Remember Us
Chapter Four
"The Pain of Memory, the Joy of Return"

The raven-haired miko rubbed her red-rimmed eyes before facing the fire again. As she stared at the golden-red flames, she tried to reach her meditative state once again. Rei didn't dare fall asleep, not since those disturbing dreams had implanted themselves in her mind a week before. But, it wasn't like staying awake would keep the dreams at bay either.

I feel like I'm losing my mind. Why these dreams? Why these visions? Always, it was the same dream. Only the scenery changed. It was always the same peaceful day in beautiful surroundings. It was always the same silky red dress that smoothed over her lithe frame like flames. It was always, ALWAYS the same man with cool blue eyes. And as always, Rei could never see his face.

"O Great Fire," Rei said solemnly. "Who is this man who haunts my dreams and my waking moments? Before I have asked, and you have offered me nothing. O spirits, answer my call. Is he my enemy?"

The fire crackled and popped and Rei stared closer into the flames. Then, she felt it, the strange yet familiar stirring. Another dream.

"No," Rei tried to cry out, but it was in vain. The dream swept her up and into the depths of her mind. All she could do was watch as the oh-so-familiar scene opened before her eyes. This is different, Rei thought in shock. This time I'm not the one living the dream. It's like I'm... watching... from the outside...?

The dream materialized and Rei could see an ebony-haired girl in a red dress leaning against the trunk of a tree. She was absorbed in the scroll she was reading, and didn't notice the blonde man sneaking up behind her. She did however, shriek with laughter as he tickled her sides, and they both fell to the soft grass.

"Oh," the girl said between giggles, "It's you."

"‘It's you'?" the man asked quizzically, pulling her up into a sitting position next to him under the shade of the tree. "I've been gone for a month and all you greet me with is ‘It's you'?!?"

The girl arched a slim brow. "Oh, so it's a proper greeting you want then?" Before the man could answer, she threw herself into his arms and pressed a long passionate kiss against his lips. When they broke off the man grinned.

"Now that's the kind of greeting I could get used to!" He tried to kiss her again, but the girl held a finger against his lips to stop him.

"No, love. It is death for you to be here now. I cannot compromise my duties... Hey! Stop that!" she cried out. The man had been kissing her hand during her dialogue, and was slowly making his way up her arm. He stopped and there was mirth in his blue eyes.

"Death for me, Cassandra? I think not. You don't actually believe that I would turn against the Moon Kingdom, do you?" His tone had turned serious and his eyes had seemed to turn a sharper blue, and were tinged with worry and doubt.

The girl's features crumpled and she embraced the man. "Oh no, my love! No! I do not mean to doubt you. Queen Serenity frowns upon these liaisons and if I were caught I could be stripped of everything dear to me, including you. The visions I have now, they are terrible. They foretell the end of everything--"

"Cassandra, stop it!" the man blazed. He held the girl by her shoulders and stared straight into her eyes. "I've told you before that visions don't always come true. Remember that prophecy I told you about? The one that said I would become one of the most evil men in my generation? Well, that didn't come true or else I would not have had the luck to find an angel like you to bless me."

The girl nodded, moved by her lover's words. "Yes. I suppose you are right. I once dreamt that Princess Serenity would become a powerful warrior. Sere could not be a warrior any more than you could be an evil man. But still..."

"Still you doubt my intentions, my fiery spirit?" the man asked incredulously. "Then here, a token of my worth." He reached into the pocket of his grey uniform and withdrew a small ring. Clasping Cassandra's hand firmly in his, he slipped it on her finger. She gasped and looked at the ring. It was made of fine green jade, and set with a large ruby.

The man smiled, then drew his hand through his hair in a nervous gesture. "This, uh, this is turning out harder than I thought." Cassandra turned surprised violet eyes to his earnest blue ones. He took a deep breath. "Um... Cassandra, you know I love you. You are the burning fire that guides my way. Will you continue to guide me? Will you be my wife?"

Cassandra pressed her hands to her mouth for a brief instant before grasping the man's hands. "Of course I will marry you! I love you! Flame and spark, smoke and fire... we will never be parted."

