Relevant Story Info: None, except to say that I'm still taking names for the mailing lists.

Brief Recap: Last time, Mina took a prisoner, built a secret lair that she instantly dubbed the "Bat Cave," and renewed her search for Artemis. Two new/old characters were also introduced, though I'm only going to say that most of you guessed correctly. And for those of you who didn't—it wasn't Mal.

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CHAPTER THREE: Haunted

Even before a weary Mina crawled into her bed that night, she knew she would regret keeping her promise to Setsuna. Too often, in these last months, her sleep had been haunted by memories of what had come before, of the life she'd once had, of the person she'd been before she'd become Mina. She was plagued by her dreams, because every time she slept she was reliving a past filled with more heartbreak and pain than she even wanted to acknowledge. She hated it, though of course the memories weren't all bad. There were moments of joy amidst the pain, nights when her dreams weren't bitter, when she could remember faces and events with fondness rather than the self-recrimination she usually felt. Those were the good nights, and if they didn't come very often, Mina was simply grateful that they came at all.

Tonight was somehow different. Always before, Mina had found herself in the past, on worlds long since dead and with people she'd once loved but whom she would never see again. She'd come to expect those dreams, and perhaps that was why, when she finally allowed sleep to claim her that night, she was shocked to find herself someplace else entirely. She wasn't, she soon realized, back in a world that no longer existed, but rather in one that had never existed at all. This was a world of darkness and fear, a world that was in her own mind and nowhere else. It was a world that she had visited once before and had not wanted to see ever again.

It was Minako's world…

Mina stood frozen in the darkness of her own mind, eyes wide and unhappy. She'd recognized this place instantly, knew what it was, knew who she would find here. It was only a matter of time before Minako came, though Mina didn't understand why her other self had summoned her thus. Whatever the reason, Mina obviously wished Minako hadn't brought her here. The last time Mina had come to this place, she'd been in a coma, her mind overwhelmed by too many memories being unlocked at once. She'd created this place to escape from the pressures of that, though it hadn't been the refuge it had been meant to be. Minako had found her here instead, had tormented her with truths she hadn't wanted, with knowledge she would have turned from if the choice had been really been hers. The encounter had changed Mina instead of healing her, and she would cheerfully have gone the rest of her life without encountering Minako again, after that. The awareness her other self had given her the last time was already enough to torment Mina for all the eternities she was destined to live, and she truly did not think she could take any more life-altering truths and still remain sane enough to finish this battle.

What did her past self want with her? Mina wasn't pleased with the prospect of seeing Minako again, though she knew she should have been. She should have been grateful for this opportunity to learn from her other self, to gain more knowledge of what she would have to do, but she wasn't. What else could the senshi of the past have to show her, and at such a time as this? Would she now be forced to endure more visions? She'd believed she'd seen the worst her old life had to offer, but if Minako had summoned her again, maybe she'd been wrong about that. Maybe there was more to come, and maybe it would be even worse than having to relive her own death at the hands of her soulmate. Could she survive it, if it was?

Mina still hadn't moved, though now she began turning her head from side to side, trying to find the golden woman who'd put her in this nightmare in the first place. She couldn't see anything, of course. There was only the darkness, but Mina eventually began walking anyway, picking a direction at random and allowing her feet to carry her without any conscious thought on her part. She hadn't wanted to stay where she was, though she also hadn't known where else she could go. There was nothing in this place that she could see, no destination she could move towards. There was nothing here.

And, suddenly, there was. Mina hadn't taken more than a few dozen steps before the darkness lifted slightly, chased away by a single pillar of bright light. Her eyes narrowed as she peered into it, as she slowly moved to stand inside it, but nothing happened immediately. Minako didn't come, and Mina sighed after another moment, allowing her golden eyes to drift slowly and rather expectantly around her, waiting with as much patience as she could muster for the one she knew should have already been here. The minutes continued to pass, but Mina's expression didn't change. She only crossed her slender arms over her chest, eyes hard as she gazed about herself. "You're not really much of a decorator, are you, Minako?" she eventually muttered, irritated by the woman's failure to meet her. She sighed again, shaking her head. As far as she could tell, this place was not any different than it had been three months before. The same nothingness surrounded her, ate at her from where she stood in the cool pillar of light Minako had created. The darkness was just as repressive as it had always been, and Mina shuddered, knowing her second visit to the abyss would not be a reprieve any more than the first had been.

