Nothing is what I own.

Segment 12:

Time Keeps On Turning…

Summary:

Upon regaining consciousness, Duo finds himself in the custody of the intelligence group known as Red Delta. He makes the acquaintance of the stealth expert, Tomoe Hotaru, and is also shocked to learn that Marie Duma is none other than Mariemaia Khushrenada. Before any explanations can be given, the last member of Red Delta, Serenity "Rini" Chiba, aka Princess Small Lady Serenity Chiba, arrives in hysterics. When she calms down, she shows a message from the Leute assassin Aethrin. He claims that Neo-Queen Serenity and the Ginzuishou are both in their custody, and that the Senshi should surrender if they want to live. Duo and Red Delta decide to meet Setsuna on MO-V, and plan to depart. On Earth, Trowa, Lady Une, and Dahlia return to Une's house in Italy. After they arrive, Trowa and Dahlia have a minor confrontation in which he warns her to stay away from her "mother."

It was 3:26 AM. Approximately sixteen hours ago, Quatre and Haruka had pulled away from the dusty ruins of Saint Teresa's. Since then, they had stopped twice; once to gas up, once to receive a speeding ticket for going 85 when the speed limit was 60. By some miracle (the miracle that Quatre was the head of the prestigious Winner family), they had gotten off with a warning. Still, Quatre made sure Haruka didn't drive over ten miles over the speed limit after that.

Very little had been said. Haruka had answered Quatre's few questions in sentences shorter than six words. Rei had remained totally silent. Feeling awkward, Quatre too kept quiet. He was unsure of how to handle the two women with him. The animosity between them was almost physical, and he couldn't help but wonder if Rei would suddenly have another fit and try to attack Haruka while she was driving. But the girl had done nothing except stare out the window and eventually doze off.

Quatre himself found it difficult to sleep. How could he? Besides the fear that Haruka was going to either fall asleep at the wheel, or floor it as soon as he did, he was also worried about Leute attacking. Always, it was without warning. Or…no, that wasn't true. They always attacked when there were groups of their "targets", either Senshi or the humans that were aiding them. Although they had succeeded in killing Kino, that was probably done by only one assassin. When they tried the same on Duo, they had failed. And now, if they even wanted to go after a group of three (namely Sally, Wufei, and Mizuno Ami), they would need to outnumber them four to one to have a slight chance of success.

The other reason Quatre could not relax because for the first time he could remember, he was furious at Haruka. For lying to him, for not helping him sooner, for…for not being the person he thought she was. His whole life she had simply been his aunt. A card on his birthday, a visit and interesting present at Christmas, a few letters in between. After the war, she had become a major part of his life, taking the place of his dead father and older sister. He trusted her. Trusted her to help him, to guide him, even to protect him in some instances. Quatre was not so proud that he would deny that, without Haruka, he would have gone just as far as he did. But now…how could he be sure she wasn't just manipulating him into doing something to serve herself? Setsuna had said that the true war was between the Leute and the Senshi. To the loser, death. To the winner…the world? Would Haruka go that far? Would she use him to put the world in this Serenity's hands?

"What's the next town?"

Quatre blinked and frowned at her. "What?"

"The next town. We just passed Napton. There should be a bigger town a few miles away. Something with an M…Mitchell…Mandel…"

"Marshall. You stopping?" He asked.

She nodded. "Just for a few hours sleep and something to eat."

"You mean you still have to do that? Doesn't being a Senshi cover human needs?" he asked, sounding far colder than he ever meant to.

A flash of light sparked out of her steel blue eyes. "Don't start that shit Quatre. I'm serious. We can talk about that later. But not now. Not when I've been driving for the past sixteen hours."

He said nothing, and turned away.

"Damn it Quatre. You went on living twenty-five years without knowing the truth. Stop acting like I'm a fuckin' Leute. I'm the same person," she snapped.

"Are you?" he glanced at her.

She didn't answer.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled into Marshall. Haruka checked into a hotel and got two connecting rooms, a single and a double. Quatre shook Rei awake and she followed him in a daze into the hotel. Before anyone could say anything, Haruka shoved a change of clothes into Rei's hands, went into the single, and locked her front door.

"I guess we're bunking together?" Quatre looked at the girl.

She shrugged. "Doesn't both me. I'm going to shower though. It's been…ages…"

By the sight of her tangled hair and the smell that had become increasingly noticeable in the car, he couldn't argue. Opening his overnight bag, he changed into a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. He hadn't originally packed for overnight, but he found some clothes and toiletries in a bag in the trunk, no doubt courtesy of Haruka. And that thought made him even angrier. How was he supposed to start hating someone who knew him so well?

