I've decided to put these two chapters up at one time – it just seems to flow better. After this update, then, there will be a pair of epilogues and we'll have reached the true end of this story! I don't have plans right now for a sequel, but you never know. I always leave myself a hook or two, just in case.
This was probably the hardest chapter to write, and I fought with it for weeks. I hope it portrays what I wanted. I'll put some footnotes at the bottom when you need them.
Enjoy!
When Quatre had said there would be a celebration for everyone once Race could rejoin them, no one had really been able to guess what he had meant. Even Duo and Heero and Wufei admitted they were not privy to his plans, and Trowa was predictably silent on the subject. So, the evening after Race's recovery, when the five Quests received a formal, printed invitation to dinner, they were thoroughly curious.
The invitation came with an actual map to what looked like the largest ballroom in the mansion, but not the only one, and as they made their way at the appointed time, they came upon most of the Maganacs with similar maps. The crowd of men wore their traditional clothing styles, but the materials were better and many of the vests and fez tassels were worked in silk and shining metallic threads.
"No wonder we don't know anything about what's going on," Jessie shook her head as she checked the map again. "This party is being held so far away that it's practically in another colony!"
"What kind of celebration will it be, do you think?" Benton asked Auda politely.
"With Master Quatre? Who knows!" he laughed. "But you're guaranteed at least three things."
The Maganacs overhearing the conversation all shouted in unison: "Food, drink, and a surprise!"
"A surprise?" Hadji asked.
"Master Quatre says all celebrations should give something to those that attend," the one named Assad explained. "When we first completed the Rock Island complex and moved our families in, Master Quatre honored us all with a 'massive housewarming party' as he called it, complete with a box of gifts for each man, woman, and child to welcome them."
"But he never tells anyone his plans," Jamal added. "Rashid usually knows some of the basics, and Master Trowa because he helps to arrange things, but the Master likes to surprise us. Sometimes we get asked to pick up supplies, but they are always in sealed containers."
"Aren't you tempted to peek?" Jonny wanted to know.
"Of course not!" Abdul was scandalized, clapping him on the back. "As if we would ever snoop on Master Quatre!"
"Well, you would," Auda nudged him significantly, "which is why you don't get those assignments anymore."
A colorful, friendly argument broke out between them as they passed through a crystal and silver archway into the foyer that preceded their destination. Heero, Duo, and Wufei were already there, gathered around an enormous wooden door. Wufei wore not his Preventers uniform but a white Chinese changshan. Duo was in black as always, but the cut of his outfit was slightly more refined, slightly less punk-priest. Heero wore a dark blue happi over black pants of some kind, the back of the Japanese coat reflecting a pattern of dots stitched in silver that might have been a constellation of stars.
The three looked over the Quests, and Wufei nodded in obvious approval.
Dr Quest wore his grey three-piece suit, the same he had been wearing the morning at the hotel for the formal start of the conference that never was. Race, beside him, had found a black suit of his own, with a signature red tie, of course. Jonny was also in a black suit, but without any tie at all, having proclaimed loudly that since he was friends with Quatre he did not have to throttle his neck in his presence. Jessie wore a gauzy dress that fell to about mid-calf, dark green with golden accents and a gilded comb holding back her hair. Hadji was resplendent in a bronze sherwani, and his turban was adorned with a small red stone. Even Bandit wore a shiny leather collar as he trotted along with his family.
"So we all dressed up?" Jessie asked, eyeing Heero in particular.
"Cat never says we gotta," Duo shrugged, "but when you get an invitation that costs more than, you know, food for a week, it doesn't seem nice to let him down."
A bell sounded and the doors opened, unleashing a wonderful mix of scents – food and flowers and incense all blowing hotly into the corridor. The room was warm and bright, and no one could help being drawn forward.
