All That I Am

N/A: So, this is a kinda-sorta rewrite of something I did forever ago. I reread it and said to myself, "Hey, self, we oughta redo this and make it so other people don't have to go through the eye-bleeding we just did!" and I was all like, "Yeah, totally! But first we should probably call an ambulance," so I did. Luckily, my eyes were fixed.
But this is not what I meant to write. I wanted to write something nice and angsty. That didn't happen. So if you came here for angst, you'll get a fair amount, but probably not enough. Sorry! Also, for anybody who read my story Just Coffee, one, thanks muchly, and two, I didn't know Holiday's first name at the time, so I made one up. I'm using her actual name in this, so, sorry for any confusion. Enjoy!

I am the white dove for a soldier

Ever marching as to war

I would give my life to save you

I stand guarding at your door

I give you all that I am

When Agent Six woke up, he wasn't sure where he was. He was lying on something unbelievably soft, and he didn't feel sore like he usually did when he woke up. The man sat up and looked around, blinking in confusion. It seemed like he was sitting in the middle of a bunch of... clouds. Sky that was bluer than blue arched above him, and all that was below was hidden by the layer of cloud he sat on. The clouds themselves puffed up into hills that rolled into the distance. A gentle breeze wafted across his face, ruffling his military-short hair. It was quiet, though not uncomfortably so, and he almost swore he could hear a forgotten lullaby somewhere in the distance.

Also, he was butt naked.

That realization prompted a quick holy-public-humiliation-Batman-I'm-in-the-nude freakout, in which he mostly just tried to get a footing on the clouds. They were like a trampoline, but too wobbly to stand on. Also, his legs felt strangely weak. After he collapsed for the umpteenth time, he simply rolled onto his stomach, hoping he was as alone as it seemed and nobody would come by. Of course, someone did.

That someone walked on the clouds like they were solid ground. She wore a white undershirt that looked like it had come from the men's section at Target, and oversized black sweatpants with pockets. She had short brown hair that hung jaggedly to her chin with a bolt of neon blue at the front. The way she walked, barely slumped, hands in her pockets, smile on her face, made Six think she was perfectly content. Which only annoyed him, seeing as how he was far less so.

"Hey, fella," the teenage girl called as she walked down a cloud-hill to him. There was a slight Southern lilt to her voice, not quite Tennessee and not quite Texas. Six tried frantically to cover his man-parts, but she just laughed and shook her head. "No need for that," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm blind." Six paused and saw that it was true. Her pupils were a milky white, almost indiscernible from the rest of her eyes. "Only reason I know you're freakin' out is 'cause I can feel the movement. But where are my manners? I'm Mira." Her name was pronounced like me-ruh, and though he had never met this girl before, something about the name rang a bell. She held out her hand and, hesitantly, Six shook it.

"Agent Six." She laughed again, shaking her head.

"No need for that, either. I'm here to bring you home. You can be honest with me, Jiro." Six's eyes grew wide. It had been years since anyone had called him that. Not even Dr. Holiday had known. He had never told anyone except White Knight, so how-

"First off, stop worryin' so much," she said, falling down next to him. She sat cross-legged and looked straight at him, making Six wonder how blind she was. "You won't need for anything now that you're up here, so just calm down. Nobody's gonna try and hurt you, or steal from you, or hate you. I know it's hard to believe, but for once, and now, for forever, you're safe."

It took a moment for Six to digest all this. "Can I at least have some clothes?"

"Sure," Mira said, sticking her hand into the clouds. Six watched in a mixture of fascination and confusion as she pulled another white undershirt and a pair of green boxers from the clouds. She handed them to him, and Six quickly put them on. "Better?" she asked when he was dressed.

"Yes. Thank you."

"You're very welcome. Any questions you'd like to ask me, Jiro?" she asked kindly.

Six started at the use of his real name again, but then voiced his first question. "Where am I?"

Mira shrugged. "That depends, I s'pose. Where do ya think y'are?" He looked around, eyes roaming the sky and cloud-hills once again. He certainly didn't seem to be in Kansas anymore.

"I... don't know. I'm not on Earth, though, am I?" Mira smiled and shrugged again. "The last thing I remember is... uh... oh, that big fight." Six frowned as the details returned to him. There was a Level 1 EVO on the loose, and Van Kleiss was pulling the strings. It had come straight to Providence, which had been better than it attacking somewhere innocents could get hurt. There had been a fight, and that part was a little blurry, but Rex had gotten hurt bad and Six had gotten angry and Holiday had been in danger and he- and... he...

"Oh." Suddenly, everything made a little more sense. He turned to Mira, but oddly, he felt calm rather than frightened. "Am I... dead?"

"Yes."

"Oh." It was an odd concept to wrap his mind around, but Mira was thankfully patient and Six was quick about it. "I'm dead. Which still doesn't answer where I am."

