Title: Ghost Knight (5/?)
Author: Anne Khushrenada
Disclaimer: Standard. I don't own GW.
Warnings: A little sap. Standard OOCs. Take pity; I
need practice.

Linnea Khushrenada lifted her skirts as she stepped
over a pool of someone else's blood, and tried not to
grimace. Though she tried very hard to maintain her
composure, it was easy to see that she was not at all
comfortable with the sights before her now.

"Councilor, are you alright?" her aide called out.

Linnea gave a sharp nod. "Yes," she said, her voice
feathery soft and trembling. "I think so."

/And if I wasn't,/ she thought, /someone would be
rather sorry. I certainly didn't tell those fools to
plant the bomb while /I/ was here!/

At that moment, she was nearly run over by a young
man in the uniform of the Preventers, a young man who
held a slim red-haired girl in his arms.

"Mariemaia!" Linnea gasped. She rushed after the
young man. "You, stop there!"

"I'm really quite busy, miss," the young man said, as
he turned with a resigned sigh to face her. Linnea
found herself looking into sharp green eyes. With
those eyes and his reddish brown hair, this could
only be Trowa Barton.

"Yes, I know," Linnea said. "I'll only take a moment
of your time- but you see, the girl you're carrying
is Mariemaia Barton, my ward..."

"I really don't think so," Trowa said quietly. "This
is Mariemaia Khushrenada. And her guardian is Lady
Une."

"Of course, Une's been /looking after/ her," Linnea
said softly. "And she's been such a dear about it,
really, but I think now I shall relieve her of this
burden..." Linnea reached out for Mariemaia. "Come
here, sweetheart, it's alright..."

Mariemaia stirred then, blue eyes slowly blinking
open. She focused upon Linnea and frowned. "Who the
fuck are you?"

"I /beg/ your pardon?" Linnea gasped.

It seemed all Trowa could do not to laugh.
"Mariemaia," he said sharply. "Language, dear.
Language."

"Excuse me," Mariemaia said, rolling her eyes. "Who
the fuck are you, /please/? Better, Uncle Trowa?"

"Mariemaia!" Linnea gasped again. "Your father would
be appalled."

"Put me down, please, Trowa," Mariemaia said, and
Trowa did so. She walked slowly towards the woman
standing before her, and Linnea kneeled down so that
they were at eye level. "My father," she said
quietly, "would be appalled at the thought that
someone whose name I don't even know has just
announced her intention to take me away from my
/mother/- practically the only mother I've ever
known, not to /mention/ the woman whom my father
wished to take care of me if anything ever happened
to him. So I'll ask you again- Who are you?"

"Councilor Linnea Khushrenada," the woman replied,
brushing back a blonde curl from her face. "Your
father's dearest cousin."

"Oh," said Mariemaia. She paused. "I saw your letters
to my mother. You've spelled my name wrong. And, no
offence to Uncle Trowa, but I'm a Khushrenada, not a
Barton."

Linnea's jaw dropped. The nerve of this child...

"If you'll excuse me," Mariemaia went on, "I think my
mother, whom, by the way, Father loved a great deal,
is looking for me."

Though her arm was badly broken, and she was in a lot
of pain, Mariemaia managed to walk without a single
false step until she was out of Linnea's line of
sight. Then she sagged against what remained of one
of the building's walls.

Trowa caught up with her there, a small smile playing
across his face. "I'd say you just made yourself a
dangerous enemy, kid," he said.

"Maybe. But she probably was one to begin with. She
wants Mother's twins, too."

Trowa laughed. "Oh, that'll be the day... Speaking
of, let's go find her, shall we?"

* * *

"Stupid, foolish onna," Wufei Chang muttered as he
raced towards the Epyon. "Is she in there?" he asked
one of the Preventers standing guard over the Gundam.

"No," said the Preventer he'd addressed. /Nichol,/
thought Wufei. /Much as I hate to admit it, I do wish
one of us had managed to kill him in the war.../ "I
guess she went to look for Treize's daughter."