They did kiss again, with all of the love and passion that they shared. The man murmured against his fiancee's lips. "It will be difficult for us my love. We may be parted, but trust that I will always come back to you again."

The sun blazed overhead and cast its happy rays over the two lovers, illuminating them both. Rei unconsciously moved forward. She could make out his face! The short blonde hair, the cool blue eyes, the square of his jaw... The kiss ended, and the man shifted so that he was now embracing Cassandra. He looked down at the raven-haired beauty in his arms, and then straight in Rei's direction--

BANG!

Rei was rudely forced out of her vision by the sound of the Fire Room doors being kicked open. Nooo... she moaned silently, searching the Fire for a last glimpse of the man. Nothing. Her soul felt as if it had been torn into pieces. She buried her face in her hands.

No! No! It can't be this way! I almost saw him! The gods can't be this cruel! Rei's torment soon turned to burning fury. She stood quickly and whirled around, ready to give whomever interrupted her the worst tongue lashing ever, and perhaps a bit more. She had never been so angry in her life!

Rei was confronted by a slim index finger pointed straight at her nose.

"Hino Rei! You are coming with me and I will not take ‘No' for an answer!" Usagi pronounced. Rei was so shocked by the sight of Usagi, and her show of backbone, that she just stood there with a dazed expression. Usagi took advantage of the situation and managed to pull the shrine maiden outside before she snapped out of it.

Rei yanked her arm out of the blonde's grip and faced her. "Now hold it, Odango Atama! I'm not going anywhere with you! Don't you have any manners? I was in the middle of a very important fire reading and--"

"QUIET, REI-CHAN!!!" Usagi yelled. Rei shut her mouth and stared at the shorter girl. Usagi had her fists clenched at her sides and her eyes were brimming with tears.

"Rei. You're one of my closest friends and I care about you. Maybe you don't know it, but you're gonna make yourself sick if you don't stop what you're doing. I'm only trying to help. I said I wouldn't take ‘No' for an answer and I'm not, even if I have to knock you out with my tiara and drag you. So let's go."

Rei couldn't think of anything to say. She just nodded and followed Usagi through the gates, not even bothering to change out of her shrine robes. Once outside of Hikawa Jinga, Rei saw Ami, Makoto, and Minako standing together. She hadn't seen them in a week, and Rei decided that they looked terrible.

Ami was pale and looked like she hadn't been sleeping, there seemed to be a permanent crease on her brow... as if she was warring with something in her mind. Makoto had dark shadows under her eyes and looked like she had just been crying, the rough movement of dragging her sleeve across her eyes only confirmed Rei's suspicions. Minako was disheveled; her bow was crooked, her hair had lost its bounce, and she had a tired look in her eyes that went all the way to her soul. I probably don't look much better, Rei thought grimly. As Rei approached the others looked up and smiled a little. They all began to follow Usagi to where ever she was leading them.

"So, all of us back together again, ne?" Makoto tried to joke. Everyone just nodded and Makoto was silent before she went on. "So, she got you too, Rei-chan? I thought you'd put up more of a fight."

Rei sighed. "Yeah, I tried, but she threatened to knock me out with her tiara. I've never seen Usagi like this before. What's going on?"

Minako shrugged and replied, her voice rough. "I'm not sure. Usagi said she'd use the ginzuishou to get me. I think she locked Artemis in my closet too."

Makoto laughed a little, an empty hollow sound. "Usagi said she'd blast my apartment using her Moon Rod. But... Ami got the worst." Makoto's voice was almost a whisper. Minako and Rei both turned to the blue-haired girl walking between them.

"What did she threaten you with Ami?" Minako asked. Ami turned her gaze away.

"She didn't threaten me with anything," she said in a hoarse voice and tried to hold back her tears. "I kept telling her that I wouldn't go... I think... I think I slapped her... I can't remember... and she had to... order me to come... as Princess Serenity."

The three girls all gasped in shock and looked at the odangoed girl walking ahead of them.