The girl shrugged. "Oh, now, why try an' be so specific? You never had a religious faith, Jiro, not really. But you believed that if, in the end, you did more good than bad, you'd be okay." She glanced at him again, smiling wistfully. "You had a lotta hope for someone who went through what you did."

Slowly, the man nodded. Not having his sunglasses was weird; he still felt a little too exposed. But he doubted she'd give them back. And yet, her words rang true. Hope had never really been something he had shown on the outside- that was more Rex's thing- but he had kept it tucked away inside. Hope fueled his will to fight, and to save others. It was important.

"Can I see them?" Mira nodded and dipped her hand into the cloud below them like it wasn't solid and swirled it around until there was a circle of what looked like water. She pulled out her hand and lightly touched the surface, and Six watched as it rippled and the image changed from a reflection of the sky to...

"Holiday." His Holiday, his beautiful, wonderful, darling Rebecca. A pang went through his chest and he leaned over as the water-screen stilled. She was sitting on her bed, holding something in her hands. A picture. A small one, not in a frame, but one he recognized nonetheless. Tears rolled down her face, lovely even in her pain. The picture was a relatively old one, taken around the time Rex was thirteen. He couldn't remember who had taken it, or what the occasion had been, but it had him, Holiday and Rex. Six had a protective arm around Holiday, and Rex stood in front of them both, beaming and waving at the camera. Oddly enough, it was probably the only picture in existence of him smiling. They all were, actually, and it sent another pang through his heart.

"Holiday!" Six called, reaching for the screen. However, Mira's hand had grabbed his before he could touch the screen. "Don't. It'll stop the time flow. An' I'm afraid she can't hear ya." Six's face fell and he turned back to the screen, watching in despair as Holiday closed her eyes and clutched the picture to her heart.

"She misses ya somethin' fierce." Six had forgotten about Mira. He glanced up at her to see her staring sightlessly into the image. "But she'll be okay. She's gonna mourn ya fer a long time; she loved ya like she's never loved anybody else. She regrets not tellin' ya that sooner. Like I said, though, she'll be okay by the time all's said an' done. She's strong enough to keep goin'." Six nodded and wiped furiously at the tears he hadn't even realized were there. It had been over twenty years since he had last cried. "'S okay," Mira added, sensing his distress. "'S alright. Go ahead an' let it out." Six nodded and finished wiping his eyes, mouth clamped shut.

Mira touched the water-screen again, and the image changed with the ripples until it settled on Rex. He was sitting alone on an examination table in the lab, holding something. Six squinted and the image zoomed in until he could see what it was the boy held. A half-melted piece of metal that would have been all but undistinguishable had he not used it for years. "My katana," Six murmured, brow furrowing. He turned to Mira again. "What… what happened?"

"You pushed Holiday outta the way. The EVO spit metal an' breathed magma, an' you… you took the hit for her. That's all that's left." She pointed to the warped sword, and Six almost felt sick. Rex stared at the metal, and his expression made Six think that he was about to fly into a rage. Six proved to be right. With an angry roar, Rex flung the blade across the room. He then jumped off the table and turned around to kick it. He sent it flying across the room, doing more damage than the katana had. He stood still then, breathing heavily, then rubbed angrily at his eyes.

"D-dang it, Six! Why- why'd you have to-" his voice cracked, and he shook his head, his mouth clamped shut. Just like his own, Six realized. Just then, Bobo peered into the room. Rex turned around and pretended like he was fine. "Oh, ah, hey, Bobo. What's up?"

"From the looks of it, the equipment," Bobo replied, nodding at the dent the table left in the wall. Rex glanced at it and then back at Bobo. "Eh heh. I, uh…"

"Need to vent, I get it. Just take it out in the training room, huh?" And with that, Bobo left. Rex stared after him for a moment, then went to retrieve the sword. He picked it up and dusted it off, cradling it to his chest. Six suddenly thought of another young man he had known a long time ago, another orphan, scared and on his own once more. "Sorry, Six," Rex muttered, holding the katana up to look at it. "That was uncalled for. Bobo was right. I didn't mean to throw your stuff."

"He's angry about it for a while, then sad, and eventually accepts what ya did. He becomes a better man 'cause of it. You were a good father." Six doesn't even bother correcting her. They both know she's right. "An' don't worry about whether or not you were nice enough to him. He needed a firm hand, and that's what ya gave him. Ya did good, Jiro."

"Thank you." Six glanced up and notices that, though there is still no sun visible, the sky is beginning to turn the pastel hues of sunset. Mira touched the water-screen again, and it disappeared. She stood and brushed stray bits of cloud off her pants. Then she turned to Agent Six and held out her hand. "C'mon, Jiro," she said gently. "Time for you to go home. You've more'n earned it."

Six let her help him up, and took one last look at where the final images of his family had been. Then he turned, steady on the now-solid clouds, and went with Mira to whatever was waiting. He wasn't sure if it would be heaven or hell, or nothing at all, but he was going to be okay. He had done his best to be his best, and that was all anyone could ask of him. He was going home, at last.

He had earned it.