Author'sNote: This little piece is based on the last chapter of the manga. The italics are to show where Anemone is thinking.

Disclaimer: I don't own Eureka Seven.

The Visit

#

"I think I would like to visit him today," the pink-haired woman said softly before quickly adding, "...if it isn't too much trouble?"

"No, it shouldn't be a problem to arrange." The look in the eyes of the notoriously stern doctor softened as she gazed down at her charge thoughtfully. "In fact, I think some fresh air will do you some good, Anemone. But we'll have to wait until the weather clears up; it's still raining and I don't want you to catch a cold. I'll get you when we can go."

"Thank you, Mischa." Anemone nodded before she returned to her book while impatiently listening to the soft patter of raindrops against the nearby windows, which was blending in with the shallow, rhythmical snoring coming from her sleeping pet.

If it would only stop raining already!

#

"Lovely weather we're having! It has certainly been a while since we got to see a bit of blue," the doctor observed. "There might even be a rainbow later if we're lucky."

The younger of the two women absentmindedly nodded in agreement, obviously distracted. But her companion didn't say anything; the reason was clear enough.

Although Anemone couldn't deny that it was truly beautiful with the white church surrounded by tidy flowerbeds, trees and shrubbery, the tombstones in their uniform rows on the well-kept lawns that immediately dispelled all feelings of mirth or comfort. At first Anemone hadn't understood at all why people insisted on erecting such weighty monuments when they served only as reminders of death and loss, but she thought that she was finally beginning to understand. The markers were physical evidence for everyone to see that those who rested deep in the earth under their shadow had existed once, and not only in the minds of the grieving.

"...I'll be back to check on you in a while," Mischa said quietly as they came to a halt directly in front of the grave that marked Dominic Sorel's last resting place. Before she let go of the handles of the wheelchair to withdraw to the bench that she normally frequented when waiting for Anemone, she sent the man who had set out to save the whole world for that one pink-haired girl, a quick thought. Even if things had been very difficult for her, especially in the beginning, Anemone was finally doing well both physically and mentally. With some outside help, Mischa had managed to repress the pilot of the feared typeTheEND's maniacal tendencies to a level that her daily dose of medication could be cut by almost half, resulting in a surprisingly quiet and gentle young woman. And even if it was doubtful whether or not she would ever overcome the partial paralysis affecting her lower body, Mischa felt certain that Dominic Sorel would have been happy had he known about Anemone's remarkable psychological transformation.

"Mm-hmm." Anemone inspected the basket of flowers already in place on the flat part of his tombstone with a critical eye, carefully comparing them with the fresh bouquet that was resting in her lap. No doubt, the old would need to be changed. "Thanks..."

Mischa couldn't help but to smile; Anemone seemed so completely absorbed in tending to the grave that the doctor didn't have the heart to tell her that the basket of flowers had cost a small fortune and was arranged in such a way that it would last another week. Instead, she nodded to herself before retreating to her bench, finally leaving the young woman alone with her flowers and her memories.

#

Hello, Dominic.

It has been a while, hasn't it?

And as usual, Anemone envisioned him leaning against the large slab of cold stone in front of her, three locks of unruly dark hair framing the calm in his kind, steel-coloured eyes and gentle smile. This was how she wanted to remember him: happy and at ease. (Not as he were, as he had been. Not broken, bloodied and burned. They wouldn't let her see him, but after a fall like that...)

It's me again. I'm sorry for not having visited much lately. I hope you'll like the flowers. Gulliver helped to pick them out.

How are you today?

Oh? I'm glad.

