Even the best of us have things in our past that we do not wish to confront. Be it some past sin, or a tragedy so painful it threatens to rip our very soul in two.
"So what do you think of your first day?" Shingo Tsukino clapped his friend, Joe Yahzee, on the back as they walked home from school.
"It's different, definitely different." His friend answered as he brushed his hair out of his eyes. "It feels kind of weird coming in at the end of the summer and being two steps behind everyone else."
"Well, that's why you have me. I'll have you running rings around those slackers in no time."
"The uniform doesn't help things either..." He mumbled, pulling at the starched collar of his shirt
"You get used to it." Shingo laughed. "My advice is to wear your favorite t-shirt underneath it for the time being. After awhile you don't really have to button it up all the way, or you could do what I do and pack a change of clothes. Either way I'd wait a little bit. Let them get used to you first."
"The other kids?"
"The teachers. They're the one you really have to impress before you can relax. The kids already like you."
"Must be my natural charm."
"Eh, don't get cocky." Shingo advised, "You're new, anything new is hot with them."
"Maybe it's not so different after all." Joe said thoughtfully. "Every other school I've been in is the same way."
"Have you been in many schools?" Shingo asked.
"This makes six." Joe began ticking names off on his fingers "Tuscon, Arizona. Honolulu, Hawaii. El Segundo, California, Spangdahlem, Germany. Alice Springs, Australia... I think the longest we ever stayed somewhere was about four years."
"Sounds rough."
"It is, but Dad promised me we're gonna stay here until I finish high school. After that I can go where I like for college."
"Fair deal." Shingo admitted. "At least now you can make some friends without having to worry about shipping out on them."
"That reminds me, thanks again for getting me into the music club, it's been so long since I've had someone to jam with, let alone an entire band."
"Like I said at camp, I got your back. Being the new kid is never fun."
"Eh, by now I'm a pro at it." Joe said nonchalantly.
"Besides, we needed a good bass player, Ever since Keichi graduated our rhythm section's been kind of blah."
"I knew there had to be an ulterior motive." Joe laughed.
"Yup, nothing's free." His friend joked back.
"...And although it has been several weeks since since the attack more questions than answers remain. Who are these strange new invaders? What is their interest in our world? And who is this mysterious new hero who stepped in to assist the Sailor Scouts when their usual allies were unavailable?"
Mamoru Chiba turned off the television and turned to the girls gathered in his living room.
"It seems the news outlets have just as much information as we do." He said.
"I wish you could have been there Mamoru," Usagi said. "Maybe you would have recognized him."
"I sincerely doubt that. I haven't heard a thing on the streets about a man who can fly, or who dresses the way you've described." Mamoru was the only one of them who maintained a regular patrol of the city in these last years. Until recently there had been no need for the Sailor Scouts, but Mamoru insisted on making his nightly rounds. Gathering information and fighting regular crime for the time being. He was good at too, it was rumored that even the Yakuza feared the shadow of Tuxedo Mask.
"This would all be a lot easier if we at least knew his name, or what he calls himself at least." Makoto observed.
"That's the main reason why I don't think we should trust him." Raye said. "How can you trust a man with no name?"
"It's not like He had time to make proper introductions though," Ami explained, "And for all we know he may have given his life to save the city."
"Based on what you've told us it's not like there would be a body left anyway." Mamoru said thoughtfully. "Even if he escaped the probe's destruction re-entry is not a fun trip, and you said his shield seemed to be weakening towards the end of the fight."
"His powers appeared to be solar-based so they may not work properly at night, if at all."
"I'm actually starting to feel kind of bad for giving him a hard time..." Usagi said sadly.
"This probe thing sounds like bad news" Makoto broke in, "Any idea who or what might have sent it?"
"No. Whoever sent it had it destroyed when we started asking too many questions." Minako explained. "The thing that bothers me the most is that they still might be out there, watching."
