Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is not mine. I wish it was, but it isn't, so at least allow me the privilege of playing with them for a bit.

Going Away-Catherine

"Cathy!" The circus manager banged on her trailer door. "Cathy! Why can't that girl stay put for a change?" He sighed. Ever since she was a baby, she had a habit of disappearing into thin air. But out of all places, one was the most likely.

* * * Flashback * * *

A young man at the age of twenty, clean- and with his hair trimmed neatly, the manager sat on the dirt floor under the circus tent. A somewhat chubby infant with auburn hair, flaming red from long hours playing in the sun, was perched on his lap, hanging onto his arm to keep her balance, as she was still just learning how to walk and was rather shaky at it.

He applauded loudly and stood, setting the child on the ground. "Great, Mrs.Bloom!" He called out. The freckled redhead, about seven years or so his senior, but looking much younger, smiled at him triumphantly. Her husband wiped the sweat from his forehead, pushing his long brown bangs away from his eyes. He edged away carefully from the sharp knives imbedded in wood around him, mere millimeters from his body.

"Well, it looks like you still got it," he praised his wife.

"I never lost it," she retorted. Then she broke into a grin to let him know she was only teasing him, much to his relief. Though he loved his wife fiercely, she was not one he wished to be around in a temper. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but not even that could match with when she was in a bad mood. Childbirth had only seemed to make her stronger. A petite woman, no one would believe she could cause any harm. But one look at her performance as this circus's star knife thrower, in addition to being one of their best trapeze artists and any man would know she was not one to be messed with. Her husband had learned early in life not to try. Friends since childhood, having grown up in the same troupe, he had always been the calm to her storm. Quiet and secretive, his personality had always irritated her somewhat when she was a teenager. She was much more outgoing and friendly, and most people were surprised that they were a couple. Yet, they were and she had always kept a fierce protectiveness of him. Even what would seem relatively harmless to anyone else was like walking into a lion's den to her. Overtime that protectiveness had turned into love and he responded more openly to her than anyone else, although many women swooned over him.

This odd mixture had brought Catherine, Cathy or even Kitty, as her mother sometimes called her, who was in every way just a spitfire as her mother was, even as a baby. And her mother protected her as a lioness would her cub, taking off the first year after she was born. Now she was back in the ring and her husband was once again her target, the only one brave enough to do so, not that she missed often. Her performance had the entire audience on the edge of their seats. Everyone who saw it was in awe of her, except for Catherine that is. Restless from being held, the baby stood and walked wobbly out of the ring. The three adults were chatting excitedly about the upcoming show and failed to notice her. With a brief look back at her mommy, Cathy flopped on her belly and crawled under the tent to the outside world.

"This is going to be great," exclaimed the manager, who was assistant manager back then. "It'll be a full house tonight, that's for sure. Everyone's been waiting for you to make your return, especially here." That night, the circus would be performing in the L3 colony cluster, where most of the members of the troupe, including all of the Blooms, had either been born or had family. This was a big homecoming for them and people from all the colonies had been awaiting it with anticipation.

Mrs. Bloom was grinning broadly. "I know. Isn't it exciting? Not that I would trade this past year for the world, now would I Kitty?" she cooed, turning to gaze fondly at her daughter. Instead, she found herself staring at the floor. "Where's Catherine?" she asked, her heart rising in her throat in a state of motherly panic.

"She was there a moment ago," the manager replied, bewildered. "She couldn't have gone far."
The young mother pushed past him, nearly knocking the poor man to the ground. As soon as he regained his balance, he found himself lose it again as Mr. Bloom tore after his wife. "Um, I'll just look for her in here," he called from his spot on the floor.

With the speed of cheetahs, the Blooms rushed through the tent flaps as if they weren't there. The other circus members present looked at them in surprise. Instantly, she began barking orders.