Flopping back on one of the beds, he stared at the ceiling and blew his bangs out of his eyes. Hate was a word he rarely used. He had never "hated" anyone. Not OZ, not the Alliance, not Treize, not Mariemaia. And weren't they all worse than Haruka had ever been?

He remembered once when he was only five years old. Haruka had rode up to his house on L4 on a motorcycle. His father had always disapproved, but he knew how much Haruka had meant to Catherine. If he turned her away, he was breaking one of his last connections to his beloved wife.

Haruka had climbed off the motorcycle and smiled that cool little half-smile she had mastered through years (centuries, Quatre thought now). Quatre would run up to her and embrace her legs, because Haruka never did hugs. But she would grab his shoulders, ruffle his hair, and ask him how he was doing. Then she would bend down and whisper in his ear, "Giving your dad hell for me?"

To which, he would always nod, and both of them would always laugh.

Sometimes she would give him a present. Never anything big. When he was nine she gave him a small model racecar, and told him she used to race one just like it. When he was thirteen, she took him for a ride in a helicopter, then actually let him pilot it. And then when he didn't crash it, she gave him a thin 14k gold chain that he always wore around his neck under his shirt.

But most of all he remembered the gift she gave him for Christmas when he was seven. It was rather unconventional for a "Haruka present." She had given him his first violin. He had gratefully accepted it and set it aside for a few months. Then, in a moment of boredom, he picked it up, found a book in the library on how to play, and slowly started to teach himself. By the following Christmas, he was able to play "We Three Kings" for his aunt. And he wasn't sure, but he thought he'd seen tears in her eyes. Not once had Quatre ever seen her cry, before or since.

Suddenly, the door to the bathroom opened and Rei stepped out wearing a baggy gray sweatshirt and stretchy black shorts. Her face was flushed red from the heat, and her raven black hair hung down, straight and shiny from the mini blow dryer on the bathroom wall. Quatre was somewhat surprised at how attractive a simple shower had made her. There was no more dirt on her face, her hair was long and healthy-looking, and she smelled…wonderful.

"I feel…so much better," she said. Crossing the room, she opened the second story window and pitched the clothes she'd worn at Saint Teresa's out. Quatre smiled at her.

"I would've done the same thing," he replied.

Rei looked back at him curiously. He found himself blushing then, and the thought of spending the night in the same room as her (even if it was different beds) was somewhat pleasing.

She sat down on the end of his bed. "I um…thanks," she murmured.

Quatre blinked. "For what?"

"For getting me out of there. I don't know how much longer I could've survived. You save my life, Winner-san," she answered.

"Quatre," he corrected with a smile. "We…er, I was happy to."

Rei smiled weakly and stood up. Turning down the blankets on her own bed, she suddenly turned back to him with hard eyes. "You need to talk to her."

He sighed and shook his head. "In the morning…"

"No," Rei stressed. "You deserve an explanation. And she needs to be the one to tell you. She was the one who lied, she's the one who needs to start telling the truth. In the morning, you can tell me what she said. I'll tell you if it was the truth or not. But you can't go to sleep, and you can't let her go to sleep until things have been resolved." She paused. "I know these things Quatre. What I've seen…"

"I know you can, Rei. I believe you," he answered quickly, not sure he wanted to hear one of her predictions. Rising, he went to the connecting door, then looked at her. "It's strange. You and I have only just met. And yet…I trust you more than I trust her."

"That's because I haven't lied to you," Rei whispered.

Quatre swallowed and went into Haruka's room.

Haruka could not sleep. So Quatre didn't really have to worry about waking her as he walked in. Although she had not slept in twenty hours, she had difficulty closing her eyes. Every time she did, she saw faces, heard voices.

Quatre, staring at her in shock as she transformed in front of her.

Rei, screaming at her to come back.

Ami, laying down across her back seat, sobbing and saying her name.

And…her…

"We need to talk," the room was suddenly illuminated as her nephew flicked on a light switch.

Haruka rolled over and refused to look at him. "In the morning," she muttered.

"No. Now," Quatre said, pulling a chair over to the bed and sitting down in it. He leaned forwards and put his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands with both forefingers against his lips, as though he were praying. "If we don't talk now, Haruka, it might be too late."

"Too late for what?" she asked in a complaining tone.

"For things to go back to the way they were," he answered, his voice a little softer.

