Sailormoon A
Story 1
"Minako"
Author: Jackie Chiang

Notes:
1) This is my first attempt at writing a fanfic.  Actually, it's not, but 
it's the first that I've released and have had read, so don't criticize me 
too much.
2) Most of the characters here are owned be Takeuchi Naoko, and they
 are being used without her permission.  The other character and the 
whole story are MINE.  Don't use them without my consent, OK?
3) If you think my story's pointless, boring, and full of crap, please 
see note 4.
4) My E-mail address is:  wchiang@mydoc.com
5) I decided to be a sheep.  I did my title like many other Sailor 
Moon stuff.  Notice a trend here?  Sailor Moon R, Sailor Moon S, 
Sailor Moon SuperS, Sailor Moon F, Sailor Moon M, Sailor Moon 
Z, Sailor MoonV, etc.  Anyway, you can interpret the A in different
 ways if you wish, but for my purposes, it stands for 'Alternate.'  
You figure that out.
6) I have tried, for the most part, to keep my facts straight, which is sort
 of hard to do, having not seen the last few R episodes.  I may have 
gotten some names and spellings wrong, so please bear/bare with me.
7) The story is about Minako, but much of it is told by another.  
Minako is an interesting character for me to choose.  I suppose 
she was picked because she is, in my opinion, a very vulnerable 
character who is often underestimated by others.  She strikes me as
 a good subject to work with.  On to the story.


Venus stood on the balcony staring out at the sea with deep 
blue eyes.  She leaned against the rails while hugging her elbows
 tightly.  Her long blond hair blew around her face gently in the 
breeze.

From inside, she heard Mercury reading aloud Shakespeare in her 
room to Saturn, who was listening, totally absorbed.  Mars and 
Uranus were playing a lovely duet on the piano in the music room 
while Neptune accompanied them with the sweet strings of her violin.
  She could smell wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen where
 Jupiter was making dinner for everyone.  Laughter came to her 
ears by way of the wind...Serenity's honeyed laugh in harmony 
with Endymion's deep one, accompanied by Small Lady's.

As she watched the ships float by, she felt warm moisture 
on her face.  She wiped the wetness from her face, but the 
drops continued their trek downwards.  Tears?...Tears.  She 
hadn't cried for such a long time...Not since she had left her 
childhood days and youth behind, becoming a member of the 
protectors of the royal family of Crystal Tokyo.  Not since that
 day...

The tears came faster, and she muffled the sound of her sobbing.  
They were so lucky..._She_ was so lucky.  It killed Venus to 
know that she envied her queen, her dear friend, the one person
 who was so pure.  But she did.  Secretly, on nights like 
these, she hated Serenity so strongly that it frightened her.

Serenity would never understand what she felt.  Venus herself
 did not understand the emotions raging inside of her.  She truly
 loved Serenity and would give up her life for her.  So, how 
_could_ she hate her?  ...Easily...Serenity had everything while
 Venus didn't.  It was a love-hate relationship.  She strongly 
loved Serenity as a friend, yet hated her passionately.  Venus
 wondered about herself every night while she tossed and 
turned in bed.  What was wrong with her?  _Nobody_ hated
 the beloved leader of the world.  Only she did.

...Venus hated herself.

Why were her phases coming back now?  Until only a few weeks
 ago, she had thought that everything was going to be fine again.
  She had thought that Mercury's medical treatments had helped 
her.  She had thought that she was normal again.  But she wasn't.
  She knew that she was slipping once more.

Venus fiddled with the ring on her finger.  This was _his_ ring...
The one he had given her before she had had to take her duty in
 the royal palace.  She never took it off.  It was the symbol of
 everything they had shared together, their deep love for each 
other.

"Venus?" Mercury stood in the balcony door behind her.  

"Dinner's ready. Jupiter made your favorite- curry rice."

Venus didn't turn around.  " I'm not very hungry," she
 murmured disinterestedly.

Mercury frowned.  "Are you OK, Minako?" she asked 
worriedly, calling her by her childhood name.

"Yeah, I'm just kind of tired.  I think I'll go to bed early."