"You, go look under all the trailers," she commanded, pointing to a clown. He rushed to do her bidding, afraid to ask questions at the moment. "And you guys, check the elephants and the horses." She turned to her husband. "You come with me and we'll search everywhere else."
"Uh, what are we searching for?" asked an acrobat timidly.

She looked at the woman as if she were stupid. "My daughter, who else?" With that bit of information, they hurried to their spots.

The couple searched through every crate and box of equipment in the process of being unpacked. The trailers were crawled under, the ticket booths and souvenir stands were covered. The poor manager, covered in dust, looked under all the stands. The elephants and horses were thoroughly examined, as if one of them might have swallowed her. No Catherine. Finally, her parents came to the last place they could look: the lion's cages. Mrs. Bloom felt her stomach churn. Of all places, this was the one that she feared the most. The lions were the favorite of both her and her husband, who had almost unnatural abilities with them. Well-tamed, she knew the lions to be rather gentle and friendly. But a baby was different than a full-grown, or even a younger human, and she wasn't quite sure how the lions would react around her. The other members of the troupe crowded around in fear, sure that they had seen the last of the dear baby, who was precious to all of them. The manager felt tears of guilt and despair well up in his eyes. But none of them had needed to worry.

Curled up next to one of their prized lionesses, was Catherine, fast asleep. The lioness licked her tiny feet as she would her own cub. Her parents heaved sighs of relief. Mrs. Bloom raced to the cage, only to be greeted with a loud roar. She jumped in surprise; the lioness had never acted this way before. She motioned for her husband to try. He creeped towards the lioness, talking softly to her, only to be responded to in the same way. The noise woke Catherine, who yawned and stretched her little limbs as far as she could. She stroked her new friend's fur, gazing back and forth from her to her parents. Reluctantly, the lioness allowed her to toddle away and squeeze through the bars of the cage. Her mother picked her up and hugged her tight.

"Don't you ever do that again," she sobbed.

Cathy's father patted her shoulder comfortingly. "It's all right now. Let's go inside, it's chilly out here." He led her back to the tent, with the others trailing behind. Catherine peeked over her mother's shoulder and waved her chubby little arm. The lioness roared in response, evoking the same from her fellow lions. The manager looked back at them and chuckled. Look's like Catherine's got a new extended family, he thought to himself. He hurried to catch up.

* * * End Flashback * * *

The manager smiled to himself and headed to the cages. That had been fourteen years ago. Now fifteen years old and practically grown up, Catherine still was crazy about the lions. Sure enough, she lay on the floor of the cage, her head resting on her mother lioness's neck, patting it and talking softly to her. The lioness's mate lay at her feet as she pet him with her other hand. He purred happily like a house cat. Two cubs, just born a couple months before, batted around her sneakers, preferring them to the toy mouse she had gotten for them.

The manager cleared his throat. "I had a feeling I'd find you here," he said. "All packed?"

She sat up and nodded. "Yup, I'm ready." She scooped up a cub in her arms. He cuddled to her chest.

"Are you sure about this?" he continued worriedly. "You could come with us. We may need you in the show."

Catherine raised her eyebrow at him. Although she had her mother's talent for knife throwing, he'd never let her perform before, partly because she was too young and partly because no one would work with her. Catherine was every bit as intimidating as her mother and anyone who tried out for the job, changed their mind the moment the first knife was thrown. All the other circus members refused for the same reason. She suspected her was just using it as an excuse to prevent her from going.

"You know how hard it was for me to get this job," she reminded him. "I can't just back out. I may never get this opportunity again."
"I don't understand, Cathy. Why is this so important to you?"

"It just is, that's all," she replied.

"Catherine," he warned.

"What?" she asked innocently. This only worried him more.

"Just what exactly are you planning on doing?" he asked.

"Nothing, nothing," she said. "There's no harm in just looking around."