At that, Haruka barked out a cynical laugh and sat up against the headrest. "Go back to the way they were? Things are never going to be the way they were, Quatre. You may as well try to undo that whole damn war."

"But you still have to talk to me!" he cried. His eyes cast downwards. "Haruka…if I…if…if I ever meant anything to you, then tell me. If you ever loved me even the smallest bit, explain to me why you kept this a secret for so long."

"Don't tell me you don't know," the remark was sharp, but her tone was surprisingly gentle. "Quatre, before Setsuna told you the story of Crystal Tokyo, would you have believed what I was?"

"…Probably not," he admitted.

"And if I had tried to give you proof, if I had transformed for you then like I had today, what would you have done?" she asked.

"…I don't know. Probably told Father, or my sisters, or someone," he reasoned.

"Exactly," Haruka looked in his eyes. "You're a good kid Quatre. Hell, you're a good man. Better than your father in every way, no matter what I've said in the past. But if you had told him, or your sisters, this would've gotten out. And do you know where I'd have ended up? Right there with Hino at Saint Teresa's."

"Or captured and killed by the Leute, like Kino Makoto," Quatre added.

She raised an eyebrow. "I took on five of those bastards today boy. They ain't got nothing on me."

He smiled. "Yeah…I guess you're right…"

Haruka glanced over to make sure the door to Quatre and Rei's room was shut. "Let me guess. Rei wanted you to come over, right?"

"Um, well," Quatre sighed and nodded.

She rubbed her forehead. "No doubt she wants to put me through as much hell as physically possible." Her eyes shot up momentarily. "I'm not going to play her "she said, she said" game, just so you know. But I know you're observant in enough ways to understand there's…difficulties…between us."

"Do you want to talk about them?" Quatre asked. "You don't have to, if you don't want to. This is between you and her. At least, that's what I'm assuming."

"Don't worry. It is. Me, and Rei, and Mizuno Ami," Haruka smiled. "Don't worry, I'll tell you that story. But later. We need to be out of here ASAP tomorrow. So if you don't have any more questions…"

"Just one more," he stopped her.

She sighed. "Okay, what?"

Quatre was silent for a moment as he studied her. "Why me?"

Haruka frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You a Senshi. Why did you choose to hide with me? I mean, considering that I used to be a Gundam pilot, and now with the company…well, it's not like I'm a nobody. Why would you want to stay with me when you could've been with Irea, or Althea, or Azure or any of my other sisters?" his eyes smiled. "Am I just your favorite?"

She laughed softly. "Yeah. And the truth is…" she paused, wondering if what she was about to say was appropriate. "Quatre…your sisters were born through artificial reproduction. You understand that, right?"

He nodded. "And I was too."

Haruka shook her head. "No. No you weren't, Quatre. You were the first member of the Winner family to be born in space and live to maturity. Naturally. But Catherine, your mother, died because of it."

Quatre blinked, paled, and his hand started to twitch ever so slightly. "What?" he whispered.

His aunt groaned and put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm…sorry. I shouldn't have told you that Quatre. Please…just forget it."

"My mother…" he murmured. He knew Haruka was telling the truth. She had to be. How else could his mother's death at such a young age make sense? A bad case of influenza, they had said. Her immune system was very weak. Bullshit. He had seen the medical records of his family. His mother had been healthy. Oh, the records never mentioned any pregnancy at any point, but his father would've made sure to hide that. How could he let his son find out that he was the reason his mother…had…

"Quatre, I'm sorry!" Haruka cried. Before either of them knew what was happening, he was in her arms. "I'm so sorry. But this was why. I had to stay with you, because you had your mother's blood in your veins. None of your sisters had that…"

"Her blood?" he found himself asking.

Haruka shivered. "I had a partner, Quatre. Michiru. Kaioh Michiru. Sailor Neptune. My partner in every sense of the word. There was an accident…"

He put his arms around her. Somehow, he could sense that Haruka was punishing herself for hurting him by telling the rest of her story. The part that pained her just as much as knowledge of his birth pained him.

"She forgot. Forgot she was a Senshi. Forgot Serenity. Forgot me. She married and had children. And they had children, and those children had children…and Michiru never aged. She watched four generations pass away before she realized she was never going to die. And…she disappeared," Haruka whispered.

"Disappeared?" Quatre repeated.

"Maybe she went insane, committed suicide. Most likely solution. Or else she's off hiding somewhere. Somewhere by the sea. We haven't seen her in centuries. That's why…that's why I've got to stay with you Quatre."

