Chapter 15: When the past and present are oil and water
(Week four: Day 1)

Three days. It had been three days since his world had completely
exploded. Mamoru sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. At
this point he wasn't even sure what to do now. It was like looking
at a massive six car pile-up and wondering what to move first...and
knowing you would never be sure about what caused the accident in the
first place.

Well, if he had to explain what caused the wreck that was three
days ago, he'd have to say it started with Reika's visit. No, if
he were honest with himself, it started with May's visit. He had
had questions before, but the way in which she presented everything
started the pull between his past life and his present one.

Then Reika showed up and added to the mix. How does one deal with
a past love, who is a present friend, engaged to your current best
friend? And, just to make things more complicated, throw in the
fact that you have a girlfriend/finacee of your own, who, up until a
few days ago, you thought was your soulmate. "And they would have
to end up in the same room, wouldn't they?" Mamoru groused.

It was a scene out of every guy's worse nightmare. You have a
crying woman in your arms. Maybe she's an ex-girlfriend, maybe
she's a good friend, but regardless, you are trying to comfort
her. You aren't betraying your current girlfriend, but you
know the picture doesn't look good. And in walks your current
girlfriend.

Of course, in this case, the scene was that much worse, as Reika
jumped into the brewing argument and went after Usagi. And,
when Mamoru tried to take the middle of the road, Reika accused
him of abandoning his family as she walked out. But it only got
worse as she walked out the door.

With Reika gone, Usagi came at him full force. What was this past
relationship with Reika? Why had he never mentioned it before?
Why was he betraying his best friend like that? Why was he betraying
her like that? What was wrong with her that he always seemed to
push her away? Was it over for them?

He couldn't get a word in edgewise, and Usagi took his pauses and
flumblings as a brush-off. She ran off in tears, leaving him standing
in the middle of his appartment wondering what the hell to do next.

The next day, he went to the park and wander around, trying to piece
together his life, past, present and future. It seemed to be lifetimes
since that last time he was really happy, fully happy. Sure, he was
happy with his Usako, how could he not be? He loved her, and in this
life she was the only family he had...had seemingly the key word now.
At the same time, the not knowing his parents from this life, the not
having the parents from this life, losing Fiore, the various battles
where he fought as Tuxedo Mask, the times he was captured or brainwashed
or.... Mamoru sighed. In his dreams, in his memories, he vaguely
remembered a time when he had little brothers, loving parents, and
laughter, real laughter. Of course, now that past happiness seemed
bent on destroying the little present happiness he had.

While wandering the park, Mamoru was assaulted with memories, good and bad.
Memories of walks with Usako, memories of battles. Memories that made
this life seem more real than the last. 'Maybe I should just chose one,
past or present,' Mamoru thought to himself. And at that moment, the
present was winning.

Yet, when he returned to his appartment, one of the first things he
saw was that picture of Tremaine and Arlington and Endymion that May
gave him at the beginning of their talk. As he picked up the picture,
he found himself caught in a memory. He could hear almost clearly his
brothers from so long ago.

"We have got to find a more annoying nickname for him! Endy is not half
as bad as what he calls us!"

"Good luck you two."

"Why don't we call him, Heir Bear?"

"Ha! That makes no sense Ling."

"Or Crown-Brown?"

"Nice try, Tremmy."

"Or Cape Boy?"

"What did you call me, Ling?!"

"Ling, that's it! You are a genius. We'll call him Cape Boy."

And just as the memory faded, he heard a softer feminine voice
laugh, "Now I am concerned about the coming end. My two youngest
never agree! Now what are the three of you plotting?"

"Mother," Mamoru had whispered as he shook off the memory. At that
moment, he was almost ready to chuck the present for the past...but
Usako always seemed to bring him back to present. At the same time,
just when he would be ready to give up the past, he'd "hear" his
brother's teasing or remember how his father trained him or remember his
promise to his mother to never forget them. He seemed to be stuck
between both his present and past...and those two couldn't seem to
coexist together without destroying his future.

What he really wanted were answers. Both sides seemed totally convinced
that the other side was wrong, but, as the one caught in the middle
he couldn't believe that. Whatever the past was like, the present
senshi weren't evil. Whatever the purpose of May, his past family wasn't
evil. In fact, it sounded as if they were wronged. But how do you make
two sides listen to each other when they are bent on one-upping each other.

What made the situation even more difficult is that he had no one
to talk to. Since that conversation with Reika, he had avoided
Motoki like the plague. What could he say to his best friend? That
part of the reason Reika dumped Motoki was that he and Reika had
a relationship a past life and Reika's trying to come to terms with
that? Ignoring the fact that such an explanation would make him sound crazy, how did that not sound like he was trying to take away his
best friend's finacee, while apparently cheating on someone that his
best friend saw as a sister? All the tension made Mamoru ill, physically
ill. Often over the last three days he stood on his balcony and stared
out on the city, feeling less and less in control of his life every
minute.