It was normally a large ballroom, with crystal chandeliers twinkling above and many mirrored walls to show off the dancers as they spun across the shiny floor. These features were still visible, but most had been covered in long swaths of colored silks. The room had been transformed into something out of one of Scheherazade's legendary tales. Hundreds of candles winked from sconces and stood in piles upon towering metal pillars, bathing the room in a bright, soft glow. The floor was layered in plush carpets of deep colors and intricate patterns. Jewels and sparkling stones dangled in long strings from the ceiling and gathered with the swooshes of material to send bright winking colors flickering across the room with the dancing flames. And a long, low table took up the nearer half of the room, strewn with food from a dozen different cultures, mixed until the patchwork of culinary options was as bright and rich as the swirls on the carpets. Bright, puffy cushions lined the table, obviously awaiting them.
Before anyone could even move from the end of the room, however, a flurry of something high above caught everyone's attention.
Like a feather twisting in the wind, a figure flipped and soared through the air to land in front of the column of guests, dropping lightly in a perfect bow. It was Trowa, wearing an Albanian xhaqete in a bright red brocade with ballooning white pants and no shirt at all. He quirked an eyebrow from his deep bow before intoning with a touch of hidden laughter behind his voice.
"You are welcomed to this celebration in honor of your bravery, loyalty, and sacrifice. Please be seated."
Duo started to giggle, which set off some of the Maganacs, which got Jonny and Jessie going, and even Race had to clamp down his jaw to keep from any undignified snorting. Wufei scowled at everyone overtaken from the solemnity of it and bowed in return.
"Thank you for your hospitality," he said before striding to the table and claiming a cushion. There was then a slightly less-than-decorous move after him, with some people playfully snatching cushions and others crowding them out of order. Two spots were by general consent left unclaimed – one at the head of the table, and one by its side, as Trowa had not moved yet from the doorway. Duo plopped down happily next to the seat reserved for Quatre across from Trowa, with Heero and Wufei flanking them, the Quests next in some configuration, and the Maganacs leaving the end of the table free for Rashid.
Without any warning, the lights began to dim as dark curtains fell from some concealed place to hide the many burning candles. A few, those at the table and nearest the door, remained, but the rest of the room was soon shrouded in gloom. The assembled group fell quiet as a sound as soft as breathing began to slip through the shadows. It was music, slow at first, a meandering, wandering tune that grew in intensity and intricacy with every beat. The melody was played by a violin, but it was joined after a bit by tinkling cymbals and then pulsing drums and a flute and gongs and other instruments that carried the gentle theme into a crashing, swelling wave. It was almost hypnotic.
A tiny light glowed somewhere in the room beyond, like a floating candle in the darkness. But the light itself was no candle – it was simply a point of brightness like a single star in the sky. It seemed to move closer and closer to the table before coming to a halt. Then the tiny point of light began to grow in size, spinning lazily as it did so.
The music echoed the light's movement, bright and earnest, spinning faster and faster, until with a joyful burst the glowing ball exploded into a thousand tiny points of light that spread throughout the darkened room like water droplets. The violin rocked the many little stars as they began to dance. But there was a pattern emerging. At first the lights seemed to slide into lines like waves, but these rose and fell and formed words glowing in the very air.
If I fail any day to render thee due thanks,
Tell me for whom I have composed my verse and prose.
Thou hast loaded me with favours unsolicited,
Bestowed without delay on thy part, or excuse.
How then should I abstain from praising thee as thou deservest,
And lauding thee both with my heart and voice?
Nay, I will thank thee for the benefits conferred upon me:
They are light upon my tongue, though weighty to my back.
With a flourish of the violin, the words broke apart and the lights scattered. A horn and flute sounded a cry like a wail in the night, and the music took a darker turn. It was no less intense, but now it was deep and with each pulse became more solemn. The lights had shifted in color to a nearly-invisible indigo. The darkness between them reformed until it outlined a new verse.
Tell whoso hath sorrow
Grief never shall last.
E'en as joy hath no morrow
So woe shall go past.
The indigo spots that glowed shifted to a warmer purple, then to the dusky colors of the near-dawn. No longer individual points of light, now the air was alive with clouds, soft and bright as they grew pinker and lighter. Across the clouds, a single sunbeam traced new words.
