Remember
Part: 3
By: Loralei Fairhill
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Alternate Reality


k, minna, here we go again! this is the next part of my fic, if ya didn't 
know that already. uh...psa....don't go there grrl! itz not worth it. heh 
heh...gomen. no one knows what i'm babbling about. thatz ok. 

a short blurb about disclaimers: if any of u have noticed, i don't put 
disclaimers on. they were fun 2 write @ the beginning, but now i'm bored. and 
besides, EVERYONE else does them. do we really need _one_ more disclaimer in 
this fanfiction world? i don't think so! 
    

    When Mamoru came to, the room was pitch black again. All he could make 
out was Usagi's pale, shining body in the glass case. He tried to go to her, 
but found that he was chained to the wall. He pulled in vain at his bonds, 
freedom his only thought. Freedom and Usagi's safety. He knew that she was 
still alive, but that it would not last; the air was quickly growing thinner 
in the coffin. There were air holes in the bottom, letting in enough oxygen 
for her to remain comatose and alive, but not awake. 
    He strained again, but both the wall and the chains were as unforgiving 
as Morgana. Then he realized how stupid he was being.
    "Mamoru no baka! You're Tuxedo Kamen. Conjure a rose!" he berated 
himself. He got his act together and hacked his way out of the chains with a 
steel-tipped weapon crowned in red.
    Mamoru made his way over to the perfect angel in the coffin, hoping that 
he would be strong enough to move the lid and free her. He pushed it, trying 
to slide it off. Unfortunately, it seemed to be sealed by magic. He could 
only pray that she still lived while he tried to find a way out of their 
seemingly invincible prison.
    Without warning, maniacal laughter filled the room as he stared at 
Usagi's pallid skin through the glass. He could guess very easily at who it 
belonged to. Morgana. 
    She didn't make a flashy entrance this time, only appeared out of thin 
air in front of him. She walked slowly towards him and the coffin, all the 
while smiling seductively and swinging her hips.
    "Honestly, boy, I don't see what you like so much about her. She's frail, 
powerless, ugly. You want a real woman," she told him suggestively.
    "What I want is my Usako! Not you, or any other woman who lusts after 
every man in her presence!" he told her vehemently. "And you're not a real 
woman. That," he pointed at Usagi, "is a real woman. You wouldn't know one if 
she stared you in the face all year!" he spat.
    "Fine. You've passed the first test. Do what you want with her." She 
waved her hand, and the lid of the coffin came off and fell to the floor, 
where it shattered into a million pieces. "She was the bait anyway. I'm going 
to get what I want sooner or later, make no mistake about that." She tossed 
her lavender hair over her shoulder and walked into her own oblivion.
    Mamoru watched the air where she disappeared for a moment, ensuring that 
she had truly left. Then he looked down at the princess in the glass box. He 
scooped her up very gently and carried her across the room and away from the 
hated coffin. He gingerly place a kiss upon her lips. Her eyelids fluttered 
in response and she moved in his arms.
    "Mamo-chan . . . mmmmm . . . " she murmured.
    "Mamo-chan?" he repeated. "Since when am I Mamo-chan, Usagi-chan?" he 
asked. Her eyes opened abruptly as she hit reality dead on.
    "Mam . . . Mamoru-kun. I . . . I . . . gomen . . . gomen nasai . . . . " 
she stuttered.
    "It's okay, Usagi-chan. Fit of madness is all. Lack of oxygen must have 
fogged up your brain for a while." At his words, her face fell. "What did I 
do?" he questioned.
    "N . . . nothing. Nothing!" She tumbled herself out of his arms and onto 
the ground. How could she tell him what she thought, lay bare her emotions so 
they could be laughed at? No, no, she had gone through all this before with 
another. The miracle would take place or she'd be damned trying.
    "It's not nothing. I see it in your eyes," he said. She picked herself 
up, dusted herself off, and walked to another corner of the room.
    "What would you know of my pain?" she asked. "Not a thing," she whispered 
to herself. Before she could completely cross the room, he had her by the 
waist, his strong arms encircling her and warming her with their heat. Iie, 
she thought. I can't let him get to me. This can't happen. I'm here for the 
miracle. "He has to bring the miracle," she said aloud, unknowingly.
    "What miracle?" He suddenly broke her train of thoughts. How could he 
know? She asked herself silently. "Tell me, Usagi-chan! You must know this 
woman who plagues us. Tell me!" he pleaded.
    "I . . . I want to, but I can't. Not now. Not here. You . . . you weren't 
supposed to know. I have to keep the secret by myself."
    "What secret? You're speaking in riddles, darling." She drew away from 
him and shrank back into the wall. 
    "No riddles. No secrets. Just believe in me. I'll tell you later," she 
told him, hoping to appease the onslaught of his questions.
    "When?" he asked softly. "When can I know? When can I understand you?" He 
pulled her towards him again, kissing her neck softly. "I want to understand 
you . . . I want to protect you. How can I when you hate me like this?" He 
dropped her abruptly, and she fell to the floor with an oof.
    "Hate? I . . . I don't hate you, Mamoru-kun," she said, her voice 
questioning and reassuring.
    "Then why won't you tell me your troubles? I feel them inside of you, you 
know. All those dark, blooming thoughts that slosh around in your mind. I see 
them. I know them. But I can't find their source. And it's hurting me," he 
said. She looked at her feet and made no move to reply to his accusation. "Is 
that your goal, then, to hurt me?" he asked. "Because if it is, I'll let 
Morgana have you. No protection." He threw up his hands and turned away. 
    Usagi's voice whispered from behind him, "I could never hate you. Never. 
Not even when you don't remember. Not even then. I've always . . . I've 
always loved you, Mamoru-kun. I always will." Then, almost inaudibly 
murmured, she said, "Aishiteru, Mamo-chan," and walked to a darkened corner 
where her darkness poured out through her crystal tears.      


special shout out goes 2 psa-chan, with whose help i found out how 2 "copy, 
cut and paste" this part of my fic! saving HOURS of strenous typing that i 
wanted 2 use doing other things......ARIGATO! ^_^