Chapter 5

Artemis stared into the wall. The resemblance was uncanny. 'But there's no way...is there?'

Not for the first time, he cursed Queen Serenity. She had thrust a heavy responsibility onto his shoulders, without the benefits of senshi powers or even a human form. His only defenses were his memories, and they were none too complete.

He looked around and then scampered up a tree next to where his target lived. Artemis skipped from branch to branch, agilely gaining height until he reached the second floor window. He truly wanted to know who that person was, justifying it to himself as curiosity and a need to determine whether or not he was truly the enemy.

And then, silently, he waited. Artemis had followed his target from the shrine to this place, but he needed to get inside before he could really do anything. And so he waited.

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Kevin shoved the last of his suitcases underneath his bed and wiped the sweat off his brow. Having just finished unpacking the rest of his things, he smiled at the apartment around him. It resembled a home much more than before.

Pictures adorned the walls: of family and old friends. His furniture was arranged in such a way so as to afford maximum area in the tiny area.

He felt comfortable and padded into the kitchen to get a drink from the small refrigerator and relax on the sofa. Kevin was about to doze off when he caught a glimpse of shining gold from outside the window.

He squinted at it then moved to open the window-

And Artemis saw his chance. He leapt through the window easily, landing on the carpet. He ran quickly and jumped onto the sofa, where he turned to look at a greatly confused Kevin.

"Wait? You again?" Kevin chuckled softly and then closed the window. "Minako was right. You are something of a pest."

He looked out the window again to see what had been sparkling outside, then turned back to Artemis. Shrugging, he sat down across from the cat and took a long sip of his drink.

"So what are you doing here, Artemis? Where does Minako live? I should take you home."

The cat cocked its head in a surprisingly human manner and the man rubbed his eyes tiredly. "So, since you're here, would you care for a saucer of warm milk? A nice fish perhaps? If you'd like I can go down to get you something from the market..."

The cat, obviously, did not answer, instead staring at him with a curiously penetrating look. Kevin laughed at himself, "Why do I expect you, all of a sudden, to answer me? You're a cat. Let's get you home, ne?"

Suddenly, Kevin froze, reaching out with a trembling finger to point at the cat's forehead. "Wait, what is that?"

Artemis did not move as Kevin gently moved his finger across the golden crescent moon that had attracted his attention to the window.

'It is. It must be.'

Sensing a fortuitous moment, "You know what it is."

Kevin jerked back as if hit with an electric shock. "You're speaking...to me? This is impossible!"

Artemis leapt off the sofa onto the table separating them. The golden crescent on his forehead glowed with internal light. "You know that's far from the truth. I, Artemis, give you back the memories you have of an older age. Reclaim your honor, powers, and heritage!"

Kevin closed his eyes, suddenly feeling a terrible heat behind them, as thoughts which he had never known existed sought their freedom from recesses of his mind. His hand came to his temple, trying to massage away the headache that persisted. He reached his other hand out, but could not repress a small shriek of pain which erupted from his lips. Memories tore through his mind at light speed, a flood gate of images opened where none existed before. Elegant, crumbling buildings still bearing the scars of a violent bombardment eons ago. A field covered in gray bodies, occasionally broken up with a patch of blue or red or orange. And then, his own death, by a howling, uniformed soldier wielding a blade of ice.

Artemis did not let up the onslaught. "Reach deep inside, and tear free from this existence. Awaken, my friend, it has been too long. You cannot shirk your duty any more."

Kevin's eyes flashed open, and he clutched at his stomach. Rending, ripping, fiery claws of pain tore at him from the inside and his eyes bugged out from the pain.

In a low merciless monotone, "It is long past time. Remember!"

And in a surprisingly anticlimactic moment, Kevin simply closed his eyes and collapsed to the floor, the sound of his ragged breath filling the air. Artemis trotted over and dropped to the ground next to him.

The battered young man's eyes opened again, this time new recognition flooding into them. "Artemis?"

Quite sympathetically, Artemis dabbed away the newly formed sweat on Kevin's forehead with his paw. "Welcome back, Retainer."

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Mako chopped up a carrot into small slivers before pushing them to the side of the chopping board. "Hand me the turnips. Was he cute?"

Minako shrugged and grabbed two of the newly peeled turnips and handed them to her friend. "He was okay. Not your typical drop dead hottie. Nice enough guy though."

Rei, from her position peeling vegetables, smiled. "And the accent?"

"His Japanese is pretty good, considering. But his accent in English is kinda cool I'll admit."

