A/N: Gomen nasai faithful readers (if I have any of you left)! Here at last is Chapter 10: Venus begins!

The journey to Venus only took a day. The day saw Jadeite, Nephrite and Mamoru in the gym, Kunzite poring over the next map... and Zoisite sitting quietly, writing and thinking.

"You miss her, don't you Zoi?" Jadeite asked him that evening over dinner.

"Of course I do. I've just started remembering all the time we spent together in the Silver Millennium, the love we shared... and I had to leave her again," Zoisite replied softly.

"At least you can remember," Kunzite said. "From what we've gathered, we were all in love with these Senshi in the past, but I can remember nothing of it."

"You will soon," Zoisite smiled slightly. "Remember when I told you you'd understand when it was your turn? Well, when we land: it's your turn."

They arrived in the Venusian spaceport late in the afternoon and headed for the Malda Tinco. The place was owned and operated by Furuhata Motoki, a young man well skilled in running the place. He met the party with a cheery smile. "Welcome to Venus, gentlemen! If you need anything while you're here, just let me or my sister Unazuki know and we'll see what we can do." The sunny mood was abruptly shattered as a troop of soldiers went past outside. Everyone inside looked away or hissed things. Motoki swore under his breath and made a deadly insulting hand sign under the bench. When the soldiers were gone, the man's cheerful disposition returned.

"Not fond of those bastards, are we?" Mamoru murmured with a grin as Motoki showed them to their rooms.

"I didn't say that," Motoki replied, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

"I did," Mamoru nodded. Beside him, Kunzite smiled slightly.

"Don't worry. Alpha, Omega, Tomorrow." Motoki blinked.

"You're..."

"Financier. Covertly. They name me as the Silver Stallion," Kunzite replied. Mamoru chuckled slightly at this. "What?"

"I never figured you were one of them."

"Come on, we can't talk here," Motoki said, ushering them towards the stairs. When they were safely in their room, Mamoru turned to Kunzite. The other man had never spoken of his involvement with the Resistance, a group of brave souls who fought the Dark Kingdom all over the nine planets. Each member was given a codename to refer to other members by. Their motto: Alpha, Omega, Tomorrow, meant basically: the Beginning of the End Tomorrow. They plotted and fought to bring about the fall of the Dark Kingdom.

"You never told us you were involved with the Resistance." The silver haired man shrugged.

"I never told you in case anything happened and my connection was exposed. I've been covertly financing their operations for years." Mamoru snorted.

"You're not the only one." Kunzite shot him a surprised look. "Black Mask."

Zoisite raised a hand. "White Sakura."

Jadeite grinned wryly. "Fire Starter."

Nephrite smiled. "Star Rider." Kunzite glanced at them, amused, before turning back to Motoki.

"That's why you chose this hotel, wasn't it?" he nodded. "You knew I ran the place."

"Yes. I talked to Dragon Princess and Magic Mushroom before I arranged it. I told them I was headed to Venus, and they said to stay at the Malda Tinco, where Crown Arcade was based." Motoki inclined his head briefly.

"Now. What really brings you to Venus?" he asked.

"We're here for Venus," Kunzite said. "Sailor Venus."

"Sailor Venus?" Motoki echoed. Kunzite nodded.

"We intend to find and free all nine Senshi, and with their help we can achieve what we have long dreamed: the destruction of the Dark Kingdom."

Motoki shook his head. "No one who has ever ventured out there has ever returned successfully."

Zoisite shrugged. "Yeah, that's exactly what they said on Mercury." Motoki turned to him, eyes wide.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean they said on Mercury that no one had found Sailor Mercury, but we did. We found her and freed her. She's waiting with the old man from the Losa Kard until we've released all the others."

For a minute Motoki couldn't speak. "Are you seriously telling me that you have not only found Sailor Mercury, but you've also released her from her confinement and she's staying with old Urawa at the Losa Kard?"

Kunzite looked at him solemnly. "I swear, on my life and honour, that every word we have spoken has been true." Motoki held his gaze for a moment longer, then closed his eyes and lifted his head.

"The gods are kind, that I may see this happen in my life and that I may assist in the liberation of all worlds," he whispered rapturously. Opening his eyes again, he bowed slightly to the group. "What can I do to aid you in this endeavour?"

"Information," Mamoru said. "What you can tell us about the area around here." He spread their map out across the table. Motoki leaned over it.

"The area close to the town is infested with monsters, Akmudah and Giwork, specifically. Once you get into this area, you get Taiyan as well. There's also rumours that once you get within sight of the temple you've got marked, you get attacked by a massive demon-cat."

"Demon cat?" Jadeite asked. Motoki nodded.

"Supposedly it can't be killed by conventional weaponry, and has the strength and speed of a dozen lions." He turned back to Kunzite. "When you have released her, will you need her to stay here, like Mercury with Urawa?"

"Yes. We will need you to conceal her until we, and they, are ready. If you could come up with a cover story that would be good. It will take us about a week all up, so have your story prepared by then."

Motoki nodded and thought for a moment. "I've got it. My cousin Mina is coming to stay with me while her father is recovering from an illness. Unazuki will play along with that."

Kunzite smiled and nodded. "That will do nicely. We will depart in the morning. Thank you."

"It is I who should thank you for allowing me to assist you," Motoki countered.

"Thank us when we get back," Mamoru grinned. "See you in the morning."

A/N: And they're off! By the way, no prizes for guessing who the demon cat is. ;)

Here as usual be many thanks:

starrdancerr: Here's an update!

Ocianne: glomps back Yes, there you is! And yes, I'll be going with Manga!Soldier!Venus rather than Ditzy!Venus. But we will have SlightlyDitzy!Minako. But I won't go overboard in the ditz.

GoldenRat: Thankyou!

honey-gurl: Chapter lengths vary depending.

Nabooru: Hello again! Yep, here comes Minako!

Princess of Legends: Love the name! And here we go!

Omystrs: Hello!

NeverEndingQuest: Here I go again! The Venus arc begins!

Bradybunch4529: Thanks! Here is more!

Rinicat: Really? Must read it myself..

kuyaga: No. No Mary Sues in my stories. There is no canonical Sailor Sun, so I won't include it.

PyroChic: Hello again Pyro!

nova33: Yo yo yo!

Mizu Awa: A very long comment and very much appreciated!

Telulu Hunter: Keeping up!

bunny angel: salutes Yes Ma'am!

Silver Star Kitsune of Cosmos: Here's Venus!

Princess Ren: Yes, sorry Rei-chan has to wait until after Minako.