Chapter Fifty-two: Here Then Gone, Then Back Again
The Lady Trinity Barton smiled at herself in her full-length mirror. It was the smile she put on to make people feel at ease around her, to make them trust her. She swished her ankle length crimson evening gown around her, approving of the garment before taking it off and handing it back to her maid.
"That will be all." Trinity said, dismissing the woman. She re-dressed into her usual green blouse and black slacks. She pushed her blonde hair back into a ponytail and let her 'trust' smile turn into a dark smirk.
"Enter, Drizzik." She said, turning towards the door.
The lavender haired warrior came in and shut the door behind him. He bowed. "My Lady."
"I was very pleased with your brother, Drizzik. I'm going to have a little training exercise for him soon." Trinity said, offering him a drink.
He took it and leaned against one of the armchairs she had in her quarters. "Good. He will not disappoint you. Are you sure you do not wish me to attend the ball?"
"I'd love for you too, however, with your…unusual coloring, I'm afraid you would be noticed to much. I don't want everyone knowing about you yet. But think of it, Drizzik. Soon we'll have everything we want. I will be unstoppable with two dragon warriors. The fake Trowa Barton is dead, his sniveling little partner Quatre Winner will no longer fight, and after tomorrow, Duo and Anna Maxwell will no longer be of concern. It's all shaping up very, very, nicely."
"I'm afraid that Relena Dorilan is still a problem. The Yuys and her brother foiled both our attempts yesterday."
"It is of no importance. Once the gundam pilots have fallen, Relena Dorilan will no longer hold the position she does. She's a decent diplomat, but she has always had the backing of the Preventers and the gundam pilots, and her brother…"
"Jack Avis is still alive."
"Let him stay that way. He knows nothing. However, an idea has just occurred to me."
"What?"
Trinity turned icy blue eyes on her right hand man. "Attack Zechs Marquise. I want him out of the game. Do not fail me, Drizzik."
Drizzik smiled darkly. "Never, my Lady. I will return with better news."
At the townhouse in Chicago, Anna threw her keys in her purse and violently snatched her coat from the back of the couch. She flung open the door to find Wufei with his hand where the doorknob had been two seconds ago.
"Ohayo, Anna…"
Anna nearly went chibi. "Hi, Fei-chan, bye Fei-chan, got to run, I need to pick up Jack from the hospital and I'm going to be late because I have to sign his release papers and…"
"Anna, shut up." Wufei said, grabbing her wrist and dragging her inside.
She blinked up at him.
He sighed. "Anna, you know I love you, and there are many ways to describe you, but your impression of Chase on a sugar high in her early teen years is lacking. What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing." She squeaked.
"Where is Duo?"
"Gone." She squeaked.
"Gone where?"
Anna let out a tremendous sigh and flopped on her couch. "I don't know. He'll be back, though."
"Why did he leave?"
"He needed space."
"Space for what?" Wufei asked.
"To grieve for the son he never had." Anna said flatly.
The Chinese man stared at her. "It's…Mirek…"
Anna shook her head quickly. "No, no. He doesn't know. He found my box. The pictures, the letters, the fabrics and colors and everything…"
"You kept a box?" Wufei asked sitting next to her.
She nodded. "Yeah. I had to keep it. It was the only I had to remind me that I had been a wife and almost a mother."
"So that makes four that know." Wufei said with a sigh.
"Four?"
"You, me, Heero and Duo."
"Oh, that's right. I'd forgotten that I'd told Heero when he showed up."
" That and I told him last week."
"Oh."
They were silent together for a long time, until Anna stood up with a sad smile. "I really do have to go get Jack's release papers signed."
Wufei nodded. "I'll be here."
"I know."
She left and Wufei ran a hand over his face. This was going to be difficult.
Five minutes later, Duo burst in the door, cheeks red, and eyes flashing. "Where's Anna?" he asked, steam coming off his breath.
"She went to the hospital. What's going on?"
"They've taken Zechs. He was wounded in the process. Somebody else was too, the connection I got with Chase was fuzzy. They need somebody as backup."
"I'll go." Wufei said.
"No, I should go." Duo said.
"You need to stay with your wife."
"Would you pilot the Tallgeese?"
Wufei faltered.