"What I am supposed to do now?" he asked as he stood outside. He sighed as he looked at the horizon, something which he didn't do much as he
tended to look at the moon or the sky in the past. As he tried to lose
himself in the view, he heard the phone ring.

Walking back into his appartment to answer it, he wondered who was on
the other end, and if he should let his answering machine catch it.
'Well, it is too late for that now,' he thought as he picked up the
phone. "Hello?"

"Mamoru? It's Setsuna."

"Setsuna? This is a surprise. Why are you-" Mamoru stopped abruptly
as he realized that this call could mean that something was really
wrong. "Did something happen to Usako? Is she okay? Is-"

Setsuna cut him off, "She's fine."

"Oh. Then, why are you calling?"

"I'm calling because the situation we discussed at the last senshi
meeting has gotten worse. I want you to be at the senshi meeting
that we are having later this evening at Rei's temple."

"Have you talked to Usako about this?" Mamoru asked warily. "Does she
know I'll be there?"

There was a pause at the other end of the line. "Well, no I haven't.
Is there a reason why I should?" Setsuna finally asked.

"You'll have to talk to Usako about that."

"Will you come to the meeting?" Setsuna asked. "The future of Crystal
Toyko is at stake here. Besides, I believe that you are in danger."

Mamoru thought for a moment. In all honesty, he probably shouldn't
go to the meeting. Usagi was angry at him, and by now she had told
all the others, except Pluto, about their fight and the whole Reika
situation. The other senshi would be out for blood, his. But there
was one thing that could make him go and face the music at this point,
"Will you be there?" Mamoru as his caller.

"Yes, of course," Setsuna replied.

"Then, I'll be there," Mamoru said. And, as Setsuna rattled off the
time of the meeting and warned Mamoru to be careful, Mamoru had only
one thought running through his head. 'I will finally be able to
get some answers.'

****

Later that evening, as Mamoru walked up the steps, he wondered if was
really such a good idea. 'Talk about mixing up the past and the present!
And, in my case, the two seem to be a rather volitile cocktail.' He took
a deep breath as he prepared to enter. 'Here goes nothing. Let's hope
that everyone isn't too angry.'

As Mamoru walked in the room, he noticed that everyone, minus Setsuna
was there, scattered all around the room. It was Usagi, who was standing
near the door that noticed him first.

"What is HE doing here?" she asked angrily.

The whole room, minus Mamoru looked at her in surprise, which surprised
Mamoru. 'She hasn't told them what happened yet?! That's odd.'

"He's here because I asked him to be here," Setsuna said from behind
Mamoru. He stepped aside so that she could walk further into the
room. "The threat to him and to the future Crystal Toyko has increased."

Usagi didn't ask any other questions besides that, but she did go stand
on the other side of the room as the meeting started, something that was
not missed by anyone else in the room. In fact, this left Mamoru
pretty much alone close to the door; the others were on the opposide side
of the room for the most part.

After a moment of silence, Setsuns began again. "I called you together
because the situation has worsened. I have found the woman behind this
plot, although I am still unsure at how she is able to manipulate time.
She cover story is-"

"You mean her real story."

"Excuse me?" Setsuna asked.

"You heard me," Mamoru said. "It is not a 'cover story'. It is is a
'real story'. It's the truth."

"Mamoru, what are you saying-" Setsuna began, but Mamoru cut her off
again.

"May has already talked to me, Setsuna. Whatever her motives may be and
whatever she may mistakenly think about the present, she wasn't lying."

"How do you know that?" Rei demanded.

Mamoru sighed. "Because, for the past three weeks I've been having
dreams, memories of the Silver Millennium. Memories that don't fit
what little Setsuna has told us on other occassions, but which DO fit May's
story."

"How you know that those weren't just sent by this May person? It's
not like you have been manipulated by dreams before," Ami observed.

"Besides the fact that they feel like memories?" Mamoru asked. "I'm
pretty sure they aren't a plot because they were confirmed by someone
who couldn't have been a part of any plot."

The room erupted in conversation as the senshi fired off questions and
demands at Mamoru. He ignored them all and looked at Setsuna.

"The only reason I am here," Mamoru said over the din, "is because I
want the truth. I want to see the truth, what REALLY happened during
the Silver Millennium, and I'm not leaving until you share that truth
with me, Setsuna." As if to make his point, Mamoru sat down, crossed
his arms in front of him and prepared to wait, still looking directly
at Setsuna.

That quieted the room down some, but what caused everyone to fall
completely silent was when Usagi looked and Setsuna and said, "I would
like to know what really happened myself."

Setsuna turned to stare at Usagi, "Princess-"

Usagi held up her head. "A while ago I had a dream about the Silver
Millennium that what very different from anything I've ever been told
or 'remembered' on my own. A dream that lately seems to be playing
out in real life as well," she continued as she turned to look at
Mamoru. After a moment, she turned back to Setsuna. "I'd like to
see what really happened too."