For others these hardships and labors I bear,
And theirs is the pleasure and mine is the care,
As the bleacher who blacketh his brow in the sun
To whiten the raiment which other men wear.
The violin began to race like the wind before the dawn, and the room began to glow in brightness. The clouds became a waterfall, a river of light that spun and flowed through the air, swift and clear. Many streams sprang from the corners of the room and pooled together in a basin of calm. Tiny shapes in the water formed a verse that dissolved once more so quickly it might have been imagined.
None but the good a secret keep,
And good men keep it unrevealed.
It is to me a well-shut house
With keyless locks and door ensealed.
The music, which had bubbled so joyfully, though secretively, now slowed into its original melody, warm and sincere and heartfelt. There were almost words in the expression of the violin, words of a language spoken by the soul. The rivers dissolved into a flight of birds of every color in the rainbow. Soaring and dipping and fluttering, they were a riot of energy and joy, a wild contrast to the softening music. And where the birds flew, they left words in their wake.
Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.
When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own mind, nor do you withhold the "ay."
And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth:
And only the unprofitable is caught.
And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
The softest trill of the violin led to silence and the darkened room was still once more as the last words faded away. The hangings that had descended to hide the candlelight now lifted, returning the room to its previous splendor. But it was changed.
As those gathered around the table came back to themselves, some were surprised to find wetness on their faces, but perhaps moreso at the wetness evident from others. Duo had entwined an arm with Heero's, and the normally-stoic man was returning the grip fiercely. Trowa and Wufei sat shoulder-to-shoulder, seemingly holding one another up and looking at no one. Jessie found herself tucked under her father's arm, smiling a watery smile at where Jonny and Hadji were sharing a look of so much understanding and communion, Dr Quest watching them proudly. Rashid sat still as a mountain, his beard suspiciously wet though his face showed no crack in its composure, but many of the other Maganacs had arms draped around shoulders or leaned together in camaraderie.
No one seemed to want to speak, to break the moment, but it couldn't be helped. Even moments don't last forever. Hadji let out a long breath and spoke in a low voice.
"With all the resources of the Earth Sphere to choose from, I believe we have just received the most meaningful gift I have ever known."
"I feel like...I've seen the birth of a star," Dr Quest said. "Or like I am the first person to stumble from the brush to find the Grand Canyon."
"But it's not Quatre's empathy," Race looked up. "I know it isn't." He made a small wry face that spoke of his recent experience.
"No. It's what was inside us," Hadji traded a glance with his brother. "Quatre brings people to themselves."
"But it only works if there's something in you already," Jessie spoke up. "We all have the same heart. We didn't need him to change us, just to show us." She nudged her father slightly.
"What do you guys think?" Jonny turned towards the other pilots, then started in surprise. Heero, Duo, Wufei, and Trowa had not moved at all. They sat, still together, but their eyes had closed. Each bore a certain expression that suggested something rarely seen in any of them – peace.
And seated in the last spot at the table was Quatre, who had appeared with no fanfare at all, and was smiling joyfully.
Quatre was dressed like an Arabian prince. Though he wore no overt wealth like jewels or gold, he would not have been out of place in a palace. His white entari and şalvar were silk, and the kaftan was richly, deeply embroidered in sunset colors. Even as he sat on the thick cushion, the folds of the robe swirled around him regally. But it was the look of his face and the light in his eyes that made him shine.
Jonny turned back waiting for the expected cry of "Master Quatre!" to go up along the table as it had every other time the Maganacs had laid eyes on him. But not one of the men seemed likely to shout. They all sat quietly, waiting. At some unseen signal, every Maganac at the table bowed his head, and Rashid made a formal bow wordlessly. Quatre smiled even more brightly before folding both hands on the table and bowing in return until his forehead touched his fingers. When he rose, the spell seemed to break completely.
Of course, Duo had a lot to do with that.