"You guess," Wufei said, his tone of voice clearly
showing his irritation. "Why don't you make
yourselves useful and power down the Epyon? She's not
going back to Headquarters the way she got here."

And then, as Nichol began to climb up towards the
cockpit, Wufei exclaimed, "No, you fool, not /you./
She'll never forgive you if you touch Epyon. I'll do
it." Wufei shoved Nichol out of the way and climbed
into the Gundam's cockpit, changing over the suit's
systems from standby to powered down.

As he returned to the ring of Preventers, Wufei
glared at Nichol again. "Weren't you supposed to be
up past the barricades, helping Quatre?"

"I thought this was more important, for Lady Une... I
know what this Gundam means to her."

/You flew Leos,/ Wufei thought. /Somehow I don't
think you have the slightest clue./ He made a
dismissive gesture as he turned and walked away from
Nichol.

"Yo, Wu-man!"

Only one person could possibly be that annoying, so
Wufei didn't bother to look up before he nodded in
greeting. "Maxwell. What's our status?"

"Not good," Duo replied. "I've been checkin' out the
scene, with the investigators, ours and the cops',
both. This was a real pro job, not like the stuff we
cobbled together back in '95. And that worries me,
pal."

"I must admit, it doesn't make me very happy,
either," Wufei replied. "Where is Lady Une? She needs
to know about this?"

"I don't know. I was just going to find her when I
saw you. Last I saw of her she was with Trowa, but
he's probably vanished by now."

* * *

"Lady?"

Lady Une turned at the sound of Trowa's voice. She
smiled as she saw Mariemaia beside him. "Trowa. Good,
you found her. Mariemaia, your arm-"

"It's only broken," Mariemaia said. "I need to talk
to you later, about Linnea."

Une raised an eyebrow at that, but nodded. "Alright."

"There she is," Une heard Duo say to Wufei, as the
two former Gundam pilots approached.

"Hey, Mariemaia, how about let's go get that arm
checked out, huh?" Duo asked the girl. He looked over
at Wufei. "Tell her," he mouthed as he led Mariemaia
away from the others and towards where the paramedics
had set up shop.

"Is there something going on you don't want to tell
me about?" Mariemaia asked.

Duo sighed. There was just no fooling this kid, no
matter how hard they tried. "I dunno," he said
quietly. "Just something that doesn't sit right with
me. The bomb that did all this looks professionally
done. I asked Heero to check it out, and he's
probably doing that now."

"You guys know a lot about explosives," Mariemaia
commented, her voice equally quiet. "But this is
different?"

"Almost military-grade," Duo replied with a sigh. "I
have a suspicion, but I kind of hope I'm wrong about
it."

Mariemaia looked up at him then. "Duo... I didn't
cause this, did I? When I was...working with Dekim,
we didn't use explosives...much."

"No, my theory is that the explosives were a little
older, and, no offence, but a little better quality
than what your Gramps whipped up in the garage."

Mariemaia nodded. "Okay." She gave the paramedics a
smile as they reached them. "We've pretty much
figured out my arm is broken," she told them.

"Is that all?" one of them asked.

"That, and this cut." Mariemaia tapped her forehead.

"Thank God," said the other, exchanging a look with
Duo. For his part, Duo was glad that between her arm
and everything else, Mariemaia had been a little out
of it when they'd brought her out of the building.
The less she'd seen of what had become of her
classmates, the better.

"Duo," Mariemaia said.

"Yeah, kid." Something in her tone told him he didn't
really want to hear what she had to say, but he was
asking anyway, because he had to.

"The police chief's son was in my class. David Ling.
He must have been really close to where they planted
the bomb. I saw him on my way out- torn in half." She
clutched at her stomach, and one of the paramedics
quickly produced a basin, into which Mariemaia was
quietly sick for a moment or two.

"Okay, hon," Duo said, squeezing her shoulder. "Where
was David when-?"

"He was heading for the bathroom. He'd been telling
Miss Andrews for about ten minutes that he had to
go..."

