Identity

I wake to darkness, absolute and impenetrable. There is no sound, no scent, no touch or taste to anchor me, but there is something… A presence?

"Hello."

"Who are you?"

"Someone who has waited a long time for you."

"Waited for me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You are the key to attaining that which I seek."

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"Mind your tone boy, I will not tolerate insolence. Who am I? Right now I am the only thing that stands between you and death. As for what I want… The answer to that is a great deal more complicated, but I assure you, I want no more than what I deserve."

"What is this? Where am I? Where is Sailor Moo—"

Pain, instantaneous and blinding in its intensity courses through me, halting my thoughts.

"Ah, ah, ah. What did I say about insolence? Do not force me to remind you again. From here on out, I will ask the questions. Think carefully on the answers you give, your fate hangs in the balance. Now, tell me your name."

I hesitate. Out of fear, caution…and uncertainty.

"Tuxedo Kamen."

The pain comes again, brief but searing. I want to cry out, but I can't.

"Wrong answer. Let us try again. What is your name?"

"Chiba Mamoru."

Pain. Stronger. Longer. Deeper. I want to fight it, but I can't.

"I told you to think carefully boy. My patience is far from infinite. It would be a grave mistake on your part to exhaust it this early in the game. I shall ask you one last time. What is your name?"

I hesitate again. Still afraid, still cautious, and more uncertain than ever. What answer can I give? What response will satisfy them? What name will protect me from further pain?

"…Endymion."

"Good. That wasn't so difficult, was it? You are a prince of Earth, why would you ever pretend to be anything else? Anything lesser? Anything unworthy?"

"A prince of Earth…but that was in the past, I'm not—"

PAIN.

"There is no past. No future. Only now. Only this place. Only you and I. You are Endymion. You are a prince reborn. The rest is all lies. Those other names, other identities, were only substitutes; false personas. Deep down you know this to be true; have, in fact, known it to be true all along.

"The unloved orphan without memories? The ineffectual hero without a purpose? Nothing more than constructs thrust upon you by others. Those who would use you and mislead you for their own gain. Those names, those identities never felt right to you, never brought you anything but loneliness and hardship. Like ill-fitting clothes, you longed to cast them aside and don your true mantle.

"This is the truth you have been seeking all your life. This is the role you were born to fulfill. Prince Endymion of Earth has a history, a purpose, a future. Power too. Everything you desire is within you, you need only embrace it.

"Now…tell me your name."

"…Endymion?"

"Tell me your name."

"Endymion."

"Tell me your name!"

"Endymion!"

"Good. And the other, false, identities? Can you tell me again what they were?"

"Chiba Mamoru and Tuxedo Kamen?"

PAIN. PAIN. PAIN. PAIN. PAIN.

"I know it hurts my pet, but this is a necessary evil. Scream if you like, weep if you must, but do not try to fight it. Doing so will only prolong your agony. If you wish to end it, you need only do one thing.

"Forget."

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