The blue haired genius noticed that she was playing with
 the ring on her finger.  "Minako-chan...You're still not 
thinking of that...?"  Venus didn't answer.  " You have to know
 that our duties as the Sailor Senshi are our destinies.  You 
must try to become content with that..."

Venus looked down at the sea, the tears dripping from her face
 into the water.  They made tiny ripples in the dark sea.  Suddenly
 she spun around.  " Why?" she said, her voice low and intense.

Mercury blinked.  She wasn't expecting that.  " Why what?" 
she asked softly.

" Why must we give up our entire lives for destiny?"  Venus's voice
 grew progressively louder until she was shouting.  " Why must 
we give up all our friends, our families, our hopes and dreams for
 the future, everything we care about for destiny!  I never _chose_ 
to be a Sailor Senshi!  No one ever _asked_ me."  She laughed 
bitterly.  " The only one who has it made is Serenity..."  Realizing
 what she had just, she quickly shut up.  She started crying again.

She didn't realize that the others had come out to see what
 was happening.

"Minako..." Serenity said softly.  Venus looked up to see them 
all there.  They were all watching her with shock on their 
faces.  Venus was mortified and ran inside to her room..

Serenity looked down.  " Is she still thinking about him, Ami?" 
she asked quietly.  Mercury nodded.  Serenity sighed.
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It all started many years ago, right before I became Neo-Queen
 Serenity of Crystal Tokyo.  Back then I was known as Tsukino
 Usagi, not Serenity, and lived in a city simply called Tokyo.
  We didn't know that it was almost time for my reign to start,
 save perhaps Pluto.  Maybe not even her.  The fateful events
 that had been foretold had occurred, and Tokyo was soon to
 be in chaos.  But we didn't know, and therefore were powerless
 to do anything to help or hinder the inevitable.

When we were in high school, almost all my friends were 
involved with someone else.  Ami had Ryo who came to visit
 frequently.  They were very happy together even though they 
grew embarrassed whenever I just 'happened' to pop in on their
 dates.  Rei had Yuuichirou who was devoted to her.  Rei didn't
 treat him as badly anymore, even though she did give him a 
good whopping every once in a while.  Haruka and Michiru 
were obviously in a close relationship, though they denied it 
fervently.  Hotaru and Setsuna were content to not have any 
boyfriends.  Hotaru was recovering from her increased developmental
 rate while Setsuna was somehow just like that.  Mako wasn't 
attached to just one guy.  She was dating many boys who 
she liked.  I, of course, had Endymion, then known as Mamoru.

Minako was in a steady relationship for once.  She was dating a boy 
named Hokato, a year or two older than she.  They were very serious.  
I can't really say what attracted Minako to him, as I don't usually see 
past Mamoru.  However, I suppose he was attractive with his black 
hair and green eyes.  Minako told me confidentially that he reminded
her of Alan, the boy she had liked in England when she was Sailor V,
 even though they looked nothing alike.

Hokato and Minako went everywhere together and soon it became
 apparent to most that this was the real thing, but not to us.  He had 
given her a ring that had been in his family for generations, a symbol
 of their love.  We didn't know of this token since Minako was 
unusually secretive and possessive of it, and we thought that Minako 
was merely experiencing an infatuation.  And who can blame us?  
Minako had always been flighty and boy crazy, sometimes outshining
 myself in the flighty department and Mako-chan in the other.  She
 fell in love with every cute boy she saw.  However, we should have
 realized that something was different about this relationship.

I often feel that I, most of all, should have been more understanding
 and empathetic with Minako, yet I wasn't.  Sometimes even now,
 I wonder that if I had acted accordingly, the situation would have
 never happened, or have not been as severe.  But that question
 will never be answered.

As the Sailor Senshi, we were fighting our current enemies, the evil 
Sun Quintet, and we often had Sailor business, if you will.  Minako 
resented being called away from Hokato all the time and eventually 
said so.  Instead of tactfully handling the situation as leader, I acted 
careless, a trait that I possessed when I was younger.  I told her that 
she was destined to be a Sailor Senshi, and just because she didn't feel
 like being fighting didn't mean that she could stop being one.

Looking back after the fight, I realize that I myself was in that 
situation after I discovered that I was the Moon Princess.  I didn't
want to be her, yet I had to be...and Minako was there to support me 
and cheer me up after I fell into depression.