Duo swore under his breath. "You be okay here for a
bit? I've gotta go talk to your Mom and the others."

"Yeah," said Mariemaia. "I'll be fine." Then she
reached for the basin again.

"Poor kid," said one of the paramedics. "What's your
name, honey?"

"Mariemaia." She set the basin aside. "What happened
to David?"

"They took him to the hospital," the paramedic said.
"They'll do what they can." His expression told
Mariemaia that her friend's chances weren't good, and
she sighed.

* * *

The Place Between Worlds

Treize had to physically restrain his hands from
reaching out to grab Death by the collar of his black
robes, and shaking the specter very roughly. His
hands clenched into fists at his sides, and it was
all he could do to keep a margin of civility in his
voice.

"Was this your idea of a joke?" he asked. "Perhaps
your way of reminding me that your promises are as
binding as mine? Because if it /was/-"

"Not at all," said Death. "I played no part in this.
Although it is clear to me that one of your blood
/did./ I can, of course, say no more."

"You don't have to," Treize replied. "Damn you,
Linnea..."

"That one," Death said sagely, "may damn herself with
little help from you."

"Perhaps," Treize said, revealing no more of his
thoughts to Death than that, but thinking very hard.
Although from the specter's expression, it was clear
that he sensed this, or somehow knew it.

"You are plotting, Ghost Knight."

"You wouldn't wish me to become bored with eternity,
would you?" Treize countered. "And since you seem to
know everything, why should I waste my time
explaining myself to you?"

"Because I still hold power over you, Ghost Knight."

"Less and less as the days pass, old friend. And I
know these when they pass now, where as you do not."

"I am Death. I know all."

"And if you did, we would not be having this
conversation."

Death sighed. "Was there something you wanted?"

"Yes. I had a question, and I've asked it."

"You cannot stop her from what she does, Ghost
Knight."

Treize turned back to face the specter then, one
eyebrow curiously- infuriatingly, Death thought -
raised. "If I were you, I wouldn't be so quick to
tell me what I may and may not do."

"I am Death, lad. Taunting me is not wise."

"And I am the Ghost Knight." It was the first time he
had spoken of himself by the name Death had given
him. "It is not wise to taunt me, either."

Death smiled, a rather hideous sight, one which
Treize had become rather familiar with. He did not
spook easily now, not as he might have years ago,
when he had been newly dead, and very much convinced
that he held no more power than any other soul,
certainly less power than Death. He was less sure now
that was true, but chose to dwell only upon the
matter of the powers he needed immediately. The rest
would come in time. And time was something he had
plenty of.

* * *

Five months later
February AC 200

"-And stay off your feet, I mean it," Sally Po Chang
concluded her lecture, and Lady Une smiled.

"I'll try my best, Sal," she said.

Sally threw up her hands. She set her medical bag
upon the coffee table in Une's living room, and took
a seat upon the edge of the couch upon which her
friend lay. "I'm serious, Une. You're not looking too
good."

"I'm just tired," Une replied. "These two-" she
gestured to her swollen belly "-take a lot out of me.
And how are /you/ doing, my slightly-less-pregnant-
than-I Mrs. Chang?"

Sally laughed. "I honestly think Wufei is having a
more difficult time of this than I am. Little does he
know..."

There was a knock upon the living room door, and
Sally sighed at the same moment Lady Une did.

"What?" Sally called out.

"Doctor? It's Preventer Nichol. I just need to speak
to Lady Une for a moment..."

Une sighed. "It had better be business," she said
quietly. "Come in, Nichol, but keep it brief."

Nichol stepped hesitantly into the room, ducking
Sally's glare, a look many of the higher-ranking
Preventers seemed to adopt whenever he approached
Lady Une. "We just got the final report on the
Council bomb."

"And?" asked Une.

"It was like we figured. The bomb was planted in the
men's bathroom. Mariemaia got it exactly right."

"Speaking of, how's her friend doing- the Ling boy?"
Sally asked.