He shook his head. "Haruka…I don't understand…"

She stepped back and held his shoulders. "Quatre, you are one of Michiru's descendants! The bloodline carried down through your mother…" Tears were clearly in her eyes. "You're all I have left of her. Michiru…"

Quatre swallowed hard. He? Descended from a Senshi? Haruka's partner above that?

The Senshi took in a shuddery breath. "I loved her Quatre. Oh god…I loved her so much…"

And then, Haruka did something she had never done once in her long, long life.

She collapsed in Quatre's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"What kind of vehicle are they driving?" Wufei asked. He and Ami were heading west through Kansas. They had arrived in Denver the day before, and after several phone calls and hours of searching, they realized Quatre was not in the city. So, they had borrowed the city Preventors Inspection Manager's SUV and were trying to find the wayward Winner.

Ami typed rapidly on Sally's laptop. "'205 red Mitsubishi Avesta convertible. Last seen in a Marshal, Missouri, hotel parking lot at approximately 11:47 AM this morning. Registered to Haruka Tenoh."

Wufei glanced at the clock. 5:49 PM. So they were anywhere between Marshal and the eastern half of Kansas. Well, at least they were probably in the same state.

"Do you want me to try and call him again?" Ami asked.

He shook his head. "No. His phone's probably dead, off, or he can't hear it ringing. There isn't much point."

Ami paused. "There is something else I can try to do."

"What?" Wufei asked. He glanced over at her suspiciously.

"There is a very subtle mind communication link between all of the Senshi. It's been years since any of us have used it. It probably won't work, but I could try to find Haruka through it. But she might be blocking it if she's worried about the Leute," she explained.

"Could you try to get Rei Hino if she is?" he suggested.

Ami shook her head. "I highly doubt it. We've been trying to get at her for years. But ever since she went insane, her mind is totally inaccessible."

Wufei tilted his head and looked at her. "Insane? You forgot to mention that little detail."

She blushed. "Sorry. But it's um…not something I like to talk about."

"Why?" he asked bluntly.

Her face grew redder. "It was partially my fault."

"Elaborate."

Ami sighed. What the hell? She knew the story would have to come out sooner or later. If not to Wufei, then to Sally, or god forbid to Serenity.

"It was about two centuries ago. At the time, I was running a little clinic for colony construction workers on L2. One day a man came in with a child he claimed was near death. I agreed to treat the child, and while I was running some tests, the man attacked me with heavy flashlight he'd had in his bag and knocked me unconscious.

"When I awoke, I was in a laboratory of some sort, strapped to an operating table. I tried to use my power to free myself, but I couldn't feel it. It terrified me. And it was then I realized that the "child" had been a Leute. As time had passed, their threat had faded and I had let my personal security relax so I could focus on leading a "normal" life. Because of this stupidity, I was going to pay the price.

"And yet, I found I could still feel two other Senshi. Mars, or Rei Hino, and Uranus, Haruka Tenoh."

"Hold on," Wufei blinked. "Haruka Tenoh is a Senshi?"

Ami nodded. "Yes. I wasn't sure if you knew or not. That's why I panicked when you heard me say her name on the plane."

"I see…" he narrowed his eyes. "Continue."

"All right. Anyways, I could feel the two of them both in space. With that mind link I told you about, I told them where I was and what had happened to me, and asked them to help. But the Leute had realized the mental activity going on, and they cut it off before I could get a reply. And then…well, if it's all right, I'd rather just skip that part, if you don't mind."

"…Did they torture you?" Wufei asked.

"Yes. For several days. I would've died if it hadn't been for the Serenity and the Ginzuishou's protection over me, and I would've gone insane if I hadn't convinced myself that Mars and Uranus were coming to save me.

"And just when I started to lose hope, they did show up to save me. They broke into the headquarters in the middle of the night and killed several Leute before they found me. I tried to transform so I could help them fight, but I couldn't. My power had been untouchable before. But after the Leute had had their ways with me, it was gone. So Uranus helped me escape while Mars held them off. We made it out of their headquarters, and I collapsed. When I woke up, I was on Earth with Haruka at her friend's house. Rei hadn't made it out.

"I assume they did to her what they did to me. Ripped her power from her completely. But it didn't stop there. I told you I had almost gone insane from their attempts to turn me into one of their human servants, but I had been rescued before I could. No one was there to rescue Rei. Haruka tried to go back to the headquarters, but it was gone. And yet, the whole time we could hear Rei screaming for help and mercy through the mental link. Every time we tried to look for her, we couldn't find her. The Leute were scrambling her signals. Finally, the screams just stopped. We could still feel her. We could feel everyone…well, everyone still alive anyways. You know about Endymion, of course. But we knew she was gone to us. What the Leute did to her was so horrible…

"To be honest, I'm worried about what we're going to find when we meet up with your friend Quatre. Rei will never forgive Haruka and I for abandoning her, that much is for sure. I'm only hoping she won't want to kill us as well."

