After Colony: Rebirth
[Epilogue to After Colony: Revelation]
000
It had been two years—two long years. Wufei was growing tired of his constant traveling, but he wasn't exactly thrilled with the prospect of choosing a place to settle down. Quatre kept him busy enough, so he could hardly complain. Though he wasn't 'officially' a Preventer, he was still on their payroll.
CSO 'Gen Two's' weren't keen on talking to the Preventers. After the disbanding of CSO, the soldiers who had undergone neuro-enhancements were quite willing to fall into the background. Most used their impressive skills to carve out new lifestyles: running their own auto repair shops, performing in acrobatic shows, teaching wilderness courses… Wufei had seen all sorts. He created a registrar to keep track of the Gen Two's, just in case something went haywire and someone needed tracked down.
He wouldn't have agreed to the task if Quatre hadn't suggested it and promised that the registrar was his own private project. Neither pilot had any desire to have the soldiers rounded up and placed in one location together. It wouldn't look good for the Preventers to start making containment camps, and they couldn't very well kill masses of people who wanted to just live out their lives in peace.
They never talked about it, but Wufei knew why Quatre had asked him to sign onto the project, and not someone like Trowa or Heero.
After the fire at the Adelphie Manor, the rebels sent in a cleanup crew. They wanted to make sure that the CSO equipment was thoroughly destroyed. Two bodies were found, almost beyond recognition. It was with Isabella's help that they confirmed that Moira and DeBordaris were certainly, fully, and completely dead. The neurochips that each of them had survived the flames since their bases were created with Gundanium.
A third body was never recovered. Wufei was told that the basement of the house took the brunt of the damage, having hit the ground with some force then been subjected to the flames. He was told that there was no way that anything could have survived, that almost everything was crushed or burned.
Yet still Quatre allowed him to travel each time a new medical record of interest crossed their paths. He still allowed for Wufei to look into each case and browse through all of the CSO 'Super Soldiers.'
Wufei pinched the bridge of his nose and grimaced.
The smell of fish was vile.
He shoved his hands into his pocket as he stepped off the ferry, walking quickly across the perpetually wet dock. There were fishing boats lined up and down the wooden edge, and he was sure if he could get away, the odor wouldn't follow him.
This was one of the oddest places he had traveled to thus far. The town itself wasn't 'off'—far from it. It was a very small town on an equally small island, just off of the coast of Maine. He had traveled to the United States a few times in recent years. He had found that the Gen Two's were able to blend right in, particularly in the southern states. He had never been, nor planned on going, to Maine.
What was odd was the fact that there had been literally no record of Gen Two presence. There were no stories about any impressive feats and the town's medical records were almost non-existent. In fact, the town only had a small practice; there was no hospital or chain facility.
He supposed that made the annoyingly small town even better for Gen Two's to relocate. He wondered how long he would have to stay, since he really had nothing to go on.
Quatre just sent him the coordinates, and hadn't answered him since.
The walk into town only took him about ten minutes. He hadn't seen any taxis or many other vehicles, for that matter. It seemed as if most people were content to walk about from shop to shop. The town of Jasper's Cover couldn't have had more than a thousand people and he suspected most lived within the 'town' itself.
Right along the main street, he found a small bed and breakfast of sorts called the 'Tranquility Inn.' He rolled his eyes, wondering how anything in this town could be anything 'but' tranquil.
It was a cozy sort of place, done up in something of an early Victorian style. Most of the woodwork and furniture looked original and well kept. When no one came to greet him, Wufei tapped the small silver bell sitting on the front desk twice. A very startled looking woman came from another room behind him, looking as though she had fallen asleep.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She said, covering her mouth as she yawned. "I wasn't expecting anyone to be checking in today. Do you have a reservation?"
"No," Wufei said curtly, "I've just got in. I couldn't find any information online about hotels, so I figured I would wait until I arrived."
The woman nodded as he spoke. "Yes, that does make sense, very little of our town information is on the internet. We like to do things the old fashioned way here—it's been working for a very long time!"