"Just looking around?" he said in disbelief. "This is the Specials we're talking about. You've heard the rumors about them. If you stumble on something and they find out, you'll never make it home alive. It's useless. If the Alliance didn't care enough to spare your family's lives, they're not going to care enough to keep records about it. It's a suicide mission. A lot of soldiers and cadets are going to be there."

Catherine nodded. "I know. That's what I'm counting on," she said under her breath.

He still heard her. "You can't still be thinking of that!"
"And why not?"
He put his arm around her. "Cathy," he said more gently. "I know it's hard to accept, but they're gone. All of them."

She shoved him away. "You don't know that. They never found the body. For all we know, he's still alive."

"Even if he is, what makes you think he's there?"

Cathy shrugged. "It's possible. A lot orphans in the colonies were trained as soldiers. He could be one of those cadets."

"I honestly doubt it. And if he is, how will you know it's him? It's been almost twelve years now, be logical Catherine!"

She glared at him. "He's my brother. I'll know. Trust me, I'll know."

Defeated, the manager stormed off. Catherine sank to the floor, hugging the cub to her. He licked her face reassuringly. She squeezed him tight. Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. "Triton," she murmured.

* * * Flashback * * *

"We're going to see the lions, Triton!" Cathy squealed. She bounced her baby brother on her lap.

He picked up a bean bag animal. "Lion?" he asked.

She shook her head, her curls bouncing around her shoulders. "No, that's a lioness. See, no mane." She showed him another one. "This is a lion."

He grabbed it from her and examined it with a 22-month old's curiosity. "Lion," he repeated clearly.

"Yup, lion. Good, Triton." She hugged her little brother.
From the driver's seat of their wagon, Mr. Bloom grimaced at hearing the name.

"This is what I get for letting a three-year old name a baby." He muttered. His wife elbowed him.

"Hush. I'm sure there will be other children for you to name."

He sighed. "Maybe, but she'll probably convince me to let her name them too. And by then she'll have an ally."

Mrs. Bloom laughed. "Oh, come on. It's not that bad."

"Not that bad. My son was named after a mermaid."

"Actually, he's a merman," Cathy called from inside.

"Whatever," her father replied huffily. But inside, he wasn't really mad, just disappointed. Triton was his first son, after all, and already seemed a man after his own heard. Well-behaved and quiet for an infant, the baby apparently would take after his father in personality and looks as well. Were it not for his mother's constant grooming of it, his hair would be in the exact same style. Catherine, meanwhile, was growing more and more like her mother everyday. At four years old, she was extremely attached to her little brother and was like a second mother to him. Among his first words was "Catty," as well as other useful vocabulary such as lion and tent. Triton was already a child of the circus, even though he had actually spent very little time there in his short life.

"Lions, lions, we're gonna see the lions," Cathy sung.

Her parents exchanged glances. Lions were part of the reason they had left the circus a little over a year before. As soon as Triton was capable of walking on his own, his sister had led him straight to the lions. While no harm had been done, as they excepted him like they did his sister, their parents had decided to remain in the L3 colony cluster until he was a little older. Since then, lions were all Cathy could talk about, and now, to her delight, they were finally going back. That morning, they had packed up their circus wagon (circus people had little need or room for cars) and were heading to rejoin their old friends in the city. All of them were ecstatic to be going back. Even baby Triton knew something was happening. But, sadly, not all of them would make it.

About four hours after they started off, the Blooms found themselves in the middle of an Alliance battle. Bombs dropped on all sides oft hem. A tree fell down, blocking the way they came and preventing their escape. They had no choice but to go through if they had any chance at all of getting out of there.

Catherine clung to her mother's arm, which squeezed her tightly in turn. Triton was on the seat next to them, looking at the outside activity in wonderment. Mrs. Bloom had her eyes shut tight as she mouthed a prayer. Sweat ran down their father's forehead, as well as those of the horses. They pressed on as best they could, but they were already tired from their long journey.

