Remember Part: 8 By: Loralei Fairhill Rated: PG Genre: AR gomen nasai 4 the long wait on this one! i wuz soooo stumped 4 ideas this week, and the voices haven't been helping any! thanx go out 2 psa and peter, who inspired me 2 write some more . . . but thatz another story. read and enjoy and FEEDBACK IS WELCOME AND WANTED!!!! or else u may find urself meeting Gawen a little sooner than expected. . . . Mamoru sat on the cold, hard pavement of a deserted Tokyo alleyway. He had de-transformed some time ago, while waiting for the sprite to come back with news of Usagi. It was taking too long. Did something go wrong? he thought worriedly. He slowly got up, brushing of his filthy jeans as best he could. Then he conjured a rose and transformed back into Tuxedo Kamen, for he felt the calling of Sailor Moon's transformation wherever she was. He searched the sky for a small falling star-like light. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to him, a bright speck flew towards the alley. He immediately recognized it as the sprite. "What news? Where is she? _How_ is she? If that kniving bitch has hurt her in anyway, I swear I'll--" He slammed his fist down into his other open palm with a loud smack. The light seemed to flicker, as if cringing at the implications of his response. "Calm yourself, my prince! The princess has sent me with a dire message: you must help her. There are two! And the miracle needs _both_." It giggled insanely. "What the HELL is so amusing? I don't find the situation very funny!" Mamoru fumed. The pixy flew a few feet away in fear. The prince had a temper! "Gomen, gomen nasai, prince! I beg forgiveness!" The faerie alighted on Mamoru's outstretched hand and dimmed his light slightly. Mamoru was amazed as he witnessed the sprite bend at the knee and prostrate himself before his "prince." As he watched with wonder, the little light changed colors. "Look up, look up!" the pixy cried in joy. A million falling stars in all manner of muted pastel hues descended from the cloudy heavens like a rain filled with tiny bright multi-colored lights. Mamoru stood and watched, awed and amused at the decative display. "You like?" the sprite asked worriedly, drawing Mamoru's attention back to his hand. "You forgive me?" "Of course, but what are they?" he asked. "They're . . . beautiful . . . more than that . . . they remind me of the colors the sunset was that first time with Serenity on the moon . . . gorgeous. . . ." "You really do remember!" the pixy exclaimed excitedly, clapping its tiny hands together in delight. "Then I shall tell you what they are. Come closer, for the very air breathes with the she-demon's spies." Mamoru leaned in closer to his hand and the tiny ball of speaking light. "They are my brethren." The masked hero gasped. "Millions upon millions of them . . . and they but wait to do your bidding." The full effects of his words took their toll on Mamoru. "They . . . where did they all come from?" "Most are from the moon: the remainder of the citizens who fled, knowing that the destruction of the Silver Millennium was nigh. I know what you are thinking, prince. They didn't do it for self-preservation; they did it so that the kingdom might be resurrected in the future. They went to Earth; they went to Elysion." "Elysion? That seems familiar. . . ." A dim memory tried to dig its way out of the abyss of Mamoru's half- forgotten past. "It should be. For it is your true home . . . and I am your eternal servant." He paused. "Here, set me down on the ground, prince." Mamoru obeyed. As he watched, the pixy's light grew bright and brighter, large and larger, until it was almost as tall as Mamoru himself. Then the light dimmed and faded into the form of a white-blond haired man with saffron eyes. He bowed to the caped man in front of him and said, "I am Elios, prince. The high priest of Elysion and yours to command." Suddenly, Mamoru's face lit up with knowing. "I remember you! I loved Elysion . . . it was beautiful. And your people were so kind." He looked into the lemon eyes in front of him. "But why are you here, now, and in your faerie form? I thought you only took that when disaster struck. . . ." The other man looked at him with a small sardonic smile. "Watabashi no baka! I knew that. But onegai, explain to me: What's gone amiss? The Earth seems all wrong . . . and it has something to do with my memory and Usagi-chan." Elios looked a Mamoru sadly. "These things I cannot reveal to you. Only know this: that the prophecy of the defeat of the great evil will come about by her hands and yours!" He turned into a bright light and joined the others flitting about the sky, innumerable and wordlessly gorgeous. He flied far away, but Mamoru could hear him call, "The miracle needs _both_! Call us when we are needed . . . we will come!" He could also hear him