She found herself glancing around again, searching for a way to end this. She quickly realized how pointless that was, however, and she shrugged, letting her eyes drift to the black obsidian floor beneath her feet. Her reflection stared back at her, a pale face with large, emotionless eyes and a cross expression. Mina shivered a little, seeing more of Minako in that reflection than she would have wanted. She had become every bit as hard as her counterpart, these last few months, had become every bit as inhuman and empty as Minako had been at their last meeting. They were one and the same, of course, so perhaps that shouldn't have been so surprising, but Mina hated the idea that she'd lost so much of herself only to become the person she held most responsible for the disasters of the past. Would she ever be only herself again, or would she always remain a shadowy copy of Minako?

Mina shook herself free of that thought before it could take hold, knowing she didn't have time for this. She tore her eyes away from the lonely face in the black glass, pushing away as many of the doubts still lingering in her mind as she could. "Come on, Minako," she called softly, knowing her other self would answer in some way or another, if she insisted. "I don't have all night. Where are you? Why have you brought me here?"

The answer came almost immediately, as Mina had hoped it would. Minako may have only been a figment of Mina's imagination, but she wasn't much more patient or capable of ignoring so direct a challenge than Mina was, and soon enough the senshi's lilting voice echoed through the abyss, through Mina's soul. I brought you here because I wanted to tell you the truth, the voice whispered almost tensely, and Mina rolled her eyes, not feeling quite as frightened of her other self as she had that other time, when Minako had shown Mina what their first death had been. She only spun on one heel, turning to glare at the slender, perfect woman now standing at the very center of the light.

There was no emotion at all on Minako's face, and she stepped slowly forward, coming to stand before the younger senshi. Mina, though, only stared back, refusing to be daunted by the more-than-faint reproach in the golden eyes that so matched her own. "What truth?" Mina snapped at her, her own expression just as bland but for the faint trace of bitterness that flashed through her eyes and then was gone. "What could possibly be left for you to say to me?" She hadn't stopped glaring at her counterpart. "I don't need you to tell me anything, you know. I've been recovering my memories on my own, these past months. If I can do that, I don't need your help to get the rest."

Minako chuckled at this show of Mina's temper, but the sound was cool and dismissive and impossibly acerbic. "Have you?" she immediately retorted, her voice soft enough in spite of the scorn still lingering in her clipped and accented words. "We existed for centuries, you and I and whoever else we were, long before ever Beryl or Malachite came. How, then, could you have regained everything we were and everything we'd learned in so short a time?"

Mina couldn't find the answer to that, but perhaps she wasn't expected to give one, because Minako's face suddenly gentled. "It won't be so easily done, Mina," the older senshi confessed. "You can't become Venus in just a few nights. There are lifetimes upon lifetimes of memories left to be recovered. You haven't even begun." Her voice had softened, too, all reproof disappearing under the sorrow every one of Mina's incarnations always seemed to feel. "You have so much more to learn, and everything has changed. Have you even figured out who you're supposed to be fighting?"

Mina grimaced, no longer feeling quite so much of the old hostility, glad that this was going to be a teaching session and nothing more. "Whatever I know," she admitted, feeling almost ashamed for her brief rebellion against her older and possibly wiser other self, "it's not enough. It's never enough." She frowned, peering at Minako. "Is that why you're here?" she quietly asked, "to tell me more about the bad guys?"

Minako nodded, though Mina thought the gesture was a little too hesitant. "Yes." She bit her lip, then pushed on. "The one you captured tonight is worthless," she abruptly continued, her words perhaps a little harsher than they needed to be. "Don't bother torturing him—he knows nothing."