As one can probably tell, Minako became angry at my insensitivity, 
and we had an enormous fight.  I think that was when she first started 
to hate me.  She consented to my authority, however, and later I 
apologized for my words.  She accepted my apology, yet there was a 
subtle change in our friendship from then on.

Life continued on as usual.  Only once did anything serious 
happen immediately after the incident between Minako and 
myself.  We noticed that Minako was spending a great deal of 
time with Hokato, and we told her that we wanted to see her too.  
Minako took this as a threat and claimed that since we didn't like 
her boyfriend, we were trying to tear them apart.  We immediately
 soothed her, reassuring her that she was wrong.  Minako calmed
 down, yet we noticed that she still watched us suspiciously.

The years passed as they had before, and Rei, Ami, Mako, Minako,
 and I went to college.  Ami was studying to become a doctor, Mako
 wanted to be a chef, Minako still hoped to become a gym teacher, 
and Rei majored in religion.  I had not decided on what I had planned
 to do in the future, so I stuck safely with becoming a chef like Mako.  
I really couldn't think of anything else I wanted to do.  Since I had 
matured and cleaned up my act in the last two years of high school, I had
 been accepted to college.  Ami had been accepted to Harvard in the 
United States, and was going to go later on.  She never got the chance.

During this time, the period of unrest in Tokyo had come.  It 
came in the form of an evil force so great that it took all of our
 power to defeat it, as well as the life of Mamoru's sister, Terra,
 Sailor Earth, and the ones of four other Sailor Senshi- Pallas, 
Ceres, Juno, and Vesta, formerly known as the Amazon Quartet.  
We were greatly devastated by these losses.  Mamoru took it 
especially hard.  The only sister he had known for only several 
years had been taken away.

The world was in a panic and was unstable.  Much of it had been
 destroyed, taking many lives with it.  The world was put under a 
deep sleep, just like we had been warned.  I knew the time had 
arrived to establish Crystal Tokyo and to awaken the people of 
Earth.  I tried to deny its coming, but I realized that you cannot 
sway the inevitable from its path.  Using the power of the ginzuishou, 
I purified the people and reconstructed the world as I knew I should.  
I used the power from inside of me to help my work.  

All I remember is closing my eyes and straining to create
 what I wanted.  I awoke several days later in a bed.  The 
other Sailor Senshi and Endymion were there, by my side.  At 
first I remembered little of what had happened, but the others 
explained what had happened  Pluto explained to me that the 
pureness of my heart had resulted in Crystal Tokyo, as the main 
city was named.  She also said that it was fortunate that I had 
not been killed from using the ginzuishou; apparently, I had 
used much of its energy, but not the entire amount that was 
needed in order to kill me.

I felt relief go through me, yet I was consciously aware of a change
 that had taken place.  I realized that never again would I be 
known as Tsukino Usagi; that part of my life was gone forever.  
I was Neo-Queen Serenity, Serenity to my friends.  Their lives 
would be different too.  From then on, in public they were to be 
called Sailor Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, 
Pluto and Saturn.  I accepted this fate as best as I could; I understood
 that from that day forth, I was to be responsible for the safety
 and well being of Crystal Tokyo.

I must admit that we all adjusted remarkably well.  I 
can honestly say that life was not as different from what it had 
previously been.  We had more serious responsibilities, especially myself.  
However, we still could enjoy many of the pleasures that our other selves did.
  On days when I was not busy, we often had picnics and parties.  
The others still went out on dates with their boyfriends, growing 
closer with each coming day.

Ami and Ryo went to museums together; Rei and Yuuichirou often
 took walks in the park and things.  Haruka and Michiru went to 
hear the symphony or watch the cars race, they themselves often 
participating in those activities.  Minako and Hokato went 
together to many places, never separated.

I think that is where the problem lay.  My friends were too much 
in love with their boyfriends.  You see, the ginzuishou gives near 
eternal life to _some_ people, mainly the Sailor Senshi, Endymion, 
Small Lady, and myself.  It could not accommodate our families or 
our friends, who originally came from Old Tokyo, even though they
 had undergone the purification system.  You can well imagine the
 pain we felt when we realized this.  At first, the change was 
unnoticeable.  Gradually, we could see that everyone around us
 showed the signs of old age , while we ourselves aged very slightly,
 almost not at all.

