A chill wind passes as orange and arrange and brown leaves are tossed around. Cold had set in on the land as the seasons change was made noticeable. Trees turned from their lush green to a cool fall gold with hints of yellow and brown mixed in. each breeze pulls more leaves from the soon to be empty trees. The leaves tumble as a black car rolls through them on a dark paved road. The car vehicle was a Hearse that was being followed by three other vehicles. They drove slowly down the road as they approached a field with grave stones. The Hearse takes a turn and begins to drive up a hill to be met by seven soldiers in uniform. Six of them stand in a two by three row across from a commanding officer. As the Hearse pulls up between them the right most officer in the front of the line raises his hand to salute along with the officer on the other side of the road. The hearse pulls past the group of men and women and comes to a halt, further back the other cars have also stopped in the middle of the road.
Inside these three other vehicles sits the members of the 501st joint fighter wing. Minna is sitting behind the wheel of the first car, along with Barkhorn, Hartmann, and Sakamoto. They are silent in the cars as they watch what is unfolding in front of them. Minna is trying to get these memories out of her head of what has unfolded after the death of her friend. Without breaking their formation the soldiers lower their hands and begin to march towards the back of the vehicle. The driver of the hearse has exited the car and opened the large back door. The girls can see a coffin with the Britannian draped over it. The soldiers march forward and then take a ninety degree turn to face the coffin. The march forward until they are directly behind the car, continuing to move their legs until they all put their heels together. The six turn towards each other in line with the back of the vehicle. An officer from the end of the line walks up to the coffin and adjusts the flag so it hangs off the end. The commanding officer still standing on the other side of the road raises his hand to salute once again as the woman who adjusted the flag begins to pull the coffin out of the vehicle. As she pulls it back the others pass it along holding onto the poles that line its sides.
When the coffin is completely outside of the Hearse and being supported by the other officers the woman standing at the end begins to position herself back at the side of the coffin. Setting a foot to the side then bringing the other one in her makes her way back into position one movement at a time. She then takes hold of the pole along with the others and they begin to take steps away from the Hearse. Each step is one motion as they pull back and stop, then another step, and another until they are far enough back to maneuver. Moving the non-holding arm to an L shape they then rotate towards the hill. Each motion they make is once again one by one, stopping between each step. The two men now at the front take a corner of the flag and extend it outwards with their free hand. In perfect unison they fold it back revealing the coffin. They then all grab hold with two hands and begin to walk it towards the many graves that sit on the hill. As they walk past the commanding officer he is still saluting, the Witches begin to exit their vehicles to follow the coffin onto the grass.
When everything is so silent Minna can really hear what goes on in the world around her. A flock of geese are flying south above and there is the occasional crunch of a leaf below someone's foot. She crosses her arms as she feels a chill come over her. It is so silent she can even hear the flag move in the wind, it makes a subtle sound as it is moved and the occasional clang is heard from its pole. She exhales a sigh as she walks with her comrades. She can hear the occasional sniffle from behind her but does not wish to be rude by turning around. Barkhorn is walking beside her and through the corner of her eye she can see some tears building up. Even Minna herself has to contain herself in order to hold back tears from entering her eyes. The silence is then broken as they approach the grave site.
"Present Arms!" A woman in uniform shouts as a line of seven soldiers standing in front of her lift their rifles across their chest. With their gloved hands the officers move as one and position the rifles in front of themselves vertically.
The girls stand by and watch as the casket is walked over to where it will be buried, the officers come to a stop as the commander stands at the head of the casket and salutes. They begin to side step over the grave moving pace by pace until it is positioned over the hole. They gently set it down on supports and let go of the handles. Each officer takes hold of the flag and pull it tight above the coffin. The flag stays suspended over the coffin for what feels like a lifetime. As this proceeds Minna still can't shake off what is going on inside her head.
"I'm sorry but the search and rescue effort didn't return anything" A man holding a case said as he sat across from Minna in her office. "It was difficult to get the operation going so quickly, we lost hours getting prepared and trying to handle the situation at hand. A destructive event like that caused a lot of problems for the Gallians and us Britannians" the man said apologetically.