"I'd say that's highly likely," Mamoru leaned forward and stared ahead thoughtfully. "At least for the time being anyway. If they do plan on making another move it should be soon. Of course, they may also just continue with their observation. Whatever they are, they appear to be scientists of some kind. It could be some time before they decide action must be provoked."
"Do you suppose they're looking for something, or even someone?" Raye asked.
"I don't know, and that's what bothers me the most."
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air. Everyone was thinking the same thing, Here we go again...
"It's getting late," Mamoru said at last, trying to sound cheerful. "You should probably be getting home. C'mon Usagi, I'll give you a ride."
The ride home was uneventful, not to mention quiet. Neither of them felt the need for idle chatter. Once back at Usagi's house though, her mother insisted Mamoru stay for dinner.
"Shingo brought a friend home too, and we have more than enough!"
"Well, how can I argue with that?" Mamoru smiled.
"Where is Shingo anyway, Mom?"
"He's upstairs with his friend Joe doing homework." Her mother answered as she made her way back to the kitchen.
Usagi shuddered when she realized that she hadn't even started her own. She was going to have a long night ahead of her after dinner...
Luckily her self-pity was interrupted by her brother and Joe rather loudly coming down the stairs.
"Oh, hey Sis, Mamoru."
"Hi Shingo, been awhile." Mamoru greeted him.
"You said it. Oh, sorry. Guys, this is Joe. Joe, this is my sister Usagi and her boyfriend Mamoru."
"Nice to meet you." Joe said offering his hand.
Usagi simply stared at it before Mamoru finally stepped forward to shake it.
"Sorry..." Joe said, bowing politely, "Still getting used to a lot of things."
"Don't worry about it," Shingo said, "Meatball-head here should have remembered you're new in town."
"So where are you from, originally?" Mamoru asked as they sat down in the living room
"Arizona, actually." Joe said, "But I've been all over."
"Joe's Dad is in the Air Force." Shingo explained.
"You speak excellent Japanese for someone from the States." Usagi interrupted.
Joe laughed. "Dad insists on knowing the language wherever we go. We also lived in a Hawaii for awhile which has a really big Japanese community."
"I've heard that Hawaii is supposed to be very romantic." Usagi said while making obvious goo-goo eyes at her boyfriend.
"Uh, I really wouldn't know..." Joe said uncomfortably. "We were in Honolulu, and it's just another big city."
"I'd love to go there sometime," she continued, "Maybe on our honeymoon..."
"Have you two been dating long?" Joe asked.
"Well... It seems like forever." Mamoru explained.
"Oh god, you don't know the half of it..." Shingo said rolling his eyes.
"That's quite enough from the peanut gallery!" His sister shot back.
"Wow, so do you two have, like, any plans or something?" Joe asked.
"Nothing concrete right now," Mamoru answered, "with Usagi still in school and myself in college it makes it kind of hard to decide things. Probably sometime in the next year or two once I finish my studies and get a job we'll make it official."
"And then I'll be Mrs. Mamoru Chiba!" She squealed happily.
"Chiba?" Joe looked like he had been slapped in the face, "Your full name is Mamoru Chiba?"
"Yes, is there a problem?"
Joe never answered, he simply bolted from the room and made his way to the front door.
"What the hell? Joe!" Shingo called as he ran after his friend, racing through the still-open door and following him down the street. He finally caught up with him a block away.
"I'm sorry, I just had to get out of there before I did something I'd regret." his friend explained.
"Like what? Act like a crazy person and run away making a fool of yourself?"
"I don't expect you to understand, you don't know the situation." He replied testily.
"So why don't you explain it to me?"
The dark-haired young man stared at him as if unsure.
"Listen, Joe I know we haven't known each other very long, but I'm the closest thing you have to a best friend right now. I can't help you if you don't let me."
"I don't know Shingo, this is kind of a big one..."
"Why don't you come back to the house and we can all sit back down and talk about it."
"I do not want to talk to him." Joe said forcefully. "After fifteen years I have nothing to say to him."
"Fifteen years? " Shingo raised an eyebrow, "What is going on here? How do you even know him?"
