Chapter 2: Encounter
The brightness awoke him, some illumination coming from directly overhead. He hesitated in opening his eyes, but eventually did anyway. His head spun and he could hardly focus on any one object for too long, but he was able to figure out that he was in some kind of a room, laid down on what resembled a medical cot with a white blanket and sterile gray coverer draped over him. The brightness shining down on him, a strange red glow that began to fade just as soon as it appeared, seemed to be coming from some device that was placed over his head and torso, about the same length as the upper part of him and with a strange rectangular shape. He looked away from the light and saw two people dressed in white clothes talking in the hallway outside the door. As this caught his attention, he strained to listen.
"... and to be honest, I'm surprised he's alive. Tests confirm an almost inhuman level of protective factors in his body, but that doesn't begin to explain this." The man pulled out what looked like a piece of paper and showed it to the other man. "Reports from the scene indicate serious loss of blood, several impact related injuries, but considering that his clothing burned up coming through the atmosphere I'm surprised he wasn't deep-fried when the search teams found him. Clothing just simply isn't that less durable and resistant than biological tissue; we're dealing with someone who distinctly isn't human, not by the medical definition."
"Are you sure? I mean, the Sailor Scouts have capabilities that would easily let them pass through the atmosphere unharmed, or a supernova at that. And chances are that he's the one who was responsible for the energy burst that sent everybody into a frenzy."
The man with the paper shook his head.
"Energy like that, if properly employed, wouldn't have left his clothes as vapor. He wasn't unconscious halfway through entering the atmosphere, Dale; he was unconscious going in, and that's my professional opinion. Have you seen the kid yet?"
"No, actually I haven't."
"One good look at him and you'll understand what I'm talking about. Not only do his skin samples resemble nothing I've ever looked at before, but you should see his hair."
"His hair??"
"Yeah, take a peek if you want."
As the men glanced at him, their eyes widened, especially the man with the paper.
"... holy...!-This is impossible!" The man's voice was hushed. He glanced nervously at his companion and whispered something.
"W-what? No, you're joking!" The other man responded. "He couldn't have been! Nobody breaks out of a coma in an hour, no matter what planet he's from."
"I'm tellin' ya Dale, the kid was as out as a rock last time we scanned him." The man paused, realizing that the patient was listening to his every word. He walked into the room, putting away his paper as he went, and came to stand next to the bedside. "Well... I'm surprised to see that you're awake. How do you feel?"
"... Where am I?"
"Nephlite Memorial Hospital,... and... I'd recommend against trying to go anywhere. There's guards in every hallway."
"Why?"
The doctor stared blankly at him for a long moment. The sincerity in the teenage boy's voice surprised him.
"Well,... needless to say, you gave us quite a scare earlier, or, at least, we think you did. Perhaps you can help us understand that a little better."
His nod showed confusion, and after a minute's pause the doctor continued.
"I'm doctor Matthews, and this is my colleague Dale Jacobson. What's your name?"
There was a long pause, during which the boy's expression shifted into total unreserved confusion.
"I... I... I don't... know."
"You... don't know your own name?"
"No... should I?"
Once again, the sincerity stunned doctor Matthews, and he turned and looked at doctor Jacobson with a questioning look. The other doctor returned it. Matthews turned his eyes back to the boy, a kind of half fascinated, half confused look in his features.
"Listen... we're going to run some tests on you later on to try to help figure out why you don't know your name, and hopefully a few other things. You're recovering rather well for someone who's sustained so many injuries, but you'll need to rest. I'll check up on you every few hours or so. OK?"
The boy nodded, and Matthews returned the gesture. He then walked over and rolled the device that was above his patient's upper body off to the side, and spent a few minutes accessing the computer controls and scrolling through data. He printed out the results of the scan and tucked the papers under his arm as he and Jacobson left the room.
The boy closed his eyes, but his thoughts kept him awake. His name... why didn't he know his name? He tried to remember something, anything before this room, anything about the injuries doctor Matthews had eluded to... but nothing came to him. Nothing. He could look around the room and identify objects, knew that the color of the wall was white, same with the ceiling, and he knew correctly that he didn't like the way it felt when he moved,... but other than that, nothing.
"Amnesia,... but there's no basis for it." Matthews stated, the two doctors walking down the hallways of the hospital, conversing as they went. "I've seen it before, and he not only has the primary symptom but did you notice the way he acted? I don't think he was faking Dale."