"Hey, Wee-Wee, pass that tray of tasty-looking stuff over here," Duo held out his hands beseechingly.
Wufei started to get to his feet, face contorted in irritation, but Heero shook his head. Then he did something very fast and somehow Duo's cushion was gone, he was upside-down, and his foot was caught in his own braid.
After that, chaos and laughter reigned.
Food vanished quickly as everyone fell upon the untouched trays and platters and heaps. No amount of scowling from more serious-minded of their number could keep the playful from tossing bits of food about "as an accelerated means of delivering it," whether or not it had been requested. Drink flowed, and they feasted and indulged to their hearts' content. Music in the background acquired made-up lyrics and singing, which became increasingly silly as time wore on.
Then, somehow, Auda got ahold of the remote Quatre was using to control the music and turned the volume up while switching it to an upbeat song and within moments half the Maganacs were on their feet dancing, the rest not far behind. Race and Jonny and Duo wasted no time and joined them at once, with Jessie pulled up to spin around the room by Rashid himself. Heero and Wufei initiated some sort of dancing competition, of which only they understood the rules, that led to a great deal of hooting and shouting from the crowd as they tried to outdo one another. Quatre was drawn into Trowa's arms and they laughingly weaved between others, Trowa now and again throwing Quatre into the air like an acrobat; once, he landed not in the embrace of his beloved, but instead was caught by Race, who laughed even harder at four pilots who had turned to him in momentary alarm. Hadji and Dr Quest remained seated only for so long before others, alight with humor, pulled them into the crowd of merrymakers. Bandit chased whoever seemed worth chasing, and was even scooped up for a few dances of his own.
Time passed without remark as the assembled friends let themselves go. Though their revels eventually slowed down, many returning to the abandoned table to pick over it for remaining delicacies and waxing philosophic as the mood took them, others grouped off in small clumps. At one point when Quatre was standing off by himself, looking pleased, Jonny sidled up.
"This was amazing. Thank you," he said. "I don't even know how to ask how you did it."
"It's really just an advanced version of the holographic technology we already use for briefings and other things, just...put to a better purpose. It was the least I could do for everyone after the last weeks," he answered. "We learned a long time ago that if we don't take the time to experience peace, it's easy for us to forget why we fight for it."
"I can believe it," Jonny nodded. "I think it's what everybody needed, too."
"Jonny, are you all right?" Quatre looked at him closely. "You're the only one who went into ZERO when I wasn't there to lead you out again. You didn't ask for help and I didn't want to impose, but..."
"Quatre, if I'd needed your help, and if we had had the time, I'd have come to you," he said good-naturedly. "I can't say it was fun. It was probably the worst I've ever felt in my life. But, somehow it didn't do to me what it did to Race and Heero."
"Probably because you weren't in there long," Quatre replied. "I'm not denigrating your courage. But once they realized you weren't me, they pulled you out after just a few minutes."
"Longest minutes of my life," he shivered. Quatre put a hand on his arm.
"I know. And the truth is, there are soldiers who didn't even manage that much in an easier version of the System. You should be proud. But if you ever want to talk about it..."
"I know who to call. Don't worry." Jonny managed a real smile. He wasn't about to admit the less-than-copacetic dreams that had come more than once since his exposure to ZERO, but he also knew they were nothing he couldn't handle with time and the help of his family. As Hadji had said, he just needed to let his mind heal itself. Compared to what it could have been, it was pretty minor.
They stood in comfortable quiet for a few moments before Quatre cleared his throat meaningfully.
"So, I've been meaning to say something to you. You were the one who came up to get me out of Wing Zero when we returned to the hangar," Quatre said softly. "I know you saw it." He held up his wrist.
"And I figured it out," Jonny understood. "That's how you hooked yourself into Horus. You told us back at the compound that there was one module for Horus that nobody had access to but you, that nobody knew where it was. And if I've learned anything about you, you wouldn't let it be anyplace you couldn't control it yourself at all times to ensure its safety. Plus, I can't imagine you would hook Wing Zero to Horus through a virtual connection that could be traced. So, what else would you have hooked in when you were in there but that?"