Ami looked up from her book. "You would know better than us."

"Hey, you guys know English!"

Ami rolled her eyes. "When I can't understand a single word of an American movie, I don't consider it actually knowing the language."

They all laughed at her mock seriousness and Usagi took the opportunity to steal a chopped up piece of celery from Mako's chopping board. "Where is he from, Minako-chan?"

"America. I haven't got much else on him."

Usagi munched on the celery for a moment. "Probably going to college there."

Minako pondered that for a moment. "An intellectual. He's doing research here."

Ami called out. "Don't malign intellectualism. All it means that he can probably hold an interesting conversation."

Mako slivered the turnips and then tossed them into the broth cooking on the stove. "Always a big plus."

Rei grinned and began to slice the meat into very thin slices that would be quickly boiled so they did not lose their flavor. "And what's the verdict?"

Minako smiled widely. With these girls, it always came down to that. "As first impressions go, kinda neutral. But we seem to have a strangely magnetic attraction to each other. I think we will be bumping into each other again."

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"I apologize for that. I didn't anticipate that it would be so hard to unlock your memories."

"Quite alright." Kevin felt in his head, the traces of the headache vanishing under the onslaught of three aspirins and cold water. Not quite trusting his eyes, he kept them closed. Awareness surged through his mind, seeing things, reliving experiences he knew that he had not experienced.

Yet they were there, as palpable as life itself. In a strangely schizophrenic moment, Kevin knew that those memories were real, yet knew that they could not have happened.

Not in this lifetime, at least. Kevin wiped his sweaty hands down the sides of his pants and then ran a hand through his fingers. Quietly, he whispered. "It's over. Isn't it? We lost."

Artemis bowed his head. "Yes."

Kevin chuckled. "That doesn't diminish my pleasure in seeing you of course. I find it comforting that you're still around, Artemis. It means that the fight isn't lost. By any means."

"I appreciate the compliment, but that fight is over. The senshi defeated Beryl several years ago. She's dead, and all her evils with her."

"Oh!" Kevin's forehead furrowed slightly. "Then, why am I here?"

"Call it indulging a whim. Your memories are surprisingly intact."

"There are some gaps, but I seem to remember who you are."

Artemis chuckled. "Fairly typical of your state. Let me refresh your memories. The Silver Millennium was a time of great prosperity and peace."

"Ah, yes, the propaganda. We both know that it was not quite as idyllic as you say, but we can skip that."

Artemis shot back. "It was a far cry better than what came afterwards."

"True enough. You will hear no argument to that."

"Good. As I was saying, the Silver Millennium was a pretty good time. You seem to remember me, but for consistency's sake let me reintroduce myself as Artemis, advisor to Queen Serenity."

Kevin smiled absentmindedly. "I seem to remember you as a rather important personage. I seem to remember doing a lot of stuff for you, actually."

"A small part of your duties. You were a retainer to Serenity's family, trained as a defense mage. You would accompany high profile figures on dangerous affairs of state."

"Such as you?"

Artemis smiled in spite of himself. "Such as me. I believe you also held a formal commission in the Moon Guard, at the rank of Captain, and were employed as such in the last defense of the Moon."

Kevin's features took on a mirthless expression. "I remember that all too well."

Artemis leaned forward. "Then please tell me. If you can."

"Not now, Artemis. My memories on the subject are a little vague." A shy grin touched his features. "This is a lot to take in right now."

"I understand, Retainer."

"Kevin." Another shy grin. "The young man you knew long ago is dead. What you've got is me, with all the flaws and foibles of a new body."

"Understood. You've been reborn, as another, as have the senshi."

Idly, Kevin wondered out loud. "Where are they?"

Artemis shook his head. "That's information you don't need right now. In time, my friend. We have more serious things to attend to. Such as your training."

"Training? Didn't you say that the threat was over?"

"Beryl is dead, yes. But there are other evils to fight. We have some indications. It is your duty to defend humanity with every resource you have at your disposal."

Kevin wore a look of faint bewilderment. "Umm...okay."

Artemis rose with great dignity. "That's right. Meet me tomorrow night at Tokyo Tower. There your training begins." And then the cat sprang off the floor onto the chair, disappearing out the window in an instant.

Kevin stared after him for a moment, then took another long sip from his drink. His mind resounded with that tireless refrain. 'What exactly did I just get myself into?'

It seemed to be a question he had been asking himself a lot lately.

'Confusion seems to be the order of the day.'