"I've... never seen Usagi so upset. She looked at me with the saddest eyes, and the moon sigil appeared on her forehead. It sounded like her heart was breaking when she told me that if I didn't come, it would be treason."

"Well," Makoto said, breaking the numb silence. "We have been acting weird all week. Usagi must be so worried about us. I don't blame her for acting the way she did."

The girls nodded but Rei still fumed a little. "Still, that Odango Atama better not be planning anything stupid."

They walked on.

***

Usagi stopped in front of a large apartment building in the Azabu neighborhood. She faced them as they stepped up to the building as well.

"Here we are, minna." Usagi looked over at the sun which was slowly making its way west, the beginning of sunset appearing. "See, we even made it in time. We're going to the third floor, but we'll have to use the stairs. The elevator is broken." Usagi skipped into the building, reminding everyone of the familiar Usagi that they were used to.

"Well, this certainly isn't a mall or an arcade," Makoto said as she entered the building. The girls all looked around.

"Hurry up guys!" Usagi called. They all looked up and saw her hanging over the railing of the stairs. "Take your time coming up if you want, I have to fix some things up. Don't worry! You'll love this surprise!" Usagi's head disappeared as she practically bounced up the stairs.

"The same old Usagi, huh?" Minako said. "Wailing one minute, then happy the next minute."

***

Usagi practically bounced to Mamoru's apartment and threw open the door. She could hear the voices of her friends as they climbed the stairs. Everything was going perfectly! That is, until she saw Mamoru's forbidding expression. He was leaning against the back of the couch facing the front door. His arms were crossed and he was frowning... at her.

"Ma--Mamo-chan?"

"This isn't going to work Usako," he said as Usagi closed the door behind her. Usagi gathered her courage and turned a bright smile on him. She saw his features soften imperceptibly, but he still remained firm.

"What won't work? We planned it all out the other night, and everyone is coming up the stairs right now. This is perfect! Everyone will be happy again!"

"Will they, Usako?" Mamoru asked. He motioned to the couch and sat down beside her. "We didn't think of the effects this would have on everyone."

"There are no ‘effects', Mamo-chan! They'll be happy! The Guardians and the Senshi will finally be able to see each other again! My friends will be happy! Don't you want them to be happy?" Usagi was determined at this point. Why was Mamo-chan being so difficult?

"Of course I want them to be happy, Usako, but I'm thinking of the Guardians as well. How do you think they'll feel? To see the people they love for one last time, but to be trapped in stones never to see them again? Don't you think it would be torture for them? And what about the girls? You're letting them face the men that haunt their dreams... the men they loved so much in the past. How will they feel, knowing that they might never have a love like that again? Don't you think it would be a little cruel to all of them?"

Usagi closed her eyes tight against Mamoru's wave of reason. She had thought about the consequences as well. Was momentary happiness really worth the possible long term pain? She opened her eyes and faced her boyfriend.

"Yes. Maybe it would be cruel to let them all do this, but it is even meaner to let all of them suffer the way they are now. Ami, Rei, Mako-chan and Minako are all going nuts, and here I have the thing that will cure them. Jade, Nephi, Zoi, and Kunz all agreed with me. Don't you think that *they've* thought about the circumstance for a long time? They need a chance to apologize for that stupid mistake they made in the past. Like Nephi said... they all need seizure."

Mamoru laughed. "That's ‘closure.' They all need closure." He took Usagi's hand in his and smiled. "Fine, Usako. I'll go along with your plan. It seems too late to stop anything now." He bent and kissed her lightly. Usagi gave in happily, glad that she would be able to help all of her friends and that Mamo-chan wouldn't be angry with her.

"Eeewww!!! Get a room you two!"

"I think it's sorta cute, Rei..."

"Reminds me of my--"

"SEMPAI!!!"

Usagi and Mamoru broke away from each other, blushing red. The girls all trooped into the room and surrounded them.

Mamoru rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Heh... you guys are really quiet sometimes..."

"Minna... you shoulda knocked..." Usagi stammered out.

The girls laughed, a real laugh this time.

"Well," Minako started. "You said you had a surprise for us. It looks like we surprised you two instead. So, why are we in Mamoru-san's apartment?"