Quatre fixed him with a warning look and Jonny held up his hands.
"Oh, don't worry! I won't tell anybody where it is. It's not like I know where the other ones are anyway."
"Even Trowa doesn't know the final Horus module is here," Quatre smiled a little as he tapped the watch-face. "And he's the one who gave me this watch. Or, um, gave me most of the watch. I just took out some of the non-essential bits and replaced them."
Jonny burst out laughing. "So if it got out, you'd be in a whole other kind of trouble."
"Maybe," Quatre's smile widened. "Though Trowa is wonderfully casual about such things. No, I'm more worried about Wufei lecturing me about the risks. He's so very protective, you know."
"I'd noticed," Jonny said wryly.
Jonny's eyes drifted to where Wufei was chatting animatedly with Hadji, both with heads bent together as they discussed something with great interest. He could very much imagine the Preventers agent being upset with Quatre for having such an important weapon or system or whatever it was in what he would argue was a vulnerable position. Not that he figured such a thing would stop Quatre.
Hadji laughed at something Wufei said and Jonny felt himself smiling at how contented his brother seemed to be.
"You remind me of us sometimes," Quatre spoke into his thoughts.
"Oh?"
"You're always thinking about them," he nodded to Hadji. "Your family. You watch for them all the time. The way we do. Even if we're in the heat of a battle or apart on different missions, we're always thinking about each other. We fight for each other. You fight for them."
"I guess so," Jonny shifted his feet. "When I was younger, just before the wars, I thought I wanted to have my own adventures. And I got into plenty of them. But they're always better with at least Jess and Hadj with me. And dad and Race too."
"There's nothing wrong with looking for yourself. Independence can lead you back to where you should be," Quatre met his gaze. "In your case, I'd say the more you look, the more you'll find your way home."
"I said something like that to Hadji weeks ago. I told him it was okay if he needed to look for himself far away from home but he didn't have to do it alone. That I'd go with him."
"I wouldn't worry," the blond Arab smiled. "I think he found what he needed."
"He did?" Jonny turned to him in surprise. Quatre nodded.
"Hadji is different from the rest of you, but you're different from each other, too," he answered. "He's learned more about his gifts in the last few weeks than I would estimate he has in several years, just as I have."
"Yes, but –"
"So, in finding out who he is and what he can do, he has also learned about those of us in even stranger alliances. Hadji is different from you and the others. But I am different from Wufei or Heero, too. And that doesn't drive us apart. It pulls us together. We are strong together because we are so different. He doesn't fully realize it now, but give him a few days and ask him. I think Hadji will tell you he knows he is himself when he is with you and your family."
"You think so?" Jonny peeked back at his brother hopefully. In all the chaos of everything, he still had not forgotten his brother's uncertainty, not to mention his own.
Quatre raised an eyebrow at him. "Will you permit me to show you?"
Jonny had nodded before he fully realized what Quatre was suggesting, but he didn't pull away when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Jonny had never gone in much for meditation or the rest of Hadji's spirituality, but there was no denying the sense of "Hadji-ness" that came to him through Quatre. And that the spirit of his brother was entirely confident, comfortable, steady. He'd seen doubt in Hadji's eyes before, but now he felt none of it in his heart.
"He doesn't want to be anywhere but where he is," Quatre spoke into his awareness. "He doesn't know why yet, but give him a few days and he'll tell you himself, I think."
"I believe you."
Quatre removed his hand and smiled. "He's lucky to have you. Hang onto that. That brotherhood is powerful enough to change the world. Trust me. I should know."
And the two blonds understood one another perfectly.
Footnotes:
The first 4 sets of poetry are from One Thousand and One Nights.
The second set, the longer one is called "On Friendship" and has been attributed to Gibran Khalil Gibran.
Google and Wikipedia were my major heroes and resources for all things clothing-wise in this chapter.