He clenched his jaw in attempt to hold his tongue. He wasn't in the mood for chatter. "Do you have any rooms available?"
"Well yes, of course. How long do you plan on staying?" She pinned her name tag in place once she stepped behind the desk. Her name was Maggie.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?" Maggie repeated, looking at him with a raised brow. "Oh, I see! You're one of those 'soul searchers,' aren't you? Well Jasper is a great place to give yourself a mental break and unwind a bit. I'm sure you'll find it, well, tranquil!" She pointed to the "Tranquil Inn" sign above her head to reiterate the point.
"I'm sure."
"We're rather low on booking, and we're nearing the end of the travel season… If you don't mind a bit of an up-charge, our guest house is available. It's just out back, through the garden. It does get a bit dark though, and if we have a lot of rain the walk way can be a bit muddy…
"That's fine, I'll take it," he said, squeezing his duffle bag. He hoped he wouldn't be in the town for very long, but he supposed having a separate building from the chipper woman and any other guests would be particularly preferable.
"Great," Maggie said with a smile, "if we go with the long term guest plan, it will be three hundred and fifty dollars for a week. If you decide you would like to stay for the month, let me know and we can discount the payment. You can only stay until the end of September though—our off season starts then and the main Inn shuts down. Unless you sign a lease, you'll have to find a more permanent location."
"That's fine," he repeated and pulled out his wallet for his 'business' credit card. Maggie happily took the shiny silver card and swiped it.
It took another half hour for her to give him the keys to the guest house and leave him in peace.
Getting over to Jasper's Cove had been a battle. Apparently, the ferry from the mainland only ran twice a day—once in the morning, and once in the evening, to carry any commuters back and forth. Wufei had waited around in a little café for two hours before he could hop on the rusted boat that still took over a half hour to get to the island.
As much as the queen sized bed, with a fluffy comforter and clean sheets that vague smelled like jasmine, called out for him to nap, he simply couldn't bother with it. His clothes were wet and he would have to change, and he didn't much feel like the hassle was worth it.
Instead, he would search out food. And, hopefully, start scoping out the locals. Wufei dropped his duffle on the creaking hard wood floor and opened it to unpack his toiletries. His hair was a mess from the ferry ride and he felt he was more likely to scare people away in his present condition.
When he went into the roomy but very chilly bathroom, he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. He was twenty four now, going on forty. All of the gundam pilots, it seemed, looked older, or at least wiser, than their actual years. They had seen and done more than most would do in their lifetimes. They had done their fair share, and it wasn't exactly unreasonable for them to think they had earned a new lifetime of reprieve.
With an irritated frown he set his stuff on the counter and quickly left the room.
The threat of rain seemed to hang in the air. The wind picked up, occasionally blowing leaves and dirt right by his face. This wasn't the night for him to go exploring. Wufei found the closest restaurant and walked in, the door slamming behind him from the wind.
Eyes turned on him from every part of the room—from the bar a bit in front of him, from the four tops a bit behind the bar, and from the booths to his right.
"Don't mind the door," a gruff voice called out as it left the kitchen. An older, larger man came out carrying a crate of glasses. "It has a mind of its own when the wind is-a blowin'. Take any seat you want and grab a menu, I'll get Phe out here. Phe!" The man bellowed over his shoulder. A woman called back, though Wufei didn't pay much attention to what she said.
He took a menu from the bar as direct and went right to the booths. There were nine other patrons in the restaurant—only two of them were at the booths, and sitting together. Wufei slid towards the window so he could watch the storm roll in and mind his own business.
"She'll be out in a minute," the man called out from over the bar. Wufei glanced over at him more properly now. According to his name tag, the man was Marty, and he was the owner of the restaurant. "What can I get you to drink? Soda? Iced-tea? Brew?"
"Iced-tea," Wufei replied with a nod. Within moments, the man was filling him a glass and walking it over. He dropped it off and headed back to the bar with a limp, Wufei noticed. He made a mental note of it, though it was likely inconsequential, and sipped at his drink.
