LOVE RETUNING
A Sailor Moon Lemon

by Sailor Mac
	"Will you slow down already, Mina? I'm getting bumped around like cans in
a car trunk!"
	"Sorry, Artemis, but I'm going to be late for dinner!"
	"First you're late to school, then you're late for your Scout meeting, now
you're late for dinner. . .and Luna says *Serena* has trouble telling
time?"
	"I just got caught up in talking to Lita and I didn't notice what time it
was until AAAUUUGGGHHHH!!!" Her foot had hit a hole in the pavement, and
she went sprawling. The basket containing Artemis landed in a shrub, and he
breathed a sigh of relief when he realized he was unharmed. Poking his head
out of the basket, he saw his young charge lying on the ground, her face
plastered against a discarded newspaper.
	He sprung from his perch and ran to her. "Mina! Mina, are you okay?"
	She picked her head up slowly. "I'll live. I don't think there's any
major. . ." Then, her eyes caught a picture in the newspaper. "Oh, my Gods!
It can't be. . ."
	"What can't be?"
	"It's. . .Artemis, it's Glen Farthinggale!"
	"*Lord* Glendon Farthinggale?"
	"Oh, Artemis, I never thought of him that way. . .and I don't think he
thought of himself that way either. To me, he was always just Glen."
	"What's he doing in the paper?"
	Mina looked closer and read: "Lord Glendon Farthinggale of England is
among the expected guests at a special reception for the Crown Prince and
his wife tomorrow night. The young English nobleman is the son of Lord
Richard Farthinggale, the renowned British statesman who was killed by an
IRA bomb seven years ago."
	"Well, your old friend seems to be moving up in the world. I remember when
he used to. . .Mina? Mina? Hel-LO, Earth to Mina!"
	But Mina wasn't listening. She was far, far away, lost in a sweet memory. . .
* * *
	She'd been living in England for about two years and had been Sailor V for
six months. But homesickness for Tokyo and fighting evil were the furthest
things from her mind at this moment.
	Right now, she was with her Glen.
	They were walking on the banks of a stream on his family's estate. It was
one of those beautiful days when the earth is just bursting into full
flower after the chill stillness of winter, and nature's brilliant display
of pinks and whites and greens matched her mood perfectly.
	"I wish it could be like this all year," he was saying. "It's just *so*
gorgeous. . ."
	Mina drew a deep sigh. "It must be terrific, living on all this land,
where you can go walking in a nice place whenever you want, without
worrying about crowds. . ."
	"Oh, I don't know. The minuses of this life far outweigh the pluses, Mina.
Having a title carries a lot of baggage. You're expected to live up to the
honor of the family name, behave with perfect dignity all the time when
you're in public, follow all the rules of etiquette and protocol. . .I feel
like I'm wearing a mask all the time. Except. . ."
	"Except when?"
	"Except when I'm with you. I feel so natural with you, so free. . .like I
can be truly myself. You're truly a special person, Mina."
	She blushed. Does he know how I feel about him? she thought. Does he know
I've been in love with him ever since I spotted him across the hall my
first day of school in England?
	"Oh, Glen. . .you're. . .you're special too."
	And then, they were looking into each other's eyes, and their mouths were
drawn to each other like a magnet and steel. . .The kiss lasted a good,
long time, and Mina felt like her insides were melting. When they finally
broke apart, he drew her into an embrace, and they just stayed there for an
endless moment, no words necessary. . .
	Then, he said, "Mina, I want to confide something in you. Can you keep a
secret?"
	"Yes."
	He sat down on the ground, and gestured for her to sit beside him. "Ever
since I was a child, I've had this funny thing happen to me now and again.
. .I think it's some kind of psychic power."
	Glen stopped, as if fumbling for the proper words. Mina put her hand on
his, conveying her love and support, encouraging him to continue.
	"I have this strange feeling, sort of like being dizzy, and then. . .and
then, it's like my mind opens up, and I can see anything that's happening
anywhere in the world. If it happens in school, I can see what's going on
at home. But if I focus on my cousins in America, I can see what they're
doing. . .and if I focus on the Prime Minister of France, I can see what
he's doing. One time, I was even able to see what was going on in the space
shuttle."
	Mina saw the look on Glen's face. He obviously was dying to tell something
about this. It scared the hell out of him. . .
	She hugged him. "Glen, I think that's wonderful. It means you have a gift,
a special gift. You can use it to save lives, to help people who've lost
loved ones. . ."
	"You don't think it's weird?"
	"Of course, I don't think it's weird! If anything, it makes you even more
special, because you're truly one of a kind."
	"Mina, I can't tell you how much it means to me to hear you say that."