Joe sighed and looked down. "Shingo, he's my brother."
"Brother?" Mamoru asked, dumfounded. "That's impossible I don't have a brother."
"Besides, I thought he said he was from Arizona?" Usagi asked
"His folks are from Arizona and Joe lived there when he was little." Shingo explained. Joe had refused to come back to the house after telling him the whole story. He didn't want to be in the same room with Mamoru. "He was born in Japan, right here. His folks adopted him when his parents, your parents died in that accident."
"Why haven't I heard any of this before?" Mamoru asked angrily.
"Sweetheart, you told me yourself you were in a coma for a long time. You could barely remember how to talk let alone anything that happened before that." Usagi said comfortingly. "They kept moving you around from one hospital to another to see different specialists once you did recover there was no one who could tell you the truth."
"I still don't understand how a foreign couple could have adopted him so easily." Mamoru puzzled.
"Because they were Joe's legal guardians in the first place. They were friends of your parents. In fact they were sitting for Joe on the day of the accident, he was just a baby at the time."
"They knew my parents?"
"From what Joe told me they had known each other since college."
"Wait, if they were Joe's guardians why weren't they mine? If they were such good friends of our parents why would they let us be split up?"
"Listen Mamoru, I don't have all the answers..." Shingo said scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. "Maybe you should go talk to Mr. and Mrs. Yahzee. They should be able to give you the whole story firsthand."
Mamoru sat in his car just outside the gate to the local U.S. Air Force base where Joe and his family lived. After (barely) sleeping on Shingo's advice he had taken the day off to do something he had never had the nerve to do before, sifted through the local records regarding the night his parents died. It was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. He would much rather have faced Galaxia herself a thousand times than read those old newspapers clippings and death certificates, but the desire to know the truth had kept him going every time he wanted to turn back. In the end however the truth was far worse than the relatively comfortable lie he had lived for years.
… Chiba and his wife are survived by two young sons, Mamoru: age six is still in intensive care at Juban Medical, and Jotaro: an infant currently in the care of family friends.
The final line of his parent's obituary. That had led him here. After informing the man on guard duty that he was there to see Sergeant George Yahzee he had been made to wait while the guard phoned ahead. After being informed that Sgt. Yahzee was at home and being given directions to base housing he slowly pulled through the gate.
Mamoru had never been on a military base before, let alone a foreign one, It was kind of like stepping into a whole other country. Despite the uniforms they style of conduct was more casual, conversational. Speaking of the conversations it was all in rapid-fire English, some of it so fast that even Mamoru had trouble keeping up. The many and varied accents didn't help things.
He parked outside a row of western-styled townhouses and checked the address before knocking on the door of number twenty-six. It was answered by a man in his early forties with cropped jet black hair, tanned skin, kind-looking dark eyes. He had most like just gotten off-duty as he hadn't yet changed out of his uniform, although his jacket was off and necktie was loosened.
"Good afternoon," He said in accented, but otherwise excellent Japanese, "What can I do for-" He broke off his question as soon as he got a good look at Mamoru. His eyes went wide as he looked the young man over.
"Good afternoon, sir. You don't know me but my name is-"
"Mamoru Chiba." Sgt. Yahzee finished for him. "I'd know that face anywhere. You're the spitting image of your father, y'know."
It's true. Mamoru thought to himself. He did know my father.
"You'd better come inside, there's a lot we probably need to talk about."
"Can I get you something to drink?" The older man asked as he led Mamoru to the kitchen. "Coffee, tea?"
"Coffee would be great."
Yahzee poked and sifted through the cupboards. Mamoru glanced around and saw that the family was still settling in. A few half-empty boxes sat scattered around the small house.
"To answer your first question I knew your father for almost ten years, your mother a little less than that."
"How did you meet?"
"We were both studying at the University of Chicago. I was fresh out of basic and studying engineering while your dad was a medical student. We ended up working in the same restaurant."
"That's how you became friends?" Mamoru asked.