Usagi and Mamoru shared a look before Usagi took a deep breath. "I know how much all of you guys have been suffering this past week. I could feel it because you're my Senshi and my best friends. And... I know how to stop it."

"Stop it?" Makoto asked dubiously. "You can stop the dreams?"

"I thought I was the only one..." Ami said quietly. "I thought I was the only one who saw these things and heard the voices..."

The girls all stood silently, absorbing this new revelation.

"Yes," Mamoru interjected, breaking the silence that had settled across the room. "Usako and I can stop these... visions... that you've been having. You got them in the first place because you are all remembering your past lives in the Silver Millennium. Your visions and dreams are actually memories."

"That's impossible!" Ami suddenly snapped. "I would never--" She broke off and turned away. Minako placed a calming hand on her shoulder, but the normally gentle Ami just shrugged it off and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Please, believe us," Usagi pleaded. She could see, no *feel* the turmoil in her friends. "We can make everything better!"

"How?" Rei bit out. She seemed especially shaken to Usagi, and very pale.

"You have to assume your Senshi forms first," Usagi said tentatively.

"Fine. Anything to stop these dreams. MARS POWER!"

Makoto nodded and pulled out her pen. "To learn about my past. JUPITER POWER!"

"To find out who he is. VENUS POWER!" Minako called, her brow furrowing.

Ami hesitated slightly, before throwing her transformation pen in the air. "To find out who I really am! MERCURY POWER!"

"MAKE UP!!!!"

In a flash of fire, lightning, light and ice, the Sailor Senshi faced Usagi and Mamoru. They all looked much better than they had before. Usagi wondered idly if it was because they were drawing strength from their Senshi forms. They all healed better when they were powered up, maybe this would help them heal emotionally too.

As the Senshi waited pensively, Mamoru and Usagi shared a look. Mamoru removed the top of the gilded box on the coffee table. Usagi on the other hand, took out her henshin broach.

"U--Usagi? What are you planning to do?" Mars was extremely agitated by the couples' behavior. Usagi just smiled at Mars and took Mamoru's hand in hers.

"Whatever happens," Mamoru warned the girls. "Please, *please* don't overreact." He then closed his eyes and began to concentrate. Usagi closed her eyes as well, and the ginzuishou began to glow with gentle light. As the golden light from Mamoru began to encompass the four stones in the box, the silvery light of the ginzuishou mixed in as well.

The stones rose from the box and hovered about six feet in the air. The glow from the stones began to shine through the joined gold and silver glow coming from Mamoru and Usagi. In a final pulse of light and power, that startled the confused Senshi, four men stood where the stones had been.

Usagi and Mamoru finally opened their eyes and smiled at the men, still shaken by their use of power. They were all in shock and Jadeite waved his hand in front of his face. Each of the men seemed shaken by their appearance. Zoisite moved over cautiously and laid a hand on Usagi's shoulder.

It didn't pass through.

"It worked," he murmured, turning to his friends. "We're real."

Nephrite nudged the others and they realized that the Senshi were in the room. The girls merely gaped at them. "Uh... konbanwa?" he ventured.

The girls screamed.

"THE FOUR GENERALS!!!"

"I told them not to overreact..." Mamoru sighed. But, the Senshi leapt to action before anyone could warn them.

In an instant the room was filled with a thick, cold mist that made it difficult to see. Then a flash of fire streaked by Usagi's head, and she could hear Jadeite curse in another language. "Minna! Yamatte!" she called out to no one in particular, but found herself pinned to the floor by Mamoru as a bolt of lightning nearly took her head of her shoulders.

"YAMATTE! YAMATTE MINNA!" she continued to call out as the mist cleared.

She watched in horror as Venus pulled the chain off of her waist and charged it with golden energy. "Venus... Love Me Chain!!!" she cried out, hurling her attack at Kunzite.

But Kunzite, leader of the Guardians, did not lose his cool for one minute. He sidestepped the glowing chain, and in a fluid movement, Kunzite caught the glowing chain in his hand and held it aloft. Venus gasped but didn't relinquish her hold. It seemed like a tug of war between the two.