"So there was no traces at all?" Minna asked.
"Not entirely, that's why I'm here. It pains me to tell you this but we did find the suit" The man said pulling out some photos. "It washed up on a small beach in mostly one piece." He said.
"Mostly?" Minna inquired
"As you can see from these photos it's missing an arm and a leg but the armor held together relatively well" He said as Minna looked at the pile of photos he placed on the desk. Minna is almost brought to tears as she sees the crippled and melted mass that was once her friend. It lies face up in the sand, the body is horrible melted and covered in sea life and dirt. She puts her hand down and pushes the photos away not wanting to look anymore.
"We… we already knew about the arm." She said in a quiet tone closing her eyes for a few seconds to cover any tears that may show. "And his body? How bad is it?" she asked. The man sighed and looked down shaking his head.
"I'm sorry, when something like this occurs… an explosion of so much energy." He cuts his sentence short trying to think of what to say. "It's amazing the suit survived in the condition it's in… maybe… if there weren't any openings" he stops again still unable to find a way to put his sentence.
"There… isn't anything left? Is there?" Minna asked
"Yes… The amount of energy at that close of a range complete evaporated John if he wasn't dead from the initial shock." He said and there was a silence.
"Is there anything else…?" She asked and the man reached into the case and pulled out something in a sack.
"We thought that you would… want to hold on to this. Seeing as there was no body." He said and pulled from the bag a piece of metal that was cylindrical in shape. He handed it to her and she held it with care. It had a little weight to it as she turned it in her hands. When it came around to the flat end she recognized it as a core. Its glass was shattered and the metal was blackened but other than that it held up pretty well. She slowly places it on the desk lowers her head and puts her hands together, placing her elbows on the desk as well. She takes a deep sigh.
"Thank you for this information, you are dismissed" She tells the man, he stands up from the chair and walks out the door.
Minna's concentration is broken when the sound of rifles firing snaps her back to the present. She is startled from the loud noise but shakes it off. Looking over she sees the officers holding their rifles had fired them into the air in unison. She looks over to the casket where they are still holding the flag, something inside her burns with the knowledge that the casket was empty. The only piece of John that existed was the core that was left behind.
In one motion the officers ejected the shells from their weapons. Each one fell to the grass and was immediately lost.
"Aim." The woman ordered as the officers readied their weapons once again and pointed their rifles outwards.
"Fire." She commanded and the triggers were pulled, once again every gun went off at the exact same time with a loud crack and puffs of smoke. They repeated this one more time with the same motions. Turning to eject the shell, readying the weapon and then firing. The Officers positioned their bodies so they would be standing with their shoulders aligned and returned their weapons to the position they were in originally.
When the gunfire stops Barkhorn focuses her attention back on the casket. The silence gives her time to think back on recent events as well.
Barkhorn sits on her bed looking down at the floor. The events that had past recently keep replaying in her mind. She can still see that same flash of light and hear the sound from that day. It makes her stomach turn and ache as she thinks about it. A tear drops from her eye onto the ground, its splatters with small dots of water in all directions. She just continues to stare at the stain on the ground until she hears a knock on wood. Springing up she looks over to see Shirley was standing in the doorway.
"Knock knock" Shirley said gently not wanting to seem intrusive to the girl. Her arm leaned against the door after she had tapped at it and she awaited approval to enter, she wanted to give Barkhorn space if she needed it.
"I saw the door was open, mind if I come in?" Shirley asked as Barkhorn quickly used her sleeve to wipe away any tears before Shirley could see them.
"Yeah, Sure" Barkhorn said in a hoarse voice, she hadn't talked to anyone that day so her words came out muffled and unprepared. Shirley walked in and took a seat next to the girl. She put her hands on her knees and straightened her back before letting out a sigh and relaxing her posture.
"How you holding up?" Shirley asked the girl.
"I'm fine why do you ask?" Barkhorn said trying to cover up what she was feeling.
"Because you're not the kind to lock herself in a room all day… If you wanna talk about… him, I think it'll make you feel better" Shirley said as Barkhorn became silent for a moment. She just looked down at the ground and thought to herself.