"Actually we hated each other's guts." Yahzee said. "Both of us being after the same girl didn't help things."
"So which one of you got her?"
Yahzee laughed. "Neither of us. Life isn't a movie, things don't work out that way.
Mamoru smiled.
"After that though we both realized how stupid we were being. That's when we started hanging out. And eventually we both found girls of our own, settled down, and when My first assignment came up I made sure it here so I could be with my friend. It was probably the longest posting I've ever had, turned down three promotions because they would take me out of the country."
"Sounds like you two were very close."
"We were, I was even there when you were born y'know. Joe too. Gracie and I were named his legal guardians, your folks were in the process of getting you on there too when they died."
"So, why did you leave afterwards?"
"Couldn't be helped, My superiors got sick of my dilly-dallying and gave me orders I couldn't refuse. Gracie stayed behind as long as she could hoping to get things sorted while you recovered but in the end it got too expensive trying to live two places and raise a baby at the same time. By the time she came home as we could get back to you they had already moved you around. We weren't even sure if you were alive or not."
Mamoru stared into his cooling coffee. It was all a lot to take in at once and he wasn't sure exactly how he felt
"There is one thing I want you to know right now." Sgt. Yahzee said, sitting down across from him and looking hard into his eyes. "You're Joe's brother, that means I consider you as much my son as he is. You're family, you always were."
The sound of the front door opening and a woman's voice interrupted their conversation. A woman with short, curly strawberry-blonde hair
"Honey, I'm-" As soon as she saw Mamoru her eyes went wide and filled with tears. "Oh my god!"
"Gracie," Yahzee said, putting his arm around his wife. "We have company."
"Mom, what's going on?" Joe asked as he walked into the kitchen. "What are you doing here?" He asked Mamoru.
"Son, you're brother's here."
"I can see that." Joe said shortly. "Why?"
"Joe," Yahzee warned, "don't"
"Fine." He said, "I've got homework." Joe ran up the stairs and slammed his door.
"I should probably go..." Mamoru said.
"Please don't," Grace said, blinking back her tears "Please, it's been so long..."
"No, It's for the best." Mamoru insisted.
"I'll see you out." Sgt. Yahzee said, leading Mamoru to the door. Once there he pressed a key and a small laminated badge into his hand. "This will get you onto base without having to call ahead from now on. My number is on the back, and the key is so you can come and go as you please."
"Oh no, I couldn't," The younger man stammered.
"I told you before, you're family. Joe will come around." Yahzee insisted. "He's a teenager, they have hot tempers that cool rapidly."
"Thank-you Sgt. Yahzee, I'll come by again."
"Either call me George or call me Dad, Sarge works too."
Mamoru smiled.
"Sire, we have finished analyzing all the data we have received from the initial probe."
The combatant who flew the probe out of the atmosphere was not destroyed.
"Correct, He survived not only the explosion, but the journey back to the planet's surface. However, we have not been able to pick up his particular energy signature since first contact."
And what of his energy signature?
"It does match what we have on file for the Starheart, but it does not come close to matching the energy output level. Levels are far below the norm."
Have you completed the analysis of the planet's historical records?
"Yes, and this individual does not appear in them at all. However there are mentions of others with similar abilities, but even they appear to be a very recent phenomenon.
Similar how?
"The energy signatures from the three we personally observed are nearly identical to that of the Starheart however they are closer to those of planetary bodies rather than stellar, but like the primary subject their output levels are uncharacteristically low for their type."
It is possible they are suppressing their true power.
"We would require more data before we are able to confirm that theory."
Prepare another probe to find and engage the subjects, Class 5 this time. Special consideration being given to stealth entry and combat capabilities.
"Class 5 sir? It will be some time before all necessary preparations are completed for a refit of that magnitude. Furthermore the Class 5 itself is not nearly as durable as..."
Irrelevant.
"I... understand. It will be done, My Lord."
Joe refused to talk to Shingo the next day.
"I'm not sorry." Shingo said. "Mamoru deserved to know."
