This choice: Someone from her Sailor V days • Go Back...Chapter #4Coming up Aces by: faith   Author's Note: Dragging this guy out of the deep, dark recesses of Sailor V manga hell. Just a word of warning.
A very familiar laugh echoed down the alleyway. Minako faltered just as she was about to transform.
"...Ace?" She said in shock.
Fair to say that fate had always played a strange role in the life of the Sailor Senshi. Old truimphs and tragedies from their first lives as Princesses and Guardians of their respective worlds were often revisited in their modern lives. The obvious example was the romance between Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. But for Minako there was the peculiar parallels that popped up between her and Usagi. Both carefree blondes with a love of fun and an abiding hatred for schoolwork, both tossed into the world of the senshi by a feline mentor...and both protected by a mysterious masked guardian. For Usagi that was her Mamoru. For Minako it had been Ace Kaitou, a celebrity by day and hero by night. Where Tuxedo Mask used razor sharp roses, Phantom Ace (as he was also known) used equally deadly playing cards as his signature attack. He had saved young Minako from death more times than she could count.
He was supposed to be dead. She knew this because she was the one who killed him.
"You look more beautiful than ever, Venus." said the silver haired man as he strode into the alley, his carefully tailored uniform a match for his hair. Not for the first time Minako was struck by his resemblance to Helios in his human guise (minus the horn, of course)...if somewhat older and a bit colder in demeanor.
".....HOW? How can you be here?" Minako whispered, her head spinning.
"My, you seem surprised. All the times you were able to cheat death with that silver imperium crystal, yet it surprises you that I had a way to do the same?" Ace smiled humorlessly.
"Its been so long since...I killed you." Minako said, her eyes wide.
"Yes, well...I wanted to be completely certain that you had exhausted your supply of enemies. I wanted your full attention, and I know how easy it is for the Lady Venus to be caught up in her duties." Ace said with a touch of bitterness.
So many millenia ago Ace had been called Adonis, a lonely soldier assigned to guard Venus and her castle. The poor fool had been instantly smitten with her beauty and dedication. Busy as she was with the protection of the Solar System, the young princess had never thought more of him than a dependable servant in her entourage. Still he loved her enough to take that in stride, knowing she would never have time for such trifles as romance, wishing that one day he might have the power to change their fates. And fate gave him that chance by reincarnating him into the modern world, even as it cruelly set him on a very different path.
"You didn't leave me any choice. You know that! If I had let you survive you would have hurt so many people!" Minako said.
"Heh. I did TRY to fight my fate, Princess. I helped you as much as I could as the Phantom Ace. But I had another role to play. The Dark Kingdom found me before we had a chance to meet again. As Danburite I was required to be your enemy. And you destroyed me, as I knew you would. Then and now it was always duty before love."
"I DID love you." Venus whispered. "Killing you hurt more than anything I ever did."
"Which I suppose means I served both my masters when I made you love me." Ace chuckled to himself.
",,,,What do you want? What path are you following anymore? Your Dark Kingdom is dead, and I'm not a princess anymore. So what is this all about? Revenge? A second chance? What path are you walking now?"
"Hmmm....maybe both. Maybe neither. I've had a chance to think over these past few years. And honestly...I've haven't had any fun at all. That's our problem, Venus. All work and no play."
Minako smirked despite her unease. "I know how to play just fine, Kaitou."
"Do you? You put on a carefree air, but is that the truth? I've seen below the mask a few times already, Miss Aino. Evenafter years of peace you still wrap yourself up in your duties. Oh, you've had many lovers, but I doubt you've ever really BEEN in love."
"....I had a bad experience." Minako said, glaring at him.
"I know. But that's the problem, isn;t it? You and I have always been servants. Adonis served you, and you served the moon princess. Now you STILL serve the moon princess, and Danburite served your enemies. No wonder I thought I couldn't change our fates. We've spent all our lives doing what others told us. I think from now on I choose my own path. No more bowing to anyone else's will. I want to see what its like to be in control. To dominate. And then too...I want to free you from the shackles you've bound yourself in."
".......I don't know what your talking about. But I'm happy where I am now! And its not like I can just start trusting you again, especially with an entrance like you just made!"
"That's very smart of you, Minako-chan. I'm no longer on the Dark Kingdom's side, but that doesn't mean I'm standing with the light again. In fact, I think its safe to say I'm on no one's side except my own. But you misunderstood. I don't expect you to trust me. I'm just here to have fun with you. Whether you like it or not."
"....Tch. You may not have noticed, Ace, but we've been fighting evil for a long time now. I'm officially one of the strongest Senshi in the Galaxy! You won't stand a chance."
"Oh? Then show me!"
"VENUS STAR POWER, MAKE UP!"
Ace smiled thinly as Minako began her transformation. Her clothes dissolved as a warm orange glow suffused her body. A magical starburst came gushing from her wand, encircling her nude form in a lovely little light show. But in one fluid motion Phantom Ace let a single card fly in the midst of the transformation. Minako cried in surprise as the projectile struck the transformation wand, knocking it out of her hand. The wand clattered to the ground, the starburst continuing to swirl around it. A moment later the orange stars flew upward in a dramatic circle all around the wand. Jewels, gloves, shoes, and a white on orange fuku blinked into being in midair....and fell uselessly to the floor as the wand had inexplicably found itself out of range of the young girl it was expected to clothe.
Minako was now quite naked save for the ribbon in her hair. Her eyes growing as wide as dinner plates, she let out a shrill scream and tried to cover herself. It wasn't terribly effective.
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