	They kissed again, sealing the secret between them, binding it to their hearts.
	When they broke apart, she said, "Glen, since you shared your biggest
secret with me, I'll share my biggest secret with you. But you *have* to
promise not to tell *anyone.*"
	He made a "zipped lip" gesture. She took a deep breath and uttered the
words she thought she'd never say out loud, at least not in "normal" form:
	"I'm Sailor V."
	There was a pause, then Glen chuckled. "Mina, that's no secret. I know
you've been posing for the Sailor V video game."
	"No, Glen, you don't I understand. I'm not just a model for Sailor V. I
*am* Sailor V. THE Sailor V."
	His face registered shock and surprise - but also delight. He drew a deep
breath, and said slowly, "Ho-ly cow."
	"One day, I was practicing on the high bars in gymnastics class, and I
fell off and landed right on this white cat. He started talking to me."
	"Wait a second. Artemis. . .TALKS?"
	"Don't let on that you know, okay? He gave me this. . ." she pulled out
her transformation pen. . . "and told me I was one of the chosen, that I
was destined to be Sailor V and fight evil. And he also said that I was
going to serve a much greater purpose in the future, and I'd eventually
find out what it was."
	Suddenly, it all made sense to Glen. The number of times she'd bolted
during a date or left school early, making vague excuses about volleyball
practice or a modeling assignment. . .and then he remembered that every
time she disappeared, the next day the papers were abuzz with Sailor V
sightings. . .
	He embraced her. "Oh, sweet Mina, I am absolutely stunned. You're even
more wonderful than I thought you were."
	"Glen. . ." They kissed, again and again, starting to get more and more
passionate. . .
	And then the raindrops starting landing on their heads. So caught up in
each other were they that they didn't notice the sudden change in the
weather.
	"Oh, no!" she cried.
	"Come on. . .we'd better get back to the manor, fast." He took off his
jacket and held it over her as a makeshift umbrella, and clinging to each
other, they ran back toward his home.
* * *
	"Mina? MIIIINA!"
	Mina shook off the dreamy fog at the sound of her cat's voice. "Come on!"
Artemis shouted. "You're going to be late for dinner, remember?"
	"Late. . .for. . ." She glanced at her watch. "OH, MY GODS!!!" She scooped
up Artemis, put him in the basket, and took off again. . .but not without
making sure she picked up the newspaper as well.
* * *
	In the Negaverse, Supreme General Hematite was fuming.
	"What the hell is it going to take to beat those Sailor brats?" he
grumbled. "I've thrown every kind of creature conceivable at them, but
they're always ready for the attack. What I need to do is catch them
unaware."
	He kicked at his footstool in frustration. "Huh. To do that, I'd need to
be a far-seer."
	Then, suddenly, a diabolical plan started to form in his mind. There had
to be far-seers - people who could see anything going on anywhere at the
present time - on the Earth. . .there just had to be. He could capture one,
infest them with Dark Energy, make them a Champion of the Negaverse. . .
	He leapt for his crystal ball, the same one that had been used by every
Negaverse chieftain since Beryl. It was powerful - but not as powerful as a
truly talented far-seer would be.
	"Show me a true far-seer!" he commanded it. And the face it showed him was
that of a certain young English nobleman, the same face Mina had seen in
the newspaper. . .
* * *
	Mina was getting ready for bed, staring out her window as she brushed her hair.
	He's going to be in Tokyo tomorrow, she thought. Right in my hometown.
Dare I go see him? I haven't seen him or heard from him since I returned to
Japan. . .But there's a good reason for that. His grandmother. She hated
me. She didn't want her grandson with a commoner. I'll bet he *did* tried
to contact me, and that old witch intercepted his letters, or wouldn't let
him use the phone. . .
	Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a falling star. She knew all the old
legends about wishing on a star that she'd heard since she was a small
child.
	Aloud, she said, "I wish that I could see him again."
	"Your wish is going to come true, Mina."
	The voice in the corner of her room made her whirl around. "Who's there?
Who are you?"
	A woman stepped out of the shadows, a woman Mina had seen in her dreams.
She was unbelievably beautiful, with long, curling blonde hair, huge blue
eyes that seemed perpetually smiling, a gorgeous body sheathed in a white
dress. . .
	"You know me, Mina," she said. "I'm Venus. I chose you to be my champion
and priestess back in the Silver Millenium."
	"Oh. . .my. . . ." Mina stood rooted to the spot, the back of her hand
over her mouth, her eyes popping out of their sockets.
	"There's no need to be startled, although, alas, there is a reason to fear
danger. Because danger is near, Mina. Not for you, but for Glen. And it's
your duty to protect him."
