Chapter 11

Once Usagi left the arcade, it was just Mamoru, Endymion, and Motoki sitting at the booth. There was an awkward silence and none of the men seemed to have any intention of speaking any time soon. Mamoru, for his part, wasn't sure what to say because, really, what is there to talk about with someone who has literally existed in your head for 10-plus years.

After his consciousness had been separated from that of the Earth prince, Mamoru's first response had been an all-consuming anger over everything he had lost and everything that Endymion's idiocy had put Usagi through. He had also felt immense satisfaction at being able to punch the prince and knock him on his ass. After the anger had come awe at the new found freedom he had acquired… the freedom to just be Mamoru and to finally tell Usagi what he, as Mamoru, had felt for her throughout their many ordeals. Finally, after the joy at being just himself passed and with Usagi no longer present for him to focus on, Mamoru was engulfed by a profound sense of loss.

When Endymion merged with him, the Earth prince had inadvertently erased all Mamoru's memories of his parents and family. Now that the Ginzuisho had separated them and without having anything else to divert his attention, those memories came rushing back with all the force of a tsunami. For the first time in over 10 years, Mamoru saw the faces of his mother and father, remembered their voices, and saw all of the precious memories they had made with him in their short lives.

After the car accident, when he'd awoken alone and terrified in a bland hospital room, Mamoru had felt a void inside himself where his memories had once been. Throughout the years, as he watched his classmates interact with their families, he had mourned not having parents and resented the accident that had taken those experiences away from him but it hadn't been his parents that he mourned but the idea of having parents, the idea of having a family. Now however, he had to grieve for people he remembered. There was a new loss of the faces and memories that were now as fresh in his mind as if he'd seen and experienced them yesterday but which he would never get to see or experience again.

Apparently Mamoru's emotional pain showed on his face because Motoki was now laying a comforting hand on his shoulder and leaning sideways to meet his eyes, "Mamoru, are you okay?"

Mamoru closed his eyes and focused on the faces of his parents even as he felt tears gathering behind his closed eyelids, "I can see their faces."

"Whose faces?" Endymion asked, clearly confused by Mamoru's current state.

"Your parents'?" Motoki asked quietly. Mamoru could only nod in response. Motoki continued, "What do they look like?"

It was funny, really, how well Motoki understood him. Mamoru had spent most of his life trying to avoid getting close to anyone yet, somehow, Motoki had found a way to read him in a way that only Usagi could rival. Somehow, his friend had picked up on the fact that Mamoru would need to share his memories with someone and Motoki was right. Mamoru found himself desperately needing to describe his parents to others so that, if he ever forgot them again, someone else could help him remember, "My mother has brown eyes. They're warm because she's smiling at me as she pulls a leaf out of her black hair. We had all been playing in the fall leaves and several had gotten tangled in her long hair. My father is standing behind her, trying to help untangle them for her. She's about six inches shorter than him but she's slender so she looks much smaller. Father is tall and broad shouldered. He looks like me… except his hair is auburn but, I have his eyes. They look so happy together."

"It sounds like they were kind and loving parents. Do you remember their names?" Motoki's voice was quiet.

"My mother's name was Chiba Sakura and my father's was Chiba Ryuta."

Mamoru felt Motoki's hand on his shoulder give a comforting squeeze, "Don't worry, Mamoru. Usagi and I won't let you forget them again."

All Mamoru could do was nod with his eyes still closed. In his mind, he was back in that hospital room and the minute he opened his eyes, everything would be gone again. The fear of losing something as precious as his memories of his parents paralyzed him to his core. He would give up just about anything to keep these memories with him, but what if the cost of remembering was greater than he had thought? It was that question that forced him to open his eyes and focus on Endymion, "What happens now that we've been separated?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, am I still capable of becoming Tuxedo Kamen? Can I still heal people?"

"Oh, that. Yes, you are still Tuxedo Kamen and yes, you still possess the same healing powers that I do."

"How is that possible? Aren't those abilities yours?" Mamoru asked in confusion.

"The ability to heal and the powers you utilize as Tuxedo Kamen are traits of the heir to the throne of Earth. However, your powers didn't come from me, you already had them when I merged with you."

"I still don't understand."

"Most humans wouldn't be capable of wielding the power that a planetary heir would possess. Serenity and the Senshi were reincarnated through the power of the Ginzuisho and, as a result, the crystal created bodies that would be able to use their planetary powers. However, because Earth was not a member of the Silver Millennium, I was not included in Queen Serenity's request to reincarnate those whose lives had been lost so, my soul had to wait until a descendant of Earth's royal line was born into and died in the same time period Princess Serenity and the others had been reborn into.

"I'm not sure what caused the accident that killed your parents. My spirit was merely hovering in the veil when I felt the tug of a descendant's life force so I followed the pull to you. If you had been just another human, I would never have been able to merge my soul with yours. The only explanation is that a member of the royal family of Earth must have escaped Beryl's destruction and survived the demise of the Silver Millennium and you, Mamoru, are a descendant of that individual. Of course, that also means that you are, in fact, Prince Mamoru of Earth."

Mamoru was too stunned to speak, but Motoki was not, "That would certainly explain why the two of you look so much alike."

"Indeed. And, before you ask, no, the same rules do not apply to the Senshi. Their bodies were specifically created by the Ginzuisho to house their souls it is why they look exactly like their Silver Millennium counterparts and behave the same way."

That statement seemed to jolt Mamoru out of his silence, "But wait, Usagi doesn't act anything like Serenity."

Endymion nodded, "I know. She is the only exception. I have been attempting to figure out why she seems to possess both Serenity's soul and the separate soul that is Usagi's but I can't come up with a logical explanation. That is one of the reasons I suggested we involve Sailor Mercury."

"Well, if there's anyone who's smart enough to figure out what's going on, it's definitely Ami-chan." Motoki piped in optimistically.

Mamoru, on the other hand, was still concerned. He knew that he would not let Usagi cease to exist without a fight and he assumed Prince Endymion felt the same way about Princess Serenity. Usagi had already told them that there was no way to perform the same type of separation that Endymion and Mamoru had just gone through so what did that leave them with for options? What if, after everything they had gone through, Mamoru lost Usagi forever? Unfortunately, until Usagi met with the other Senshi, Mamoru would have far more questions than answers.