The feelings of anger, frustration, and intense sense of loss were
 unbearable.  We watched our loved ones withering away before
 our eyes.  The hopelessness we felt tore at our hearts, making 
life almost not worth living.  Fortunately, I had Endymion to 
comfort me.  Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus were not so 
lucky.

Their boyfriends, too, were leaving them.  The Sailor Senshi 
would have married them had not their responsibility for Crystal
 Tokyo been too great.  They did not have the time to settle down
 to have a family.  In the end, the men were more understanding
 then the senshi about their fates.  They accepted their deaths 
with unusual calmness.  When they came, my friends locked 
themselves up in their rooms for several days.

It took a very long time for their wounds to heal.  During that 
time, the city was most vulnerable to attacks and invasions.  
Fortunately, none came.  The girls went through deep stages of 
depression and anger, Minako most of all.  They raved and ranted, 
cried, and did nothing.  Even Ami, who was sensible and strong, 
went through these phases, although she and Rei tried not to show
 how they were feeling.  At many times, they blamed fate, me, 
and themselves.

Gradually, the pain left, slowly, as they discovered that life 
must go on, through thick and thin, during loss and anger.  
Their work helped them continue, helped them live.  It was 
therapeutic and helpful.  They soon came to accept their fates 
and overcame their pain, or so I thought.  Ami, Rei, and Makoto
 learned to accept death and adjusted accordingly.

Minako was different.  Outwardly, she appeared to be fine, like 
she had come to terms with Hokato's death.  Inwardly was 
another story.  She became emotionally unstable, but hid the 
fact so well that no one, not even Ami, could tell anything was
 amiss.  I think she even thought that nothing was wrong with 
her either.

Much later, it became apparent that something was wrong
 with her.  Minako was apt to have fits of violence and 
depression where she would say and do horrible things.  
Sometimes, she would not come out of her room for days and let 
no one in.  Whenever Haruka and Makoto finally forced their 
way into her chamber, they found her to be sitting still, playing
 with the ring that she always wore on the ring finger of her 
left hand.  At other times, she became rude and violent, throwing
 items, smashing things with her powers, and yelling terrible things
 at us.  She would rant that she hated us and she wished we
 were dead.  These things hurt.

When Minako finally came out of her phases, she tried to receive
 help from Ami.  Ami was the best doctor in Crystal Tokyo and
 did her best for Minako.  Finally after many years of programs
 and treatments, it seemed that all was well again.  Minako no 
longer had spasms of intense emotions and was always happy and
 cheerful.  We thought that the worst was over.  Until recently...

Just a few months ago, Minako went through depression again.  
She did nothing except sit in her locked room for many days.  When
 we finally forced our way in, we found Minako to be in the worst
 possible conditions.  She had not bathed at all, her hair greasy,
 tangled, and matted with filth.  She had not changes her clothes
 at all; consequently, they too were dirty and smelly.  Physically,
 Minako looked terrible.  She was too skinny, as she had not 
eaten at all.  There were black smears under her eyes from lack
 of sleep and a blank look on her face.  Worst of all, she sat in her
 own waste, which stank rancid and putrid smells.  Flies flew
 around the room. We all took one look at the picture and left
 the room to throw up.

Ami took care of Minako until she returned to reality.  We couldn't
 understand what was wrong with her.  Only under deep psychological
 treatment could we finally understand the root of her problems,
 and that was the death of Hotako.

However, it soon became apparent that these treatments were not
 working.  Only a week or two ago, Minako became suicidal and
 abusive.  Once again, she was given special care, but even then
 her dilemma was not solved.  The problems only escalated...

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Venus lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling.  She could not sleep,
 not that she had in the past few nights.  What is wrong with me?
 she asked herself.  I should have gotten over him long ago...
He's gone, dead.  There, say it, Venus.  Dead.  He'll never
 come back.  He's gone.  Forever.

A tear dripped down her face.  One tear only.  For him. 
 He's gone, Venus told herself.  Why can't you except that?  Why?

