Well, first things first. I'm terribly sorry for the *cough* extremely *cough* late update! I honestly didn't know what to do with this, for I had an extreme case of writer's block. But I also didn't want to leave this story as it was, cuz it was just bugging me, especially with all the helpful ideas introduced through the reviews. Thanks guys! And after reading through the reviews (for the thousandth time), I finally found the drive to continue. So thanks again!

No.

NO.

NO!

She was running.

Running and running.

She may not have shown it, but she was scared out of her fucking mind.

Her hands were sweaty and they trembled beneath her gloves.

The hoards of monsters kept flooding the Royal Palace. For every one Venus cut down, more seemed to take its place.

Oh Goddess! Oh cruel Fate!

Her steps faltered as she felt one aura disappear.

A Senshi.

A Friend.

A Sister.

She fought off the tears that threatened to spill and tightened her hold on her gold chain.

A beam of light sliced through three monsters. Venus readied another Crescent Beam, too tired to yell out the namesake.

Mercury was gone. And it seemed Jupiter was going to follow her into oblivion. Venus could feel Jupiter's anguish as Mercury's life slowly ebbed away. The final rumble of thunder signified Jupiter's last stand..

"Lady Venus! The demons are advancing to the throne room!"

It's no use..

"Keep these monsters out! The Palace must not fall!"

No use at all.

Minako didn't hear the clamor of battle. She didn't feel the numerous slashes or the blood creeping from her wounds. Minako's senses were dulled by disbelief and heartache. No, she was Venus now.

Minako was long gone.

She died the moment her heart did.

Break

"Ah!"

The shriek was cut short as the person behind it tumbled from the tree she was climbing. Unlike most six year olds, however, the young blonde didn't cry her head off. In fact, she just got up and dusted off her orange and white sundress.

The sound of a snapping twig alerted her that someone else was present as well.

"Are you okay?"

The blonde surveyed the newcomer. Her face was pretty emotionless except for her violet eyes which showed nothing but concern and a bit of curiosity. She seemed to be the same age and was a bit shorter than her. Though, what really drew the blonde's attention was the girl's raven hair and her miko outfit.

"Hey, what's your name?"

The raven haired child, not expecting her question to be answered with a question, was taken aback.

"U-um. H-Hino Rei."

"Really? My name's Aino Minako. But you can call me Minako. You can even call me Mina since I think you're cute."

Rei was at a loss of what to do and she could feel the heat emanating from her face. She was supposed to be helping her Grandfather with the chores, yet here she was, talking to a strange girl who fell out of the tree in front of the Shrine steps.

Strange.

The blonde giggled and watched as the raven haired child blushed and struggled to find something to say.

"Hey! We're gonna be best friends from now on!"

"H-huh?"

"Well, I gotta go. I'm gonna help my mom make dinner today!" the blonde said with much excitement and enthusiasm.

"See ya later, Rei-chan!"

Rei watched as the blonde skipped away around the corner. She didn't know what was happening, but she could feel the beginnings of something extraordinary.

"…Minako?"

A/N: Well, before any of you kill me over how short this one is, I have a valid excuse and some good news! For the excuse, I had extreme writer's block and I was pretty content with leaving it at the first chapter. But after reading and receiving many reviews from helpful readers, I realized that I wasn't satisfied with leaving it like that. Soooo, I'm making this a multi-chapter! And don't worry, updates wont take as long as this one. In fact, I'm almost done with the third chapter. This fic will only probably be, at the most, five chapters, and I will try to keep this as original as possible. Although the plotline will differ greatly from Sailormoon because 1) I like to do a lot of spin-off fics and 2) You can't fill a cup that's already full. Oh and this fic will most likely focus on the emotional side of things, since I cant write an action scene for crap. Well, thank you for reading! And expect an update by next week, or if things go as I plan, in a couple of days. Thank you!