Mina scowled. The news wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, but she still didn't like what Minako was telling her. Had she been wasting her time so far? Maybe she should just be glad that she wouldn't have to torture the man, though she'd been fully prepared to do so. "What am I supposed to do with him, then? Kill him?"

Minako shrugged. "It doesn't matter. He was just a grunt, a flunky. Nobody will care if you kill him, and nobody will care if you don't. He's useless to you." Her golden eyes suddenly sharpened. "The man you caught doesn't matter," she repeated, "and I can tell you more than he ever would, anyway."

Mina arched an eyebrow, skepticism clear in her face. "How? You're dead, remember? You were able to clue me into the enemy only because you'd fought them before and knew they'd come back. Unless you've suddenly learned to tell the future, you can't help me now."

Minako was scowling, as well. "I don't have to see the future to see more than you apparently do," she snapped. "I'm in your head, aren't I? I see and hear and feel what you do, but the difference is that I know what to look for. You don't." She was still glaring at Mina, and had Mina been anyone else, the look in her eyes would have been very intimidating indeed. As it was, Mina only glared right back.

"So tell me, already. What should I be looking for?"

Minako rolled her eyes, perhaps unaware that the movement was hardly in keeping with the stern, focused self she was supposed to be. "It's not what you should be looking for—it's who," she impatiently explained. "Even you should have noticed how suspicious and controlling these enemies of ours are. They trust each other even less than they trust you, and they've spent too many centuries fighting amongst themselves, hoarding knowledge and power from each other. It's weakened them to the point where only a very few of them are strong enough or know enough to be real threats to you. All you need do is eliminate those few, and your problems with them will be solved. The others will be too weak to assault you, after that, and their entire race will fall apart." She snorted, clearly still annoyed with her other self. "Then again," she snapped, "I'm only a dead girl, so what do I know?"

Mina nodded, processing this and ignoring Minako's snippiness. "Okay," she agreed, "but how do I find the leaders? I've spent three months just trying to locate one of these guys. What makes you think I can find the right ones any better?"

Minako's lips had turned down, and she was staring at Mina with something akin to incredulity. "You're supposed to be smart," she said, the words not truly directed at Mina but enough to make the younger girl scowl frown even more. Minako only groaned, ignoring that, as well. "I think dying so often has rotted your brain. You really haven't figured it out?"

Mina shook her head, still looking a little cross. "Obviously not. Why don't you stop insulting me long enough to explain?"

Minako took another step forward, coming close enough that Mina's eyes were crossing whenever she tried to look at the other woman. "Let's try this another way," she said. "What do these creatures feed on, Mina? Where does their strength come from?"

Mina shrugged, still not understanding. "Human emotions," she answered quickly enough. She and Minako had already been over this part. "They feed from the energy humans give off whenever they're unhappy or afraid or angry. The Styx sustain themselves on that alone. They need nothing else."

Minako's lips had quirked in a faint smile. "That seems a little impractical, doesn't it? Every time somebody cheers up, they'd lose their food source. How can they survive like that?"

Mina's eyes suddenly widened, comprehension dawning on her face. "They stir up trouble, get into other people's heads and keep them lonely and hurting and afraid. If there are enough people suffering, it wouldn't matter if one or two stop being miserable." She snapped her fingers suddenly, something else occurring to her. "Why didn't I see this before? It's so bloody obvious! All I ever needed to do was find the people most likely to cause great amounts of harm—politicians, doctors, the very rich and the very powerful." She hung her head, ashamed that she could have been so ignorant. "They've been there, all along. I just never saw it. I've been so stupid."