Duo nodded. "I'll go. Tell Anna I'll be back before Sunday night. We might be getting into the midst of the war now." He patted Wufei's arm. "I'll be back." He stopped at the door. "And, Wu-man?"
Wufei cringed. "Nani?"
Duo grinned. "Thanks. For being there when I couldn't be." He left.
Wufei blinked. "No wonder they got married. Their the only ones who could handle each other's confusion."
Jack Avis looked up from the window when he heard the door open. He smiled back at the grin Anna gave him.
"How are you feeling?" Anna asked, pulling his chart out.
"Good. A little stiff, but everything's working right." Jack answered.
"Good, good. Let's get you out of here." Anna said, putting her signature to a few of the papers.
"Can I ask you one question?"
"Anything you like." She answered. Jack was about to say something when her cell phone rang. He grinned and motioned for her to answer it. She nodded thanks and flipped it open. "Anna Maxwell."
"We have problems," Meg Collins voice told her.
"What kind of problems?" Anna asked warily.
"Trowa's body is gone." Meg said.
"I assume that means the rest of him is gone too." Anna said dryly.
"Anna, I'm serious! He's gone!"
"What do you mean, he's gone? He was the living dead last time I checked." Anna hissed.
"Well he has to be one or the other now, because he's gone. I lost him!"
"How could you loose Trowa's body!?" Anna nearly squawked.
"I don't know!"
"Well find him!"
"How?" Meg cried.
"I don't know!" Anna exclaimed. She turned and met Jack's stricken expression. "I have to go." She told Meg softly.
"Okay." Meg said. "I guess I can stage a burial for him, so at least OWN won't find out."
"That sounds good." Anna said. "Bye." She hung up. "Jack…"
"He's dead." Jack whispered. "Trowa's dead."
"Jack, it's not…"
He shook his head stopping her. "I want to see him." He whispered.
"Jack, darling, Meg says that there isn't a…his body is gone."
The young man shut his eyes. "There's a grave?"
"Hai."
"Then I must see it." He whispered.
Anna nodded slowly. "Let's get you out of here, get a couple changes of clothes for you, and we'll go."
Jack nodded and signed his papers.
The ride from the hospital to Anna and Chase's townhouse was subdued and silent. Jack stared out the window at the blurring images passing him by, lost in his own thoughts. Anna ached for the boy, for she knew what he was feeling. But as usual, there was nothing she could say to make it any better. Time and silence are the only things that healed.
Jack followed her into the townhouse and set his pack down. "You have a nice place." He said quietly.
"Thanks. I wish I could spend more time here." Anna said. "We'll use the laptop, if you don't mind. It's cheaper, and faster."
Jack nodded and sat heavily on the couch. Anna smiled sadly at him before going to the stairs.
"Fei-chan?" She called.
He appeared at the top of the steps. "Yeah?"
"Jack's here, but we're going to Tokyo for a bit. I'll be back before the 'inaugural ball' tomorrow."
"The what?" Wufei asked.
"Duo and I received a joint invitation to some sort of inaugural ball at Peacemillion Hall tomorrow night."
"Duo's gone, Anna. Heero contacted him. Apparently Milliardo was injured along with somebody else. They needed backup."
"WHAT?!?!" Anna squawked. "He couldn't have! We've both got to go to this thing tomorrow! It could be our only opportunity to see who's actually behind the OWN group!" she exclaimed.
"You panic too quickly, woman. I'll go with you."
"I hate to burst your bubble, Fei-chan, but you hardly look like a Maxwell." Anna said flatly.
"I'm afraid I'm all you've got."
"Fine, fine. But if they shoot at us before we get in the door, it's all your fault, baby." She said. She moved past him and into her bedroom.
Ten minutes later she reappeared, dressed in black pants, a black blouse, black leather jacket, and her dark-rimmed glasses. Her hair was pinned back. Wufei could see the shape of her gun in her holster under the jacket, and the laptop was under her arm.
"You look like you did when we used to fight against Treize." He said quietly.
"I'm going to mourn the death of a gundam pilot as a gundam pilot. 'Cause deep down, that's what we all really are."
He nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Ja ne, Fei-chan." She said.
Anna gently touched Jack's shoulder. "You ready?"