"Recovering, thankfully," Une replied. "They weren't
able to save his legs, but at least he'll live."

"Poor kid," said Sally.

"Anyway," Nichol went on, seeming irritated by the
interruption, "it looked to be set on a timer, rather
than a detonator."

"And what of the makeup of the device?" Une asked.

"Standard OZ explosives," Nichol said with a resigned
sigh. "We were all kind of hoping Maxwell had pegged
that one wrong."

"I had the same thought," Une replied, "having used
similar explosives a time or two..." She gave a
little shudder. /I am sorry, Relena. To this day, I
am sorry./ "I'd like the full report sent to my
terminal here, Nichol."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll see that you get it as soon as I
get back to the office."

"Thank you. Was there anything else?"

"No, Lady Une."

Une started to reply, then gave a little gasp and
clutched at her stomach. "Oh... honestly,
children..."

"You okay?" asked Nichol.

"Fine," Une replied a bit irritably. Then, to Sally
she added, "They are /active/ at times, aren't they?"

"I think my little one has designs on becoming a Kung
Fu master," Sally replied. "Wufei didn't find that as
amusing as I did, though..."

"Mm," said Une. She drew a deep, shuddering breath.
"Sally," she said, and something in the way she spoke
her friend's name caused the other woman to look at
her, quickly, noting the lines of strain upon her
face, then to look just as quickly at Nichol.

"Out," Sally said curtly. "Now."

Nichol hurried for the door, glancing back every so
often until Sally's expression sent him from the room
at last. Sally herself turned back to Lady Une.

"The twins?" she asked.

"Yes. Very soon, I think..."

* * *

Six hours later

"Oh, for the love of GOD! Treize, if you weren't dead
already, I swear by all that's holy I'd kill you
MYSELF!"

Milliardo winced as he ducked into the waiting room,
balancing several cups of coffee upon a cheap plastic
tray. "I see I haven't missed much," he said,
resuming his seat beside Mariemaia.

She took one of the cups, sniffed at it and made a
face, but took a long sip anyway. "Not really," the
girl said. "I've picked up some really interesting
additions to my vocabulary, though... even though I
still don't see how it would be possible for Father
to do /that/ with the horse he rode in on /and/
Grandfather Lucian at the same time."

Milliardo looked at his wife over the girl's head.
Lucrezia Noin-Peacecraft, for her part, was clearly
snickering behind her hand.

Sally stepped into the waiting room, sweat on her
brow and hair coming loose from her braids. "Will one
of you," she asked between deep breaths, "please come
in here and hold her hand?"

Looks were exchanged. No one said a word, each
busying themselves with checking wristwatches or the
clock upon the wall, sipping at their coffee and
pretending they had no part in this affair
whatsoever.

"Nichol'd do it, I bet," Duo spoke up at last. "And
he's about the only person I'd wish this one on, I'm
afraid."

Lucrezia stood and handed her half-empty coffee cup
to her husband. "Men," she remarked to Sally.
"Cowards, the whole lot of them. I'll go, if no one
minds."

"Please," Milliardo said.

With another shake of her head, Lucrezia followed
Sally into the delivery room, where she took her
place at the head of the bed, offering Lady Une her
hand.

"Hi," said Lucrezia. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm- going- to- kill- him."

"Honey, he's already dead," Noin replied, squeezing
her friend's hand.

* * *

Lady Une drifted in a sea of pain, barely conscious
of Lucrezia's hand in hers, of Sally's calm words, or
the movement of anyone or anything around her. She
wanted to weep from the pain but found that she
couldn't. When she forced her eyes open at last, the
world before her was hazy and white.

And standing at the foot of her bed, as if he had
always been there, was Treize.

The father of her children approached her with
tenderness in his eyes, and a kind smile. He sat on
the edge of the bed and reached out a cool hand to
touch her cheek. "Hello, Angel," he said softly.

"Treize," she whispered. "You can touch me again. Am
I- am I dead?"