Mina's voice had thickened with just enough self-loathing that even Minako, jaded as she was, might have offered some pity, but she didn't. Something else had distracted her, and while she heard Mina's words, she wasn't listening anymore. She was, instead, staring out over Mina's right shoulder, eyes unfocused and almost angry. "It's too soon," she whispered, voice harsh enough to draw even Mina from her shell of self-blame. "He can't have found us yet…"

The blonde girl's head came up, her sharp gaze instantly fastening on Minako's face. "What is it? What's wrong?" Her own words were just as clipped and angry, made even more so because she could think of only one explanation for Minako's statement. Please, she begged whatever gods might be listening, let me be wrong…

Minako took a step backwards, tawny eyes gleaming in the pale light. "He's here," she told Mina, and the girl's eyes widened. "Malachite has found us." She met Mina's gaze, somehow keeping her perfect features completely controlled but for the urgency now in her expression. "He can't see us together, Mina. You know that. He might pass you off as a dream, but the two of us together…"

Mina's eyes were still too wide, but she only nodded, knowing exactly what Minako was telling her. If Malachite saw them both together, he'd see how identical she and Minako were, and then it was only a matter of time before he put a few other clues together and realized that the two women were, in fact, one and the same. One of them, either she or Minako, had to leave before he came, and as much as Mina wished it could be her, she wasn't the most logical choice. As Minako had said, Malachite would believe Mina was simply part of a dream, and her presence wouldn't necessarily lead to the awkward questions that Minako's would. Still, Mina wasn't prepared to deal with Malachite, not when she hadn't even worked out her feelings for him. She was afraid that her hatred for him wouldn't survive this meeting, and then where would she be? She'd left him because she couldn't trust him, but she'd also left because he made her too vulnerable. Without her anger to keep her heart in check, would she again find herself weakened by her ancient love for him?

It was cruel of Minako to do this to her, and Mina wasn't about to let the woman get away with it so easily. She turned to her counterpart, expression suddenly furious. "How is this possible?" Mina snarled, not willing to let Minako leave until she understood. "How could he find me? I'm half a world away. That should have been enough!" Her hands clenched into fists. "And even if it wasn't, this isn't a place he should be able to come anyway! How could he get inside my head?"

"You know the answer to that." Minako's face had gone still with the eerie calm Mina hated so much. "He's your soulmate, remember? He's too much a part of you, and no matter how much you hate him right now, you also still love him. Something in you must have been calling to him."

Mina was scowling, but she, too, had become just as quiet as her old self. "Yeah, whatever," she growled. "You're probably the one who let him in." She sighed, running slender fingers across her face. "Is he the real thing? Or is this another one of your tests?" She glared at Minako. "If it is, I might just have to kill you."

Minako shrugged, not bothering to ask Mina how she planned to do that. "He's real enough, though, as I said, he probably thinks he's dreaming." She glanced at her other self, her features hard once more. "He's too much of a risk. Get rid of him, Mina."

Mina opened her mouth to protest, to fight against Minako's order and her own common sense, but she couldn't. Minako was already gone, vanished like a wisp of smoke, beyond Mina's reach. And even if Mina's other self had stayed, it probably wouldn't have mattered, because suddenly Malachite was also there, and Mina was alone with the silver-eyed man she'd run away from once before…

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Reader Responses:

Venusian From Hell: (This also includes the reply to the last review of RM) Yeah, I'm glad, too. As slow as I am, I didn't think I'd finish it for another month at least! And, hey, I completely understand. I'm also taking so many upper division classes that I can't see straight. It's amazing that I ever get anything done, as much studying as I have to do.

I know. I can't seem to shake the habit, though I really do try. Hopefully this last chapter wasn't quite as bad.

Beautiful compliments, incidentally. If I ever need encouragement, I know who to go to! You're a sweetheart, to say all that. Until next time!

Optical Illusions: S'okay. Trust me, I know how hectic life can get. I haven't been reviewing anybody else's stories, either.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for the flattery and the compliments. You're an angel!

Ocianne: That's okay. I love long reviews, so I'm hardly going to complain. I'm glad you liked the details, though I'm sure you're also glad that I've gotten all of that out of the way. I know I am.

Just two stalkers…that's not so bad, is it? And you guessed correctly: the man at the beginning was Ace, and Blue Eyes was Artemis. I had to bring them in somehow, and this seemed like a good time.

Truthfully, I sent Art away in the first chapter of RM, and then forgot about him. I hadn't meant to send him away for so long, but by the time I remembered what I'd done, it was too late. He'll be back in this fic, though.