"Neither do I. Are you sure there's no basis? I mean, c'mon, we know that his body didn't absorb the entire contact force when he hit the ground. Maybe some of those head injuries are the culprits."
Matthews waved it off, reading over the results in his hand.
"X-rays and N-testing says the kid has a skeletal composition like titanium somehow. Skull was totally undamaged despite the fall, and considering he was found in the center of a crater twelve feet deep, that tells ya something. We're looking at a superhuman here, Dale, not some kid who got lucky. And of course that bring up questions of it's own."
"Yeah, I've got a question for you. If his clothing burned up, why didn't that neon-blue hair of his, eh?"
"That may be the single best question I've heard all day, buddy." He paused for a moment, looking down at his readouts. "Well, this is interesting. The ESS seems to indicate he's got two different types of energy, and one of em's so complex even the computer was drawing up blanks. And get this," He showed Jacobson a picture of the scan. "Most of it's centralized in one area, and it all reads as residual."
"What do you mean 'residual'?"
"Well, the sensor didn't stay active that long, no need for it to, but the data it compiled seems to indicate that the more complex form of energy is slowly losing strength, whereas the less complex one is at least maintaining it's current levels, maybe slowly rising, no way to be sure."
"So what does that mean?"
"... I can't be sure at the moment, but something tells me we'll find out over time. Both energies are at relatively non-dangerous levels, so I don't think we should panic just yet. Heck, that scanner in there probably has more energy that he does right now. I'm starting to wonder if he was actually the source of that energy burst or not."
"That implies that someone or something else was involved. Neo Queen Serenity isn't going to like that notion."
"Safety first. If the truth means we're not in the clear just yet, then I'd rather worry everybody for nothing than let earth get hit by a sneak attack because our leaders think that the only person involved is comatose at the moment, which he no longer is by some small miracle."
Reaching the hospital's primary computer hub, and after showing his ID to the guards in order to get entrance, Dr. Matthews quickly but thoroughly compiled and explained all the computer data on the mysterious patient, not failing to add in his own observations and effects. He quickly transmitted the data, knowing it wouldn't be long before Neo Queen Serenity was made aware of what had happened. Then, on a whim, he re-checked the latest reports concerning the location at which his patient was found. What he read amazed him afresh, and provided an interesting depth and perspective into who and what his patient might be.
The reports from the search teams now stated, which they had somehow failed to mention earlier, that a katana, it's sheath, and a strange silver pendant with four different-colored hexagonal gems in it aligned to form a star. All completely intact, and with no signs of having been torched by the atmosphere like the boy had. The key link, the reports now stated, between the boy and these items, was that none of the materials could be identified, as well as that they'd been retrieved in the same vicinity as the boy himself, and further, both the sword and the pendant seemed to have energy signatures different from anything ever seen before.
"I've made up my mind." Neo Queen Serenity stated suddenly, putting aside the many reports she'd been reading. Darien looked up at her, he himself busy with reports as well, with a look that asked what she meant. Serena clarified her statement. "I wish to go see the boy for myself."
"Are you sure that's wise?" Darien asked, putting aside the stack of papers. "Serena, maybe it's best to let the doctors finish examining him before you make any quick decisions like that."
"Darien..." Her voice took on a caring, yet sensitive tone. "After all these years, both as a Scout and as a queen and as a mother, if there's one thing I've learned to do, it's trust my heart. And after all these years and everything we've been through together, I thought you had done the same for both our hearts."
"Of course I have." Darien replied soothingly. "And, as much as I might think that it may not be entirely safe, I'm not saying that you shouldn't go, if you truly feel you need to. But we can't rush into anything regarding this situation. Give it a day, maybe two if something important comes up. If you can wait until we can be more certain it's safe,... then I'll gladly accompany you."
"Oh Darien, you're always looking out for me." She sighed, glancing back at the papers. "I agree; two days, and if it's safe we'll go see this strange visitor for ourselves. I want to make sure that he's not a threat, and try perhaps to figure out where he might have come from." Then, looking over the papers, a thought occurred to her. "Darien,... does this boy remind you of anyone?"
"... Not specifically. Why, what are you thinking?"
"This entire mystery around him,... it reminds me of when we first met Hotrau." She looked Darien in the eyes with a gentle kind of pleading look that she knew her husband couldn't ignore. "How about if I have Saturn and Pluto have a meeting with the boy, to get their opinion of him?"