As for me, I'm going well, I think, though nothing has really changed since last time. Mischa is here, too, but she has already gone somewhere else so I could talk to you in private. She's considerate like that, and I know I'm lucky to have her. She really takes good care of me, and unlike most other people, she doesn't treat me any differently because of, you know. I've often thought about it, and it's probably because of Eureka, wouldn't you think? Mischa looked after her long before she met me, and now that Eureka isn't here anymore, she has taken it upon herself to be my doctor. Though, she's more like my caretaker, since I still can't do very much on my own. I suppose that I've gotten used to the chair, even if I'll never like it. Mischa says that there is still a small chance that I one day get my legs back, but with all the nerve damage, I can't help to wonder if it's really true... But I try to stay positive; I would like to walk again someday, even if it's far off. It would be nice not having to rely on so many people for everything all the time, especially Mischa.

I've tried to talk to her about it, you know, but she always looks at me like I'm a complete idiot whenever I suggest there are better things she could devout her time to than me. Like Dr. Bear. But I've yet to say that out loud.

Hm, I've spoken quite a bit about Dr. Bear, haven't I? He's been helping me and Mischa from the very beginning... though now when I think about it, I don't even know if you ever had the chance to meet him! All this time and I have assumed that you had, when it's just as likely you never did. But how should I describe him then? He's big and fluffy like Gulliver and eats even more sweets than I do, but he's very kind; Mischa told me once that only few people in the world are as intelligent, even though he's a bit strange and doesn't look it at all. I think you would have liked him.

Oh! He and Mischa were married once! Just imagine my surprise when I overheard a couple of attendants gossiping about it. I mean, Mischa... married?! Although they're divorced now and have been for quite some time from the sound of it, I think she still cares for him in her own way. He's definitely fond of her, and it makes me wonder if it's really fair how things are right now. To be stuck with me like this... Like you were, especially in the beginning, remember?

Ah, but maybe everything will be okay after all, because it sort of turned out alright for us in the end, didn't it, Dominic?

The new flowers are really pretty like that, don't you think? I finished another sequence yesterday, and an attendant brought me a vase full of them to cheer me up. I like them, and I hope you don't mind them too much even if they're girly pink.

It wasn't so bad this time, just really boring. Mischa never makes me feel like the test-subject I know I am, but with the Coralians gone and Eureka missing, I'm the closest thing there is. I know how important Mischa's research is, and I want to help her in any way I can – but remember how angry I used to get after the sessions!

But that was a long time ago. Besides, it's no good mulling over things you can't change, is it?

I'm older now, in any case, and I like to think that I'm a little smarter than what I used to be; especially since not much else about me seems to change. I'm 24, but I haven't grown any taller and even my face has hardly changed at all! Only my hair changes, little by little; it's even less pink now than last time I visited. Mischa thinks that the only reason why it was so bright in the first place was some component to the old medication, which makes sense – you remember the bright red liquid, don't you? Ah, how stupid and forgetful of me! Of course you do: you used to help me with it all the time, back then. But I'm not taking it anymore – haven't for years now – and withdrawal might have caused the colour of my hair to fade, though the only one other than myself to have even noticed is Mischa. It's still really pink and always will be: it's been too long for things to ever really change.

Sometimes I wonder what my hair colour used to be, in the beginning, before Dewey, the doctors, the tests and everything. Maybe I was blonde or a redhead, even though I wouldn't mind being dark like you; any colour would do, I think, as long as it wasn't a boring old grey.

The whole world is really full of choices now, isn't it?

...though you can't choose everything yourself. Some things are still chosen for you.

Like my legs

It'd been about seven years since I last walked on my own. I don't think about it every day like I used to, but I counted this morning to pass the time; it took almost two hours for the rain to finally stop so I could visit you. Hmm, I know I must have told you this many, many times already and I'm sure you're sick of hearing it by now, but I keep coming back to that moment over and over again. When I woke up after that mission, I was alone. You weren't there, but then Gulliver appeared and people nearby started shouting things, orders and counter-orders. I didn't know what to do; I couldn't find you anywhere and TheEND was missing as well, so I thought you might have taken the kid somewhere. So we left the camp without anyone noticing, to look for you ourselves, and it didn't take very long before we found you. And then we stood there, just staring for the longest time.