He nodded and grabbed his pack. "As ready as I'll ever be."
They were gone in a flash of light.
Seconds later, Jack Avis and Anna Maxwell appeared in front of the hospital where they had been earlier. Jack waited outside while Anna went in and talked to Meg. She returned and they hailed a cab to take them to a private cemetery on the outskirts of the city.
The cab left them at the gates of the cemetery as dusk began to fall.
"She said it was secluded in the back." Anna said softly. Jack nodded almost imperceptibly. The only other sounds heard was the quiet chirping of the few birds still out.
After a short walk, they crested a hill walked through a small forest. Anna gasped as they came upon an empty meadow. Empty, save the lone headstone. Jack looked at her questioningly.
"This is it, isn't it?" he murmured.
"Hai…demo, this place is still here in the future. At least it was in 197 A.C."
"How do you know?"
"It's the spot we all agreed to be buried on. We thought that as pilots and a team we should all…together…but no one else knew." Anna half whispered.
Jack only nodded, not really listening. His eyes were fixed on the headstone and on the name that was engraved there. He could feel the hot moisture on his cheeks before he even reached it, and when he got there he fell to his knees. "Trowa…Trowa," he breathed. He leaned his forehead against the stone and sobbed.
He ran his fingers over the writings on the stone as he cried. "I'm sorry. I should have been there… I'm sorry I could only save you once…" he whispered.
He let out a strangled cry and drove his fist into the headstone. Anna jerked forward at the sight. She dropped to her knees behind him and grabbed his fist as he moved to hit it again.
"Jack, Jack, don't." She begged.
He fought against her before turning and crying against her. She held him tightly.
"Jack, listen to me. He cared about you very much. I knew him for a long time, and didn't know him for a long time, but I can tell you this. I can name four people that he held in his heart and his soul. And you're one of them. Nothing will ever change that. You were special to him, and you always will be."
Eventually his shaking subsided and pulled away. He kissed his palm before pressing it against the stone.
They stood, and silently left the cemetery.
Dawn broke out over Tokyo in brilliant shades of pink and red as the sun rose. Jack Avis pulled his jacket closer around him and pushed the gate to the cemetery open. He had come to say a final goodbye, because once he left, he didn't know if he could ever come back.
He breached the hill, breath frosting in the early morning air. He slowly moved through the thick trees, heading for the meadow. As he neared it, Jack paused on the tree line, just staring at the meadow. It was beautiful in the light. The sunbeams danced off of the dew, making everything glitter.
Even the ominous marker that bore Trowa's name, Jack noted. He started towards it and froze as his eye caught something lying atop the headstone. He squinted, and the sun bounced off the object, glinting red. His heart clenched. It looked like…but it couldn't be.
Jack ran headlong the rest of the short distance and once again knelt. He reached for the object, fingers trembling. It was an envelope, and wrapped around that envelope was a little silver cross with a ruby in the center. The envelope had his name on it, in an all too familiar scroll.
Shaking, he clutched the cross and opened the note. Inside it simply read:
Do not stand at my grave and
weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on the snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there, I did not die….
Jack was frozen in place, a shocked look on his pale features. Time momentarily stood still for the young man as his shattered world repaired itself. He jumped up, trained eyes scanning the area frantically. "Trowa? Trowa! Trowa! Doko wa?" he cried.
At the entrance, Anna frowned and listened. She'd thought…yes, there it was…it was Jack, she realized. Shouting for Trowa. She took off at a dead run, passing the rest of the cemetery in a daze. She quickly navigated the trees and stopped at the meadow, breathing heavily.
Jack turned to her, eyes wide. "He's alive."
In 210 A.C. Duo Maxwell shook his head as he got off the elevator of a much different hospital from the one in Tokyo. The first thing his found was Chase in the waiting room. She greeted him with serious and furious green eyes.
"Who else got hurt? How bad is it? And how did they kidnap Zechs?" he asked.
Author's notes: Konnichiwa, minna-san! Finally working on this again! Life is crazy, what can I say? At any rate, the poem enclosed in the previous chapter does not belong to me. It is an anonymous poem I found on the internet. Kudos to whoever wrote it, though. It's a brill piece of work!