"No, Lady. Not yet. But you are very badly hurt. The
birth has- has taken a lot out of you. You're- well,
there's a great deal of blood, and it is not done
yet. The second twin..."

"Oh no," she gasped. "Treize, I... if I die, who will
take care of them? The twins? Mariemaia? They are my
life. They need me, as I need them."

"I know, Lady. And though I proved stronger once than
Death, there is naught I can do here. If it is your
time..."

A tear trickled down her cheek, and tenderly he
kissed her brow. "Did you decide what to name them?"
he asked softly. "Our twins?"

She smiled. "Yes. Terra, for the girl."

Treize returned her smile with one of his own.
"Terra. Earth. It's perfect, Une. And the boy?"

"Lucian," she said. "I hope you don't mind..."

"No," Treize said. "It's fitting. I think even my
stubborn old fool of a father would approve."

"Treize, I... I want to stay with you, but I have
this feeling that... that I'm not supposed to, yet.
Wait for me?"

"Forever, Lady. Forever."

"I love you, Treize."

* * *

"...love you, Treize."

Lucrezia looked sharply at Sally, but the doctor,
having wrapped the first twin and passed her off to a
nurse, was busy now, working to save the other.

"I was afraid you'd left us, Lady," Sally said, as
the first twin, the girl, began to cry.

"Not yet," Une replied. "Sally...why is only one of
them crying?"

"He's just got the cord wrapped around his neck,
Lady... it happens."

"Oh, God..."

Sally worked on the second twin herself, calling one
of the nurses to assist her. The other woman sighed.
"It's not going to make it, Doctor. What's the
point?"

Lady Une, hearing this, was furious. "/His/ name is
Lucian," she snarled at the nurse, "and he is my son.
Sally-"

Before Sally could answer, Lucian joined his more
vocal sister by beginning to cry.

Une heaved a sigh of relief. "Lucrezia? Would you go
get Mariemaia, please?"

"Of course," said Lucrezia, vanishing back out into
the waiting room. "She's fine," she reported to the
anxious-looking gathering. "So are the twins, near as
I can tell. Mariemaia, she wants you."

Mariemaia followed Lucrezia back into the delivery
room, where they found Sally beside Lady Une's bed, a
twin in each arm, issuing orders to the nurses.

"Here they are, Lady Une," Sally said, presenting the
twins to their mother, who cradled them in her arms.

"Oh," said Mariemaia. "I didn't expect them to be
so...small."

Une gestured her closer with a hooked finger. "Come
meet your brother and sister, Mariemaia. This is
Terra, your sister, and Lucian, your brother."

Une smiled, then looked up at Sally uncertainly. "I
feel rather faint," she said softly.

"Not surprising. You lost a lot of blood." Sally
turned to the nurses. "Let's move on that
transfusion, shall we?" To Lucrezia and Mariemaia she
added, "You may want to head back to the waiting room
for a bit. We need to do some cleaning up..."

"I'm gone," said Mariemaia. "I've seen enough blood
in my lifetime, I don't want to see any more."

"Smart kid," Lucrezia said, before following her from
the room.

* * *

Lady Une sat before the window in her hospital room,
gazing out at the night beyond the glass. Terra lay
still and contemplative in her arms, blue eyes gazing
outward. Une smiled down at her daughter.

"That's our world," Une said quietly. "The Earth you
were named after. It's lovely, isn't it? But it
wasn't always. Someday I will tell you about your
father, and a group of brave young people, and how
they changed that world..."

She stifled a yawn. It was growing late, and the only
sound within the room was the steady drip of her IV.

"Showing her the scenery, huh?" Sally asked from the
doorway.

Une turned her head, smiling as she saw Lucian
cradled in the doctor's arms. "Yes. How's he doing?"

"Better. He's still a little weak, but we think all
he really needs is some rest."

"I know I could use that," Une said. "I have never
been so tired in my entire life..."

Sally approached her and placed Lucian in her arms.
"Let me help you back to bed, my friend. That's where
you really ought to be right now, anyway."