Yes, she definitely has a thing for light-haired men. Every guy she's ever been with has had white hair or blonde hair. Personally, I think it's a fetish.

That Gollum thing was both creepy and hilarious. I knew I liked you for a reason! And, no, I couldn't do that to the series, either.

I loved your explanation for the scars! It made more sense than mine, anyway. Can I steal it?

As always, adore you for the review. They're so beautifully long and insightful! Can't wait to hear from you again!

Hota-chan: Did you seriously just read the entire thing? That's impressive, because even I don't think I could do that. I don't have the patience.

No, she probably was hiding something from Mina. She's hiding a lot of things, but then that's what happens when you come back to the past and the person you're talking to wants you to reveal too much.

Thanks for the compliments! I'm truly amazed that you read this whole thing and still came back for SM. Maybe you're some kind of masochist, but I adore you for it.

Pudadingding: Well, that's good, because you're completely right. But, no, Mal won't see Mina in the flesh for some time yet. Blue Eyes was Art, though if so many people hadn't guessed that, I wouldn't be telling you now.

Romance might come later…in fact, romance will come later. I might have to put it off for a bit, but when it comes, there'll be so much of it that you'll get cavities.

And obviously, this third chapter did have them dreaming of each other, in a way. I'd planned to include that sooner or later anyway, but your comments had me going for sooner. Thanks for the motivation! And they obviously get together in the end. I only write happy endings, and if Mina doesn't end up with Mal after all that, it wouldn't be very happy, now would it?

Eagle: Yes, that was Art. I hadn't wanted to make it quite so obvious, but since everybody pretty much guessed correctly, I must have. Oh, well.

And it wasn't shorter. I always make my chapters at least five pages long. Maybe I just didn't spend so much time rambling or something. I don't know, but I thank you for the compliments, just the same.

Transcendent: Yes, it was Ace. Kunz/Mal won't be showing up in person for some time yet. And not to give too many spoilers, but Mina won't have quite the same problem with Ace as she had with Mal. There'll be different problems, of course, but I don't want to go into them yet.

As always, loved hearing from you. You're such a sweetheart when it comes to reviews and compliments!

Krysia: Thanks for the help. I hadn't realized that feature was available, though it still doesn't help with the borders. They don't show up no matter what I do. Oh, well.

Loved hearing from you.

Koosei: Not Malachite, sorry. I hadn't wanted to simply tell everybody who it was, but so many of you guessed that I suppose it doesn't matter. It was Ace, Mina's version of Tux Mask from the manga (only less annoying). He was also Adonis from their past lives, so he and Mina have quite the history together. Thanks for the review!

A. Lee: Sorry to disappoint you, but it wasn't Malachite. This is someone else entirely, though he's also a potential love interest for Mina. And don't worry, Mina isn't going to be lonely for long (though I promise to make her end up with Mal. After everything, I couldn't let it be any other way!). Thanks for the review!

Adyen: Oooh…Mina as Batgirl…somehow, that's not an image I want in my head, though is sure is funny.

Thanks for letting me know about the link. As always, I appreciate the time you spend on my stuff!

Fushigi Hime: I'm glad you like what I do, and I thank you for the compliments. And don't worry about not reviewing, because I understand how much time it takes.

Yes, I love Sets, too. She's a fun character, and she'd be a useful partner for Mina.

Wow. I knew I adored you for a reason! Those were some of the best compliments I"ve ever gotten, and I thank you.

JadesRose: Blue Eyes belonged to Art. Yes, you would think Mina would sense it, but since I'm the all-powerful author-person, I told her not to. Seriously, my explanation for that is that Mina has gotten so used to Art over the years that his presence wouldn't necessarily alarm her. If you can come up with a better explanation, I'm all ears.

I actually tried complaining, it was bugging me that much, but I wasn't able to get anywhere. Oh, well. I like the border I have now, because no matter how much I see it, it's still funny to a narcissist like myself.

Thanks for the compliments and for the review. As always, I loved what you wrote.

WOW: Thanks again.