I don't think I've ever seen Gulliver look so sad. He really must have liked you a lot, because he jumped up on TheEND, clawing at the hull with his paws as if he was trying to somehow dig you out of the wreckage all by himself. It was such a strange feeling, watching everything, but I think even then, I knew. All of it – everything – somehow, I just knew.

Then some people saw us and started shouting something, and that is the last thing I remember before everything just dissolved. Not into black like it does in the movies, but a slow, dirty fog. But after a while, it really must have gone black, because when I finally woke up, I was in some makeshift hospital full of noise and beds and people; it wasn't anything like the big, white, empty ones I used to go to, but it was a proper hospital, not like the one Mischa must have treated me in the first time. She was there, though, when I opened my eyes and according to her, I collapsed from my injuries when Holland – who, it turns out, was Dewey's younger brother! It's strange how everything is connected together, isn't it? – and his people found TheEND.

Mischa was also the one who eventually told me. After being completely run through by that Coralian antibody, you fell from the sky like a stone; Renton Thurston confirmed as much when he came back. Then, at impact with the ground below, they think whatever hadn't been broken already was completely destroyed. Things were so bent out of shape that they couldn't even pry open the hatch to get to you. Not at first, anyway. But we've talked about this already, too.

Many, many times. Too many times.

Even so, there are still a million things I would like to know. Did you know? Did you see it? See it coming towards you? Or did it attack you from the rear? And what ran through your mind, your blood, that split second before it tore through TheEND? What was it like when the controls stopped obeying you commands and the kid faltered? Did you think about anything? Your life? Your friends? Your mission? Did you have time to reflect or was everything just a blur?

Perhaps it is selfish of me, but I guess that what I'm really asking is if you thought about me.

Oh, Dominic... You stupid, stupid idiot! What on earth possessed you to volunteer to something so dangerous in the first place! You must – must – have known that Renton Thurston in the Nirvash would be near unbeatable on his own! You were good, Dominic, but you weren't trained for this, to be a pilot. Not even TheEND and I could match them, remember? I know you would never have done it without good reason, I just wish...

Ah~ But what is the use of wishing?

You know, I don't think I ever told you before, but I once overheard one of the mechanics at the base saying that it looked as if TheEND was smiling somehow and that it really creeped him out. I didn't understand what he meant back then, but with the kid there on the ground, all twisted and broken and with bits and pieces missing from all over... I think I saw what that man had seen, but it wasn't creepy or scary at all. You must have made the kid very happy, Dominic. I don't know why or how, but I could tell – I could! – because TheEND looked almost peaceful, even with all those spikes driven through it.

I suppose TheEND and I were very alike in that respect: picky about the things we liked. But we both chose you, didn't we?

TheEND never danced with anyone else than me and then you. The kid was funny that way, wasn't it? How it used to dance. Do you remember? It danced with you, for you, back at you, all at once.

Dance.

We got around to any dancing in the end, did we?

To be honest, I don't think I would have been any good. I could dance with TheEND just fine. That was easy, because dancing with the kid was like dancing with myself but bigger. But I don't know if I could have done it very well with another person, or if I could have followed that person's lead without constantly stepping on his toes. But back then, I wanted to try so badly!

Could you dance well, Dominic? Did they teach you at the Academy, or did you ask me because you knew I wanted to? That would have been so typical of you, if you did it me.

Because you did so much for me... didn't you, Dominic? You gave me a name that was only mine, and you showed me that my head wasn't full of straw and that I wasn't just a failed imitation of Eureka, a dummy without a mind of its own, worthless fake. You showed me that I'm me and nobody else.

Oh, Dominic... it's stupid, but even so, I wish... I wish so, so much—

"Anemone? Anemone."

The doctor's voice suddenly broke through her thoughts, "It has almost been an hour. It's time to go back."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I kept you waiting..." She looked up at the older woman apologetically before she smiled. "Okay. I'll be ready in just a moment. We need to find Gulliver first."

I'll see you soon, Dominic. I'll be back before you know it.

It's a promise.