It wasn't until after school that Joe finally spoke.
"I'm not mad at you, y'know."
"Then what is your deal?" Shingo asked.
Joe took a deep breath, "I was six years old when my parents told me I had a brother. When we lived in Hawaii I used to sneak out at night and look at the ocean to try and see Japan. I used to wonder what he looked like, did he look like me? Would he like me? I must have written him, I dunno, a hundred letters telling him all about me."
"He couldn't get any letters," Shingo explained. "He was-"
"I know the whole story." Joe said. "For the longest time I didn't know if he was alive or dead, and then I happen to find him sitting right there in your living room, alive and well, as if everything was okay. That's when I realized he didn't want to have anything to do with me."
"That's not true," Shingo said, "He didn't know."
"Yeah, well he never bothered to find out either." Joe spat. "I'm just supposed to believe that he was perfectly happy living his life not knowing anything about his parents, or me."
"It's complicated, a tragedy like that can be too painful to revisit."
"No, it's actually the simplest thing in the world, to know who you are, where you came from, who your family is. But apparently he doesn't have any family, and that's just the way he likes it."
Suddenly a large explosion rocked the streets they were walking on and a large dust cloud sprang up ahead.
"Oh no, not again!" Shingo said.
Joe was perplexed by his friend's reaction. "This sort of thing happen often?"
"It's a long story," Shingo explained, "Go back to the school, call for help, I'm going to try and grab the police."
"You sure?"
"Just go!"
Shingo waited until his friend was out of sight before sprinting towards the emergency, knowing he wouldn't like what he found there.
"I'm beginning to understand what you were talking about earlier." Tuxedo Mask said as he dodged the probe's attacks. "This one seems a bit more proactive though."
The probe the were currently fighting was obviously more mechanical than the previous one they encountered. It also wasted no words and the only sound it made were mechanical whirs, clicks, and beeps.
"I think this guy may be tougher than the last!" Sailor Moon cried, "At least he didn't seek us out, we found him."
"Are you able to get anything on him, Sailor Mercury?" Sailor Mars asked.
"Moreso than the last one," Mercury explained as she studied the readouts from her visor. "Unfortunately it doesn't look good."
"Maybe I can help then!" Seeming flying out of the sun itself was their unnamed, hooded comrade from their previous battle. His landing shattered the pavement under his feet.
"Now that's what I call an entrance!" Sailor Jupiter said.
"Oh, you're not dead. Fantastic." Sailor Moon deadpanned.
The hooded combatant shielded her from another blast with the shining golden "Solar Shield" he had used before. "'The report of my death was an exaggeration.'"
"Mark Twain!" Mercury squealed with delight.
"Samuel Clemens." He smiled back.
"Guys! Focus!" Mars shouted.
"Hey Golden Boy! How about repeating your previous trick?" Sailor Moon suggested.
"Actually I believe that could be extremely dangerous," Mercury explained, "Eventually it would fall back to Earth and then we would have no idea where it was."
"And I don't think this one is planning of blowing himself up for us this time." Venus said.
"Looks like we're stuck doing things the old-fashioned way." Tuxedo Mask grunted as he threw a few roses at the probe, one of them embedding itself in its head.
"That doesn't seemed to have worked out very well so far." Jupiter said. "What we really need is a plan."
"I don't think he's going to give us that luxury." Mars said as she dodged a punch that shattered a concrete wall.
"I'll hold him off." The hooded man suggested. "You just keep working at it Sailor Mercury."
"Right!" She said.
"Since when is he in charge?" Sailor Moon grumbled.
"What have you got so far, Ami?" Venus whispered.
"Well, this one doesn't seemed to be nearly as advanced as the last, although much more heavily armed. It has an obvious superstructure and power core, although it is very well protected."
She showed the others the figures and schematics her visor picked up.
"Holy cow, that thing's a tank!" Jupiter said, "How are we supposed to get through that thing?" She indicated the heavy armor on the probe's chest and back.
"Can't we just take it's head off?" Sailor Moon asked.