Wufei was silent. So that was the great, hidden story of the Senshi. Ami and Quatre's aunt had left their comrade to die at the hands of the Leute. Not intentionally, but they had eventually just given up on finding the girl, Rei, hadn't they? A rather merciless move for someone who looked so harmless and innocent as the woman sitting next to him.

"I don't think it's my place comment on something like that," he said finally. Ha. He could just imagine Sally's response to that remark.

Well that's definitely a first, Chang. You don't have any sort of criticism?

But how could he criticize someone who had obviously suffered so much, both physically and emotionally. Hell, he was even starting to feel guilty about the way he'd treated Ami in the past. Would he have said half the things he did if he'd known what he knew now?

Probably. He could be a heartless bastard sometimes.

Wufei was suddenly aware that Ami was tapping his arm rapidly.

"Wufei-san, look!" she pointed straight ahead. The road was curving slightly and starting to incline up a rather large hill. And parked at the top of the hill was a red '205 Mitsubishi Avesta convertible. Two blond figures were kneeling down next to it while a longhaired brunette leaned against the back.

"Damn divided highway," he muttered, crossing the grassy median and driving the wrong way up the other side. By some stroke of luck, there were no cars coming.

Quatre glanced up at the white SUV suddenly driving towards them. He paled; the driver had to be drunk. He was driving the wrong way!

"Haruka, get out of the way!" he said, pulling her around to the back and off the road. Rei, however, stepped out in front of the car as the SUV stopped and two people, a Chinese man and a blue-haired woman climbed out.

"Wufei?" Quatre blinked.

"You'd think a car like that would be easier to find, what with the speeding down the highways at 85 and all," he commented.

Haruka glared at him. "You got a problem with my car?"

"Haruka!" Ami cut off, trying to head off the fight. "It's good to see you. And…Rei…"

The two girls stared at each other, as the others watched the tension between them. Several emotions were visible on Ami's face. Sadness, remorse, relief, joy, and fear. But Rei's expression was empty.

"Hello Ami-san," Rei replied curtly. "It's been a while."

"Yes, it has," Ami said softly. "How are you?"

"Better than I've been in a while," she answered. "Yourself?"

"Okay. Um…" Ami glanced at Haruka, then Wufei for help. To her surprise (and perhaps his own), it was the latter that answered.

"Quatre, this is Mizuno Ami. She's the one who's been helping the Preventors with information on the Leute," he explained.

Quatre nodded and shook her hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Mizuno. I've heard quite a bit about you from Sally and Wufei's reports."

"Yes, they mentioned that information on me was in circulation. I'm sorry Sally couldn't be here. She's in Russia at the moment on an individual assignment," Ami responded.

He let go of her hand and stood next to Rei. "Wufei, this is Hino Rei."

The two looked at each other with a mutual look of indifference. Rei probably didn't care much for Wufei simply because he had accepted Ami. And Wufei probably didn't trust Rei because Ami had said she was insane. Though insanity was not as prominent on the psychic's face as impatience and discomfort.

Haruka broke the tension. "Well Chang? You've managed to show up here in the middle of nowhere at the right time, what with the car dying and everything. But I don't see what use you're going to be if you can't get us to the colonies."

He glared at her. On the few occasions he had met with Haruka Tenoh, they had not gotten along well, but managed to avoid killing each other for Quatre's sake. So he answered with the same cold dignity he always did.

"If you can bear to leave that thing behind, I can arrange for a flight out of the Wichita Preventors base. Still a few hours' drive, but we can be off Earth within twelve hours," Wufei answered.

"Thank goodness," Quatre said.

"All right then, as long as we can all fit in that yuppie-mobile," Haruka glanced doubtfully at the SUV.

Wufei gritted his teeth. Ami smiled and put a sympathizing hand on his shoulder, which he shrugged off. She rolled her eyes.

"I'll try to contact the others once we reach Wichita. But let's get going. I don't like the idea of sitting out here in the open any longer," Quatre said, heading for the SUV.

"Do the Leute really scare you that much?" Wufei asked.

"Leute?" Rei replied. "We're worried about all the cops after Haruka for speeding!"