He was still looking at the menu, most of which was sea food, to his dismay, when the waitress walked over.
"Sorry about that, I was shutting the kitchen windows before the rain hit. What can I get you? Our specials for the day are the cob salad with a side of homemade clam chowder and shrimp fajitas. Just as a warning, all of our catch is fresh, so it doesn't always taste the way tourists expect," the waitress said, tapping her note pad with the back of her pen.
Wufei took a sip from his glass and turned to look up at the woman.
The moment he laid eyes on her, he swore his heart stopped as the wet glass slipped from his hands, hit the table and hit the cobblestone floor.
"Oh, no… Don't worry about it, I've got it. Look what you did, Marty! You didn't even give the poor guy a dry glass!" The waitress, Phe, quickly pocketed her little notebook and caught the towel her boss threw at her. She knelt down, rolled up her sleeves, and started to wipe up the tea and the chunks of broken glass.
His hands balled into fists and he fought to keep his composure. Was it a trick? An elaborate joke? No, it couldn't be. He would recognize those green eyes anywhere, even if they were sparkling.
Wufei clenched his jaw so tightly, he thought his teeth would shatter. Her brunette hair was pulled up and he could see what looked like scarring on the side and back of her neck—burns. Glancing down further, he saw that the burns extended down to her left arm, almost to her wrist.
She glanced up and smiled at him, with no recognition in her eyes, which only made him more uncomfortable. However once she noticed he was looking at the burns on her arm, she seemed to become equally as uncomfortable and quickly pulled her sleeves down again.
"Sorry about that, sir, I'll get you a new glass. Iced tea?" She hurried away, taking the glass and the towel with her.
Wufei watched her walk away, following her intently as she escaped back to the kitchen. Her voice… it wasn't what he had imagined. He supposed when he heard her speak before, it was always Isabella's voice—British with a slight Italian flair to it. Not so… American.
The waitress, 'Phe,' reappeared moments later to fill a new, dry glass with tea and walked back around with a smile. "Alright, that should be better. Do you need an extra minute?"
Wufei chewed the inside of his lip for a moment before folding the menu and setting it down. "What do you like?"
Phe put a hand to her hip and looked up towards the ceiling, looking deep in thought. "Hmm, I personally like the Maple Salmon dish, but that's because my taste buds aren't exactly up to par, and I need a lot of flavor in my dishes. Some people like it, some people hate it."
"I will try that," he said with a nod. She smiled and scribbled it down.
"Sure thing. I'll put the order in. My name's Phe, just give me a shout if you need anything, okay?" She turned and disappeared once more.
Wufei sat quietly for a few minutes, staring out the window as the skies darkened. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, looking at the last message from Quatre—the one with only Jasper Cove's coordinates. He clicked reply.
'Leave of absence.'
Two minutes later, his phone buzzed with a new message.
'Let me know if she needs anything.'
While he waited on his food, Wufei wondered how much the lease was on the Tranquil Inn's guest house.
000
Author's Notes: There wasn't much feedback as far as opposition to an Epilogue, so I decided to just go ahead and post it. I wanted Wufei to have a chance at a happy ending.
To be clear, Edan is dead. Edan was created after the final neurosurgery, so that personality is gone. For anyone saying "that's impossible, she shot herself in the head." Well… I did a bit of research. First of all, surviving a head shot happens more than you would think. Additionally, it was mentioned much, much, much earlier that the neurochips were made out of Gundanium. Even after the fire, Moira and DeBordaris's chips remained. The chip is severely damaged, but it ultimately saved to her life.
To quote Bruce Banner from the Avengers regarding his alter ego… "So what, he saved me? That's nice, that's a nice sentiment."
If you read my one-shot for the Endless Reflection challenge, titled "His Daughter Is Not Weak," then you know now why it could possibly count as a follow up to this story.
Thank you for everyone who has been reading. After Colony: Revelation is officially complete! I will now turn my attention to other endeavors. (Yes, I'm going back to Cosmic Apathy.)
Ever Your Servant,
A.F