Cathy looked out the window. She could see planes flying above, dropping bombs on the anti-Alliance headquarters there. Men lay in the fields, all bloody, and some with missing limbs. Other men ducked underneath whatever possible shelter they could find, though it did little could. It was apparent that the rebels were outnumbered and outmatched. "Mommy," she whimpered. Mrs. Bloom drew her daughter close to her. These were things no child should have to see.

A loud explosion rocked the wagon. It was almost right on top of them. The horses reared. Mr. Bloom shook the reins, trying desperately to regain control, but they wouldn't move.

"We can't make it this way," he called to his wife. "We have to get the children out of here."
She nodded grimly. "Cathy, I'm going to let you out first. I'll hand you your brother, okay?"

"But I want to stay with you!" Cathy wailed. She hugged her mother tightly.

"I know, sweetie, but you have to do what I say, understand?" She clutched her tightly and could feel her daughter's small body shake in her arms.

She lowered the little girl out of the wagon. Then she reached for the baby. But before she could give him to her, another bomb dropped. It hit the wagon with deadly accuracy. Cathy was tossed back by the impact.

"Mommy!" she screamed. The wagon burst into flames. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw something get thrown out of the wagon, but the fire was immense and smoke blinded her vision and made her cough. Her eyes watered and she choked as the wagon and her family burned right in front of her eyes.

"Mommy! Daddy!" The world was black around her. She felt herself being drawn into the darkness. Tired and weary, she whispered "Triton" before slipping into it completely.

* * * * * *

Catherine opened her eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. She was in a small, dimly lit room. The walls were hard stone. A rusty metal staircase was in the hall across the room. She was lying on a hard, lumpy mattress, which was sinking to the floor from her weight. Her head pounded. She looked around groggily. Where am I? She wondered. She felt around in her pockets and found the two bean bag lions squished inside. Suddenly, she remembered what had happened. "Mommy? Daddy?" she whispered. The attempt to speak made her cough.

She heard footsteps coming down the stairs. A young man in a dirty gray shirt and pants with a red piece of fabric tied to his arm, uniform of a rebel faction, made his way down the stairs, jumping down the last two steps.

"Finally awake I see. Are you okay?" he asked Catherine. She croaked, unable to answer him. "What's your name?" His eyes were kind and friendly, but she still could not speak.

He nodded in understanding. "You're at our underground base. The alliance attacked us a couple of days ago. Your family must have gotten caught in the battle. It's over now. You're safe. You've been asleep since then. You're probably hungry. Here." He picked up a tray she hadn't seen before. Impulsively, she threw off the thin sheet covering her and ran up the stairs.

"Hey, come back!" The soldier called after her. Catherine found herself in the midst of ruins. She picked through the rubble.

Mommy! Daddy! She called silently to them in her head. But they weren't there. She searched for almost an hour until a couple of rebel soldiers found her. Her friend picked her up and carried her back.

"Triton," she whispered over his soldier.

* * * End Flashback * * *

"Triton," she murmured. She reached into her jeans' pocket and took out the lion and lioness. Since that day she'd always carried them with her, in case she ever did find him. They reminded her of her and her brother, just as it did when she watched the cubs play together.

After they took her back, the soldiers brought her to the city where she found the circus waiting for her. Part of the rubble from their wagon had been recovered, apparently, that said the name of the circus on it. On their way, Catherine retained the hope that her family would be waiting there for her. But they weren't there, and the bodies were never found. The manager and the others had welcomed her with open arms, like one of the family. "A child of the circus," the manager had called her, and that was what she was. No other place would seem like home. But there was always that feeling that something was missing, and somewhere deep in her heart she kept the hope that they, or at least Triton, were still out there. She knew she had seen something come out of the wagon that day, but no matter how many times she searched, she was unable to find it. Yet something told her he was still alive. To this day, she had never stopped searching.

"I'll find you, Triton," she swore, with the lions bearing witness to her vow. "I promise, I'll find you, if it's the last thing I do."