laugh with a high, tinkling, bell-like sound off in the starry distances of space. And suddenly, he was plunged into darkness, and his feet were wet. Usagi sat in the wetness of the room where Set and Morgana had left her, after "disposing" of her transformation brooch, thus rendering her helpless and unprotected from the onslaught of their combined powers. They had all but killed her with their brutal treatment, since her will was almost completely broken already; although she believed in Mamoru's love for her, she had no proof, and he was not there to protect her from her own fears. She'd done enough crying that day, or night, or whenever it was; she couldn't discern the time in the Darkness's strange dimension. She could only pray that Tuxedo Kamen would rescue her, and put her fears to rest . . . perhaps with a gentle kiss? That would be nice. . . . she thought dreamily. She sighed, and then started suddenly at the sound of splashing and invective coming from one of the shadowy corners of the room. She grew frightened; what if it was something coming to kill her? She was in no state at all to fight, and without her brooch, she was powerless to defend herself. It meant certain doom if the creature was an enemy. She tried to get up, but failed, and succeeded only in drawing the creature closer to her with her pained cries. I must have broken a rib or two, she thought unhappily. Well, there goes my escape. "Shimatta! Usagi-chan, can you hear me? Daijabou?" Mamoru's voice drifted steadily over to Usagi. She tried to get up again, but fell back, her head starting to spin. Blood loss was catching up with her fast, and she didn't have much more time until it would consume her completely. She let out a feeble, "Mamo-chan?" And then succumbed to the darkness. She was only unconscious a few moments, when she heard Mamoru's voice from above and felt his strong, sure arms cradle her body against his. "Oh, Usako . . . " he murmured, "what have they done to you?" "Not . . . it's . . . really nothing, love. Nothing. . . ." she said with great effort, her short breath taking the rest of the sentence away from her. She could feel her broken ribs jar against her lungs as she struggled to breathe the stale air. "Kami-sama. . . ." he gasped when he saw that she had so much trouble just breathing and that her ribs were broken. "Let me help you." "How? Mamo-chan . . . I'm . . . I know I'm . . . I'm dying. . . ." she sobbed into his shirt. He looked down at her decrepit face and knew that what she said was true. Her will to live was strong, but judging from her wounds, it might not be strong enough. "Promise me something, Mamo-chan. . . ." she sighed. "Anything, Usako. Name it. . . ." He was on the verge of tears himself. The witch and the warlock would pay for their crime. "When I am dead, my dearest, Sing no sad songs for me; Plant thou no roses at my head, Nor shady cypress tree: Be the green grass above me With showers and dewdrops wet; And if thou wilt, remember, And if thou wilt, forget. I shall not see the shadow, I shall not feel the rain; I shall not hear the nightingale Sing on, as if in pain; And dreaming through the twilight That doth not rise nor set, Haply I may remember, And haply may forget." "You don't want me to remember you? But why? I did that once before. I'll not do it again!" he said passionately, then dipped his head to hers and tenderly kissed her lips. "I dreamed . . . that you would come to me like . . . like this . . . and I would know you truly loved me . . . yet now I do . . . and I would give anything to stay here. . . ." she trailed off, emotion choking her words and thoughts. Mamoru bent and kissed her again, even more sweetly than before. "There is a way . . . if you are willing. . . ." he started, not even knowing what way he spoke of. "Nani? I don't understand. . . ." Her luminous blue eyes questioned him, but he knew what he was doing, and answered her with a knowledgeable glance. "Elios!" he called. "Take me home!" And suddenly, the room was no longer dark, but filled with multi-colored lights, and butterflies of a million different shades of blue. Mamoru sheltered Usagi with his body as they traveled through the dimensions to the healing place he sought. on the criticism that my chs r 2 short, i made this one a bunch longer. the poem, as with (i think) the rest of the ones in this fic, is by Christina Rossetti, a personal fave of mine called "Song." Rossetti's writing really sets the mood, ne? i know the language wuzn't something Usagi uses in this fic, but it fit what she wuz gonna say so well, i could resist. well, anyhoo, reminder: FEEDBACK AND PRAISE ACCEPTED!! direct all flames this a way 2! i'll accept them, but just keep in mind that i will also respond 2 them! Morgana's been giving me tips on snazy comebacks . . . . heeł ja ne, minna!