Suddenly a sharp sound pierced the air.  Venus shot up.  
That sound could only mean one thing.  An invasion on 
Crystal Tokyo.  She quickly changed into her sailor fuku 
and ran out the door.  The others were already there.

Serenity was next to the map of the world.  "The invasion is 
coming from the north," she told the senshi, pointing to a small 
red dot.  " It's the kingdom of Ithinsil from a planet in the 
Kutarian galaxy.  Luna and Artemis have reported that they're
 sending their strongest monsters to attack us."

Uranus swore softly under her breath.  Pulling her hand 
through her short hair, she spoke.  "I guess there's no avoiding 
this.  We have to attack directly, fast and quick."

Venus and the others nodded.

"I'm coming too,"  Serenity said softly.

The senshi all turned to look at her.  Venus noted Serenity's 
appearance.  Her eyes were determined and her posture was rigid.

"Mother," Sailor Moon said softly, her red eyes sad.

"Serenity," Mercury said grimly, "you're not coming.  It's too
 dangerous.  You're our queen and we can't risk having you killed."

"Ami," the queen answered, her voice soft but strong, " I must
 help too.  This is my kingdom; I'm responsible for it."

Mars exploded.  "Damnit, Serenity! you can't come.  There's 
too much at stake to have you risk yourself like this." There
 was an undertone to her voice.

She was worried, Venus knew.  They all were.  We all love her 
too much to have her leave us, she thought.

"You can't stop me, Rei," Serenity said stubbornly, her eyes 
flashing.  The others shook their heads.  They knew that 
when she was like this, they couldn't change her mind.

"all right," Mars finally relented.  " But we attack first.
  Got it?"

The queen nodded.  She understood.  Venus sighed inwardly
 with relief.  The last thing any of them needed was to have
 Mars and Serenity arguing.

"OK," Uranus said, taking charge again, " everyone 
know your positions?  Let's move out."

They ran out of the room, and headed towards the outskirts 
of the city.  There were seven monsters destroying everything
 in sight.  The people were running off, screaming and crying, 
while the huge creatures obliterated their homes.  This was not
 like other attacks on Crystal Tokyo.  There was no time for fancy
 speeches.  Lives were on the line so the senshi attacked
 immediately.

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"

"World Shaking!"

Jupiter and Uranus combined their attacks against two of
the things.  The shot knocked them to the ground, but it only
 stunned them.  They got up and soon the two senshi were 
using their other powers to destroy them.

Meanwhile, Mercury, Mars, and Neptune were attacking two 
other creatures.  Mercury used her Mercury Aqua Rhapsody
 in combination with Neptune's Deep Submerge.  The smaller
 monster, who was obviously the weakest of the seven, fell
 and did not get back up.  Mars immediately used her Mars
 Flame Sniper to burn the other one to death.

Saturn and Sailor Moon were busy with two other monsters.

" Saturn Silence Shot!" Saturn shouted.  Triplet chakras came
 flying out of her Silence Glaive.  They slashed one of the black
 things until it was dead, blood streaming out of its cuts, its 
body fallen to the ground.

Sailor Moon was running around, jumping to avoid the beams
 of fire that the other thing shot at her.  One of the beams 
shot her pink ponytails.  "That's it!" she shouted.  "You 
chopped of part of my hair!  Moon Beam Crash!"  A white
 beam of light shot from her hands to the monster, 
disintegrating it instantly.

Venus was alone in the midst of a heated battle with the lead 
monster.  She was getting severely beaten.  None of her powers 
could affect it at all.  She wished that she could say the same 
for its shots though.  Her body was bruised and battered, 
blood coming from her wounds.  She was so tired that she 
could barely stand up.  Sweat dripped from her face into her 
eyes, blurring her vision.  The monster was about to send a 
final blow to her when a sudden blast knocked it down.  Venus 
looked to see Serenity standing a few feet away, holding her scepter.

Serenity ran up to Venus, who had fallen to the ground.  
"Are you all right?" Serenity asked worriedly.  She kneeled 
down to the ground, soiling her dress, and put her hand on
 the girl's shoulder.