	"What's happening to him? What kind of trouble is he in?"
	"Glen told you about his far-seeing powers, right? He's had those powers
since he first knew you, thousands of years ago. He was a priest and mystic
on the planet Venus, and the two of you were deeply in love. You were
engaged to marry him when Beryl destroyed the Moon Kingdom. I had
personally chosen him to be your consort, Mina, and bound your hearts
together for all eternity."
	"For all eternity? You mean, we're destined for each other? We're going to
be togther again?" Her voice shimmered with joy.
	"Yes, you will, but you *must* protect him from this danger! The Negaverse
knows about his far-seeing powers too, Mina. They want to capture him and
poison him with dark energy, so he will become one of them and use his
powers in their service."
	"Oh, no! No, they can't!"
	"And this is what you must prevent, Mina. They're going to attack the
reception tomorrow night. You have to be there to stop them."
	"Will they let me into a function like that?"
	"Just leave it to me." The goddess embraced her young charge and kissed
her on the forehead. "And remember, Mina. . .trust in your powers. You have
no idea what you are capable of summoning forth from yourself."
	"I will. For Glen, I'll do anything." She paused. "In my dreams, you told
me that my true love was about to present himself. It was Glen all along,
wasn't it?"
	"Yes, it was. He is your Eternal Love. And speaking of dreams, you have to
get some sleep. . .you have a hard fight ahead of you tomorrow."
	The goddess touched Mina's eyes lightly, and the girl instantly became
sleepy and sank down to the bed. The goddess tucked her in, turned out the
light, then vanished into thin air.
* * *
	"Why didn't you contact the others?" Artemis whispered from inside Mina's
big purse. She was wearing a ball gown, standing in line and waiting to be
admitted to the reception. I hope the fake invitation the goddess left for
me pans out, she thought.
	"I feel like I have to do this on my own, Artemis. That it's part of my
destiny."
	"Destiny, shmestiny! If we get into some heavy action and you don't have
backup, it's going to be your *destiny* to get toasted by Negacreeps!"
	"Oh, Artemis, you act like I've never faced an enemy alone before. I'll be
all right."
	"You haven't faced an enemy alone in *months.* And those were low-level
youma you were dealing with before, not the things that Hematite has been
mmmmppphhh!!!" Mina gently clamped her hand over his mouth and pushed him
further down in the purse - she was approaching the doorman.
	"Good evening, sir," she said in the most upper-crust accent she could
muster. She held up the piece of cardboard that the goddess Venus had left
on her dressing table.
	"Ah, yes, Madam Yamaha," the doorman said. "It is a pleasure to have you
with us tonight. You can go right in."
	"Thank you, sir." She walked into the ballroom, and for a second, she
froze - what a glittering, glamorous scene it was! Beautiful people dressed
in the most stylish of formal wear, waiters carrying around trays of
champagne and hors d'oerves, an orchestra playing on a platform. . .
	"Oh, Artemis!" she whispered. "It's fabulous!"
	In a dreamlike state, she made her way slowly into the room, almost
knocking into a waiter. He gave her a cross look and moved on. . .
	. . .then whispered into what looked like a watch on his wrist, "Lord
Farthinggale should be here any minute, my liege. And when he comes in. .
.we grab him."
	Meanwhile, Mina was trying to eat a tiny shrimp sandwich as daintily as
she could. One of the shrimp escaped from the bread, however, and fell into
her purse. Artemis grabbed at it eagerly, and was overwhelmed by how
delicious it was - a far cry from Tender Vittles!
	"I can't believe how beautiful all these people are," Mina whispered.
"This is like being dropped into a magazine."
	"Don't get too overwhelmed," Artemis whispered back. "You're supposed to
be looking out for Negacreeps, remember?"
	"Oh, Artemis, I. . .oh my Gods, there he is!"
	Mina stood frozen to the spot as the one true love of her life entered the
room. She didn't think it were possible, but he'd gotten even more handsome
since she saw him last. He was smiling and shaking hands with several
dignitaries. . .
	And then, he looked up, and his eyes met hers. There was a flash of
recognition. . .then disbelief - is it really *her*? - then, finally,
delight. And her eyes locked with his, sending back a message of love that
never died. . .
	Then, there was a terrible roar, and Mina saw two of the waiters morphing,
morphing into horrible things. . .beasts with the heads of wolves, bodies
like buffalos standing upright, and long claws. One of them slammed
something to the ground, and a gas started to fill the room. People were
getting weak and woozy, falling to the floor, and Mina herself started to
feel dizzy. . .
	Artemis grabbed her wand and pushed it into her hand. "NOW, Mina!
Transform NOW!"