Setsuna looked trapped, but she still tried to get out the corner she
was in. "I understand that you want to learn more about the Silver
Millennium; it was a wonderful time. But too much reflection on
the past can adversely affect the future. And it is possible that Ad-"
she cleared her throat and continued, "that this May and her lackies
Tremaine and Arlington-"

Mamoru interupted her again, "Don't you mean Terry and Yusuke, Setsuna?
That's funny, because it sounded like you said Tremaine and Arlington,
which aren't their names...in this life anyway. That slip leads more
credence to what May told me than anything else anyone could have said."
Mamoru leveled an angry look at Setsuna, "In this lifetime alone I have
lost my parents, my memories on several occassion, some of which I never
regained. I have died a few times. I've been kidnapped, attacked,
brainwashed, the works. I've been put through hell, and yes, I've
taken others with me. I think I deserve the truth. I'm not asking for
anything else but the truth." Mamoru paused and took a deep breath
as he prepared to deliver his bargaining chip. "If you show me, even
if it is just me alone, the truth, I promise to remain an ally here.
The past is important, but it is the past. My decisions for the future
will be based on the present. However, if you deny me the truth...I
will walk out of this temple and never return. I will never interact
with anyone in this room again and your dream of Crystal Toyko will
die."

At this statement the room fell into a shocked silence.

But Mamoru wasn't done, "I know that this future that we've seen is
what you want above all else, Setsuna. So, what is it going to be?
Do you answer my questions or do I leave and find people who will?"

At first, Setsuna looked like she was going to fight, but then
she sighed and looked a little defeated. "What did she say to you
to have you so convinced?" she finally asked.

"Which she, May or Reika?" Mamoru asked.

At the name Reika everyone except Usagi and Setsuna gasped. Usagi
turned her back to Mamoru to hide her hurt. And, while Mamoru noticed
the action and was hurt by it himself, he kept his gaze on Setsuna as
she asked, "Lady Daniella talked to you as well?"

"Yes, she did." Mamoru sighed. "As to what they said. Well, in Reika's
case it was more of a 'oh crap this is all real'. In May's case...well,
she said something that I remember my mother, my mother the queen of
Earth saying a long time ago."

Setsuna seemed to nod, "Well, of course Queen Adaunde would quote herself,
but what is so powerful about-"

"Wait a second," Mamoru interrupted, "did you just say 'Queen' Adaunde?"

"Well, yes." Setsuna replied.

"May was 'Queen' Adaunde?"

"Of course she was. That's why-" Setsuna stopped suddenly and gasped.
"You didn't know," she breathed out. "You didn't know who she was."

But Mamoru was still working through what he just found out. "'Queen'
Adaunde as in 'Queen of Earth'?" Before Setsuna could get another word in
edgewise, Mamoru voice rose with urgency, "Are you saying May was my
mother?!"

"Mamoru-" Setsuna began...

But Mamoru wouldn't be pacified. "I want the truth and I want it now,"
he said as he walked up to Setsuna, "So start talking."

That seemed to annoy the Haruka. "You have NO RIGHT-" she began to shout
at Mamoru, until Usagi interrupted her.

"Actually, I think he does."

That simple statement silenced the room again. Usagi took a deep breath
and turned around to look her love in the eye. "If this May person
was his mother, if he has family here from any life, he deserves to
know about them. And we all deserve to know the truth." She turned
to Setsuna. "Show us all now, please."

Setsuna sighed, "Okay. Okay.' She took a deep breath as everyone around
her sat down and Setsuna began. "I can show you the two weeks from
the annoucement of the engagement of Serenity and Endymion to when Queen
Beryl attacked. I still contend that too much knowledge of the past
is just as damaging and knowing the future, BUT" Setsuna emphasized as
it looked as if Mamoru was about to protest, "that should be enough to
answer your questions."

Those assembled in the room nodded and Setsuna began to show them a
story, an overview of two weeks of pain, strain, and and just a little
bit of hope, the end of two dynasties, the royal family of Earth and the
Silver Millennium led by the queen of the moon.

- to be continued -

This chapter was extremely hard to write. I apologize up front for
anything that seems OOC. I have been debating about what to add, who
should say what, how would they/she/he really react, etc. I drove
myself crazy with this chapter...

And now I really need your help. Please, please, please critique this,
review this, give me feedback on this. If you need a lot of room, please
email me at cemberl@yahoo.com. Rip it to shreds, flame it, tell me in
detail what is wrong with it, I beg you. This story is almost finished (it has three chapters to go, one of which is completely finished and
the other two are almost finished); quick and thorough feedback on this will help me get through the last three chapters faster, possibly even finishing before mid-February. Thank you for all your support and your
continued reading. Every chapter takes this work in a new direction; I
hope I've enterntained some of you on this long, wild ride.

Thanks for reading
~December