"I'm too tired to argue," said Une. "But- do the
twins have to go back?"

"Until you're up to getting out of bed to see to them
when they start crying, yes," Sally replied. "Trust
me. Enjoy this while you can."

"Thanks," Une replied, scarcely noticing as Sally
took the twins from her and pulled the blankets up to
her chin. She was asleep before Sally had left the
room.

* * *

When Une woke again, sunlight illuminated the sight
of at least two dozen roses upon the windowsill. She
smiled and shook her head.

"Aren't those lovely?" asked the young nurse who was
adjusting something on her IV. "You're not really
supposed to have them- hospital rules -but they don't
seem to irritate you at all, and they /are/ rather
pretty."

"Yes," Une agreed. "Could you bring me the card with
them, please? I'm afraid I wasn't awake when they
arrived."

"That's not surprising," the nurse replied, as she
went to fetch the card. "You had kind of a long day
yesterday. I've got twins myself, so I know what you
went through."

"Have you seen them?" Une asked as she took the card.
"My twins?"

"Yes," the other woman said. "They're adorable. They
have such pretty blue eyes..."

Une nodded. "Their father's," she said as she opened
the card, half afraid of what she might find. But the
card read simply, 'With all my love. T. K.' She
smiled.

"I hope I'm not being nosy," the nurse began. "But
I've been wondering... Where /is/ the twins' father?"

"He's dead." Une set the card aside with a sigh.

"Oh...I'm sorry."

* * *

When next she woke, the sky was dark again, and the
rocking chair beside her bed was occupied. Treize sat
there, transparent but surprisingly solid, for he
held Lucian in his arms. He smiled as he saw her
looking at them.

"Hi," Une said quietly.

"Hello." He leaned over to kiss her gently, a kiss
that was like the breath of a warm breeze. "I'm
afraid I can't stay long, but I wanted to stop by, to
see you and the little ones."

"I...almost died, didn't I?" she asked. "No one
really wants to talk about it, but I need to know."

"Yes," he said quietly, "you nearly did. But it
wasn't your time, and that made all the difference."

Une nodded. "You've seen Lucian, obviously..."

"Yes. And Terra. She looks quite a bit like you-
which means, of course, that she's going to break
hearts when she gets older."

She groaned softly. "Please, not for a while... I
don't think I'm ready for that yet."

"Nor am I," the ghost agreed.

The sound of the door creaking open startled them
both, and Treize, Une noticed with a small smile,
instinctively clutched his son closer, as if
protecting him.

"Lady Une?" called out the unmistakable, unwelcome
voice of Nichol. "I just wanted to- Oh. What on
Earth-?"

Treize simply nodded in polite greeting. "Good
evening, Nichol."

The other man paled. "Wha-?" said Nichol, an instant
before he was shoved aside by Mariemaia, as she raced
into the room.

"Father!" she exclaimed.

Nichol withdrew quickly from the room, and as the
door swung shut behind him, they could all hear his
running footsteps on the tiled floor outside.

Mariemaia snickered. "I take it he's not staying?"

* * *

Nichol raced around the corner, and crashed into
Milliardo Peacecraft, who was just rounding the
corner from the other direction.

"Whoa there, slow down, man," said Duo Maxwell, who
followed right behind Milliardo.

"I- I- I," Nichol stammered, "s-saw..." He shook his
head. "Y-you wouldn't believe..."

"You saw?" Milliardo helped him along. "Saw, what?"

"A- a g-ghost..."

The others exchanged looks, and Duo made a warding
sign as Nichol drifted away. "Whatever he's taking,
remind me to steer clear of."

Milliardo, and Duo, along with Trowa, Quatre, and the
others filed into Lady Une's hospital room, Noin and
Relena glancing suspiciously around.

"I hear this place is haunted," Relena said. She
looked from Lady Une laying in bed, to Mariemaia
sitting in the chair, rocking her little brother, and
shook her head. "I don't see anything..."