Venus nodded.  She looked around wearily to notice that the other
 Sailor Senshi had finished defeating the monsters too.  Jupiter 
and Uranus looked like hell, their bodies covered with scrapes
 and sweating like crazy, though they looked wonderful compared
 to Venus.  Sailor Moon had one of her ponytails partially
 cut off, and looked none too pleased.  The other four girls
 were tired and had a few cuts, but were otherwise fine.  
They all walked over towards Venus and Serenity.

Suddenly, a cold feeling of danger flashed through Venus's body. 
 She looked over Serenity to see the lead monster wearily stand up. 
 It moved to attacking position and aimed a shot right at Serenity.

"No!" Venus screamed, and pushed Serenity out of the way
 just in time.  A split second later, the strong blast hit the weak girl,
 and she crumpled to the ground, not moving.

"Minako!!" all the others screamed at once. 

"World Shaking!"

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"

"Mars Flame Sniper!"

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"

"Deep Submerge!"

"Saturn Silence Shot!'

"Moon Beam Crash!"

All the words were shouted in union immediately.  Together,
 with Serenity's energy, the combined blast hit the monster, 
obliterating it to dust.

"Minako!" Serenity ran over to Venus's side.  The girl wasn't 
moving.  She carefully cradled her head in her lap, stroking 
her head, crying softly.  Mercury quickly reached for Venus's 
wrist.

"Her pulse is too weak!" Mercury said.  "She needs medical 
attention right away or she'll-"

Venus's eyes weakly fluttered open.

"Minako!"

The girl tried to smile, but it was weak.  The others knelt around
 her.  Everyone except Uranus and Mercury were outwardly 
crying; Uranus was trying not to because she wasn't used to 
doing that, and Mercury was trying to be the calm one.  Both 
failed miserably.

"Minako," Mars said softly.  " You'll be OK, you'll see.  We'll
 get you to the hospital right away, and then you'll get better-"

Venus shook her head a little.  " Rei," she said weakly.  "Don't.
  Ami, don't try to help me...It's too late.  Let me die."

Mercury looked at her, gripping her hand tightly, tears in her eyes.
  "I can't do that.  You're my friend, and you need my help-"

"It's too late," Venus repeated softly.  She gritted her teeth against
 the pain in her chest.  She was oddly calm, like she excepted her
 fate with ease.  " Ever since Hotako died, I've...changed.  I realized
 that I can't live without him...I'm losing it.  I'm going crazy, 
insane..."

Serenity interrupted.  " We'll get you medical help, Minako!" 
she said.

Venus managed to smile, even though it caused waves of pain
 echoing throughout her body.  " No, Serenity.  Rei, Ami, 
Mako, Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, and Small Lady...I love you
 all, but if I live on, I'll hurt you...I already have said and 
done things that I haven't meant...Someday, I might completely
 crack and I might...do something that I don't want at all...
It doesn't matter what you try to do; it's too late...You know it
 as well as I do."

Jupiter covered her face with her hands, sobs racking her body.  
Uranus was holding Neptune as the green haired girl cried on 
her shoulder.  Mars was looking at the ground, tears falling 
onto the dirt.  Sailor Moon and Saturn were crying hard, their 
faces twisted with anguish.

"Serenity..." the words were coming out fainter, "I don't 
hate you...You know that...I don't blame you...right?"

Serenity nodded, wiping the moisture off her face.  "I 
know, Minako," she whispered.  " I know."

Venus didn't answer, just smiled  Her eyes slowly closed as 
the life left her body.  Mercury felt her wrist again, waited a 
minute, then shook her head, her eyes closed even though the
 rain from them still fell.

Serenity looked on her lifeless friend's face, and saw that the
 faint smile was still on it, like she had been relieved of a great
 burden right before she died.
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We had always thought to bury the Sailor Senshi much 
later on in a great tomb.  But this seemed inappropriate for 
Minako.  Instead, we buried her body next to her beloved 
Hokato in the cemetery.  We had decided to keep the ring 
on her finger where it was...Minako would have wanted it 
that way.

We will always be saddened by the death of our dear friend, 
the one we shall always love.  But in a way, we are happy 
that she has finally achieved the peace and happiness that 
she had always sought after Hotako's death.  We truly believe 
that she is happy right now, wherever she and Hokato may be.


The End