"How-- How did...?" Venus sputtered, still trying to pull the chain from Kunzite's grasp.

Kunzite laughed and tossed his end of the chain back. Venus fumbled and caught it, but nearly fell over in the process. "You made it very easy, Erato. I gave you that chain for your birthday."

Venus started uncomfortably at the name, and the chain lost its power as she averted her eyes and tied it around her waist again. Kunzite caught her eyes for a split second, looking for any trace of the woman he loved. He found no recognition in the familiar blue depths.

"Gods..." he breathed as he stepped back. "You were right, Endymion... they remember nothing."

"No, Kunz..." Usagi said softly, pulling herself off of the floor. "They remember, they just can't recall."

"That's pretty much the same thing, isn't it Sere?" Jadeite asked. He gazed at Mars, who immediately flushed and looked away, ofudas still clutched in her hand. The men were all small knots of pain. So close to happiness... yet so far away...

"What is going on here, Usagi-chan?" Mercury asked. She seemed at her wits end, and Zoisite longed to go to her.

"You don't have to worry," Mamoru stated. He gestured to the four uniformed men. "I tried to warn you beforehand. The Guardians are not the enemies you remember. They are no longer Beryl's thralls."

"Onegai..." Usagi pleaded with her friends. "Believe us and just look at them. Remember what you were. I know what's been happening to you, it's pointless to try to hide it. You have to remember or it will only get worse."

The girls seemed uneasy, but lifted their eyes reluctantly to meet the Guardians'.

Blue met Violet.

Brown met Green.

Green met Blue.

Blue met Blue.

The eight pairs of eyes focused and merged.

The men gazed, their eyes filled with longing, desire, and love. Please... was the whispered plea. Please remember us...

The girls viewed, their eyes filled with distrust, confusion, and anger. Who are you... their eyes sent back, and how did you do this to us?

But something stirred as each saw into the windows of each others souls. Something old and raw and strong pulled at the entranced couples. Each girl heard the call of her dreams, and each opened her locked memories. With a gentle flash, time changed and reality warped. The happier times were remembered and all eight soared on wings of gossamer and light...

"Whoa... what was that?" Jupiter asked, jerking herself out of the trance. All the others emerged as well, and the men stepped up smiling to their soul mates.

"Just your memories. Do you remember me now, Melpomene?" Nephrite asked, hope tinging his voice.

"Melpomene..." Jupiter whispered, closing her eyes. The name in her dreams... the man she loved...

"Nani?" Mercury said in surprise, looking down at herself. She held up a bare arm. "What are these dresses, and where are our fukus?"

The girls looked down and found that their outfits had indeed changed.

A watery blue outfit adorned Ami.

Familiar fiery red silk clothed Rei.

Deep forest green surrounded Makoto's tall frame.

Shimmery golden yellow highlighted Minako's features.

"Don't worry, Clio," Zoisite said softly. "You have become the young women we know and love." He placed a comforting arm around her shoulders.

Ami closed her eyes and flinched at the name and the touch. No... no... This isn't me... I can't... Not him...

"I can't!" Ami yelled suddenly, tearing herself from Zoisite's arms. She dashed back away from everyone, her eyes darting back and forth like a caged animal.

"Clio..." Zoisite murmured.

"I AM NOT CLIO!!!" Ami screamed. She ran across the apartment, blue silk reverting back to a senshi fuku. I have to get away, her mind screamed. Her eyes found her escape to freedom.

Mercury threw herself out of the balcony of Mamoru's apartment. The girls screamed and everyone rushed out onto the small alcove.

Mercury's thin form sailed across the alley and landed heavily on the roof of the opposite building. She picked herself up and, without a moment's hesitation, continued on her flight away.

The release of held breaths was the only sound that came from the people in the apartment.

Except for Zoisite.

With a scream of "NO!!!" Zoisite jumped off the balcony as well. He landed on the opposite roof with even less grace than Mercury, but shook it off.

He started to chase his only love, the Senshi of Water, across the darkened roofs of Tokyo.