"I'm afraid not." Tuxedo mask said. "I've been targeting it the whole time and that doesn't seem to make a difference."
"Also simply destroying the core itself is dangerous," Mercury went on to explain, "It needs to be removed without damaging it too extensively."
"Dammit!" Mars cursed, "So far these guys aren't nearly as powerful as our other enemies, but they sure are annoying."
"Not to mention we might just be playing right into their hands." Tuxedo Mask suggested. "You said they're probes, maybe whoever's sending them just wants to see how we deal with them."
"You think you could hurry it up a little?" Their mysterious ally yelled as he grappled with his mechanical foe, "I don't have all day." The probe seemed to be gaining the upper hand in their battle...
"The sun!" Mercury cried. "The sun is setting! We need to come up with something now!"
"Why the hurry all of a sudden?" Jupiter asked.
"His powers are based on the sun, remember? If we don't finish this he could be killed when his powers disappear at night, besides I think he's the only one strong enough to pull the core out."
"Whoa!" Suddenly the probe threw the man in the black hood to the ground and pounced on him. The mystery man fought back but it was obvious he was losing quickly.
"We've got to help him!" Venus cried. "Who can get in a clean shot?"
"Two hands ahead of you!" A new voice said as what appeared to be playing cards sliced into the probe's armor, exploding on impact.
"Now what?" Mars rolled her eyes and looked for the newcomer.
He stood on top of a streetlight, balancing as perfectly as Tuxedo Mask. Under a brilliant red trench-coat and fedora he wore a black suit and tie with a red heart on it. A red domino mask covered his face and a playing car was tucked into his hatband.
"Sorry I'm late." He said, leaping to the ground. "It was a bit of a hike over here and not all of us can fly."
"Who the heck are you?" Jupiter asked.
"The name's Ace of Hearts." He explained, "Friends call me Ace, at least they would if I had any friends."
"Thanks for the assist." The hooded man said as he joined the others.
"No problem," Ace said, shaking the man's hand, "Now how can I help?"
"Keep him distracted." Mercury ordered, "Once there's an opening he can go for the core." She indicated their other, nameless ally.
"Be glad to. Hey Phantom of the Opera, wanna give me a hand with this?"
"Sure." Tuxedo Mask said as he drew his cane.
"We'll keep you covered," Venus said to the hooded man. "When Mercury says so you race in there fast as you can and rip the heart out of this thing."
"Deal." He said, drawing all of his power into his hands until the glowed.
Cards and roses flew, fire and lightning lit up the quickly darkening night all while the blue-haired Sailor Scout and hooded hero waited on the sidelines for their opening. Once in awhile she threw in some of her own Ice Javelins for good measure.
"You think when this is over we can finally know your name?" She asked him.
"Don't have one." He said, concentrating on the fight. "Never really thought about it."
"Some of the news outlets are calling you Apollo, others say you're some kind of Solar Knight."
"Nice." He smiled, "I'd hate to have to choose between the two of them."
Mercury's computer started beeping, "Now!" she cried.
The nameless fighter ran, or flew it was hard to tell, at incredible speed into the fray. There was a blinding flash as his hands ripped into the metal body of the probe, when it died down he was holding the glowing mechanical core of the probe, which now had a smoking hole in its side. It toppled over, lifeless before melting into slag.
As if being signaled by a remote source the core itself suddenly flickered once or twice before darkening and crumbling to pieces.
"Looks like we won't be learning anything more from that." Tuxedo Mask said as he knelt down to study what little was left.
"Hey, where'd the guy in the red slicker go?" Sailor Mars asked.
"Dunno, but I think we should all follow his example." The man in the hood suggested.
"Before you go, there has to be something we can call you." Mercury insisted. "If we're going to work together it would be easier if we had a name to call you by."
"I'd like to know just when we decided that!" Sailor Moon grumbled.
"How about, Apollo Knight?" He suggested as he rose into the air and flew off into the night.
"Apollo Knight..." Mercury whispered. "Who are you?"