Darien shrugged in surrender. He knew when he was beat; Serena had a way of getting her way using the right methods of persuasion. He considered his wife an expert in the field.
"If you think it best, then by all means." He looked at her with a playful smile and laughing sigh. "I never could deny that beautiful face."
"Darien, you're so good to me, putting up with my constant activities and silly whims." She smiled back, a kind of 'I-know-you-know-you're-beat, so-just-laugh-with-me' smile. And, truth be told, Darien did laugh, at his own amazing ability to cave in to her and her amazing ability to make him enjoy it. They both laughed, a kind of laugh that enjoys best the company of the one you love.
The next day, Nephlite Memorial Hospital was a flurry of activities. Word had leaked out that Sailor Saturn and Sailor Pluto were coming for an interview with the boy, and everybody wanted everything to be totally ready and spotless. The boy was given a fresh set of clothes to change into, simple white shirt and pants, including some socks and undergarments. Dr. Matthews spent most of his time compiling his data and making a few last-minute observations and tests. 2:00 rolled around slowly, but eventually came anyway.
Pluto and Saturn were greeted at the door by Dr. Matthews, who explained that he'd been placed in charge of monitoring the boy and helping him recover. He led them down the halls to where the boy's room was, along the way sharing his findings.
"There's no doubt in my mind that his amnesia is authentic, so unfortunately he won't be able to do much answering of questions for you." He explained. "The mystery is that I still haven't isolated the cause, but I have some interesting theories if you'd indulge me."
"By all means. We were sent here to learn about the boy, so anything you could tell us would be appreciated." Pluto stated. She carried with her a small bundle, wrapped in cloth, holding it loosely under one arm.
"Well, when we first got him in here yesterday, we did an Energy Sensitive Scan, or an ESS, to determine if his was the same energy that had been detected outside the atmosphere. Of course, the military was greatly interested in the results, as has been everyone. But my findings sofar have been inconclusive because of two types of energy in his body."
"Two?" Saturn inquired, intrigued.
"Yes, and I've begun to suspect that one is a foreign influence because it's fading rapidly, and because it has a highly complex design, one that interferes on some levels with certain neural functions. I've been unable to prove it, but I think this foreign energy may be the cause of his amnesia. The other energy, which I'm quite certain is his own natural power, has begun to show signs that it's beginning to stabilize and increase. Interestingly enough,... and I almost hesitate to bring this up, but it looks to me like the foreign energy also interferes with his natural power, draining it and feeding off it, almost as if it was designed to do so."
"But that means someone else is involved, someone who was trying to weaken him." Saturn deduced.
"My theory at the moment is that someone, wielding whatever the source of this energy is, attacked him. For what purpose I don't know, but the trauma caused by it has been rather severe. One thing I will point out, though, is that if it was an attack, his attacker was prepared vastly ahead of time in order to do something like this."
Pluto nodded; it wasn't hard to see the logic involved in that conclusion. She made a mental note to inform Neo Queen Serenity of this doctor's theory. They reached the room where the boy was, and the soldiers stood at attention and let them pass, closing the door behind them. He was sitting up in bed; it looked like he might have been looking out the window earlier, but now turned to meet the eyes of his visitors. He had short, neon-blue hair and a very clean shaven appearance, with gentle sea-green eyes and a muscular but not massive build. He had bandages wrapped around his forehead and left hand, with more likely covered by his clothing. He looked to be no older than 19 years old, but it was hard to tell.
"Well, good to see you're up and about." Dr. Matthews said, speaking to the boy. "How do you feel?"
"Better, thanks." The boy responded, then turned to look at Pluto and Saturn. His gaze was inquisitive, but confused at the same time, like as if the entire world didn't make sense.
"These are the visitors I told you about, Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn. They're here from Neo Queen Serenity to talk to you and see if they can't help better understand you." Dr Matthews explained. The boy nodded, a kind of half reluctant nod, like as if he wasn't sure why there should be all this attention on him.
"Does he have a name, something we can call him by?" Saturn inquired.
"Well, as of yet, no. Because of his amnesia, he has no memory of who he is, and therefore we're hesitant to try and give him a name in hopes that his memory will start returning."
"... I like Evan." The boy suddenly interjected. All eyes focused quickly on him. "One of the doctors who came by earlier had that name and... I don't know why... but it caught my attention."
Dr. Matthews was silent for a long moment, a curious kind of look in his eyes as he looked at the boy. Sailor Pluto's gaze snapped him out of it, and he quickly shared what he was thinking.
"I think what we have here is a non-memory familiarity. This kind of thing is essential to beginning the process of remembering who he is; it's possible 'Evan' is the name of someone he was once closely associated with, or, more likely than not, his own name. The memories in the brain may not be accessible, but certain conditioned responses, like familiarity to one's own name, are still at work despite." He turned and looked at the boy. "It's quite likely that your name is Evan. Is that what you'd like to be called?"
There was a moment of silence, then the boy nodded. Dr. Matthews smiled, and Evan smiled gently back, even though that confused look never left his eyes. Saturn, Pluto, and Matthews quickly sat down in some of the chairs that had been brought into the room for this occasion, and the interview began. It was now that Pluto unwrapped her package, revealing the notorious silver amulet and katana, sheathed. Evan's gaze quickly locked onto the two objects, although the confused look remained.
"Do these seem familiar to you?" Pluto inquired. She picked up the amulet and showed it to him, it's four gems sparkling in the sun light cast by the window. One, the topmost, was reminiscent of a diamond, but had a slight white tint in it's colors, the one below it and to it's left was a deep sapphire like color, resembling a perfectly shaped shard of deep blue ice in it's tone and texture, to the right of the blue gem was another, this one a strange medley of fire colors, like as if someone had locked away a sunset within it's crystalline core, and the final gem placed directly between and below the blue and red gems, was a dark purple color, even darker than amethyst or quartz, and seemed to have a tone of black and dark blue mixed with it's deep rich hue. The entire object seemed to be made of some silver metal into which the gems had been cast, and it was threaded with a long black piece of material that would easily allow it to hang about it's wearer's neck a few inches below the collarbone. Dr. Matthews watched with a nervous caution as Pluto put the pendant down and pulled the katana part of the way out of it's sheath, just enough to expose a section of the metal. It was a dark steel color, with an odd, gentle red tint in the metal's coloration. The handle, ornately designed, was primarily black with silver linings and trim.
The boy Evan looked at the two objects for a long moment, as if his entire mind was caught up in their presence. He nodded slowly.
"I don't know why... but I feel like I know them from somewhere." He said, referencing the pendant and sword. "... I... just don't know where...I don't remember anything..."
"Give it time." Sailor Saturn encouraged, a gentle and encouraging smile accompanying her words. He looked up at her and nodded.
"From what I saw of him, your majesty, he seems completely harmless." Saturn stated. She and Pluto had returned to the palace shortly after their interview with the boy now known as Evan, and both now strolled down the halls alongside Neo Queen Serenity, talking as they went. "Although I did sense a form of darkness in his power. Not totally dark, not evil, but just... the word that came to my mind was 'shadow'. He seemed confused and maybe a bit afraid, but not defensive or evasive in the least. Also, there was an interesting development while we were there that may be of some importance."
"Go on." Neo Queen Serenity urged, listening attentively to everything Saturn was saying.
"Well, apparently some time before we got there, the boy encountered a doctor with the first name Evan and has since adopted the name as his own, because he felt... well, the way the head doctor put it was a 'non-memory familiarity', and that it was very possible that 'Evan' is his real name."
"He also stated a similar non-memory familiarity with the pendant and katana." Pluto stated. "And I've been doing my own scans on both objects, and have reason to believe that they have been in his possession."
"What was your evaluation of him as a person, Pluto?" Neo Queen Serenity inquired. Pluto paused for a moment before responding.
"Difficult to say, but the one thing that stands out to me is his sincerity. All and all, he's responding to his amnesia the way anyone would,... but the fact that he's a newcomer to our world may also be playing a part in his confusion, if indeed he has never before now been to earth. There are so many unknown about this child that it's hard to draw up an accurate estimate of who he is and what he's about. I personally don't feel I have enough information to be making many conclusions about him."
"But what we do know is mostly embodied in the sword and the pendant." Neo Queen Serenity interjected her own thoughts. "If all our assumptions about him are right, then he has great powers as well as deep-locked secrets... but I think it unlikely that he is an enemy. Certainly he is not now, because of his amnesia." She paused for a long moment, and when she at last spoke it was with some subtle undertone of intrigue and inventiveness. She looked each of the two Sailor Scouts in the eye before she spoke. "Saturn, Pluto, I just had a clever idea..."