"Charlotte… I have a confession to make" Barkhorn looked at the girl.
"Don't worry… I know" Shirley smiled to the girl.
"Wait? What?" Barkhorn asked shocked with the girl's response.
"Minna told me all about it, I knew you and John were together in his final moments outside of combat… and even what happened before that. You're not good at covering it up" She lightly laughed as Barkhorn was hit with confusion. She regrets telling Minna about any of that when the commander and her were spending time together after Johns death.
"Wait… why are you laughing about this? Weren't you two together? Wouldn't I have ruined everything?" Barkhorn asked feeling really guilty about the recent choices she had made towards her friend.
"We really didn't do anything. Sure we kissed and flirted but it didn't have a chance to move past that, I'm sure you two would have come forward… had he not…" Shirley started saying but didn't want to bring up more troubling issues.
"I'm just glad you were still honest with me. The fact that you were still going to tell me what was going on instead of hiding it for the rest of your life was brave. That honesty is why your one of my best friends." Shirley smiles and Barkhorn smiles back not wanting to look the girl in the eye due to embarrassment.
"Thanks… Shirley" Barkhorn said. The two were quiet for a few moments.
"Come on, let's go for a walk. Get some stuff of your chest and some fresh air at the same time. When you lose someone close it's not good to keep it all inside" Shirley said standing up from the bed and looking out the window to see leaves had begun to fall from the trees. She remembered that it was still moderately warm out. She extends a hand to Barkhorn and the girl takes it, the two leave the room to take a walk.
Barkhorn's memory fades as the sound of a bugle cuts through the silence. Its high pitched brass sound echoes over the hills, returning a piece of the song it was playing. Taps rang out over the graveyard as the man pressed his lips on the mouth piece. It was a somber melody that reminds the listener of a departure, many in attendance would hear this played before going to sleep. In this case it was being used to send the memory of John off one last time. As the song comes to a long close the bugler then lowers his horn and raises his hand to salute.
With the end of Taps the line of officers holding rifles once again move in unison to put their guns at their side. The commanding officer standing in front of the flag, still being held tight over the casket, lowers his hand. Now in swift motions the officers holding the flag begin to fold it. Darting their hands back and forth almost like robots they begin their carefully practiced fold. Every time crossing it over they are sure to pull it tight, then cross over once again. They then begin to work a triangle fold down the line as the flag becomes smaller and smaller. It is now one triangle and the officers tuck in the end before handing it to the higher ranked officer among them to inspect. She presses it to her chest and feels the corners to make sure the fold is proper and secure. With a nod she hands it back to the girl across from her. She takes it and turns it, passing it along to the man to her left, and he passes it to the man to his left. The last man in the row turn and presents it to the commanding officer who slowly reaches out a hand under and over the flag to take it. The boy salutes the officer and the formation realigns next to the casket. In one motion they all turn ninety degrees and walk away leaving the officer standing there with the flag. He turns and approaches the witches sitting there watching.
Taking a quick look around Minna sees that it is only the 501st in attendance, John had no one else to call family. Minna is surprised when the man approaches her with the flag and kneels down. She was not prepared for what was happening but went along with it. She guessed that John had named her as next of kin in the event something like this would happen. She was about to cry as the flag was placed in her hands.
"Mam, this flag is presented on behalf of a grateful nation as an expression of appreciation for the honorable and faithful service provided by your loved one" he said to her and she nodded. The man stood and took a step back, the saluted once again. He lowered his hand and walked away to give them their time.
Minna's hands were shaking as she looked down at the flag she had been given. She gripped it tight and tried not to make eye contact with the others so they wouldn't see her crying. Tears ran down her cheeks and onto the collar of her shirt. One or two would fall from her face onto the flag, she repositioned her arms to prevent this from happening.
The group stood and saluted their fallen soldier before approaching the casket, Barkhorn looks over at the stone that stood at the head of the casket and read the words etched into it.
"Johnathan Elliott Walker. Medal of Honor. Captain, 501st Joint Fighter wing, September 24th, 1944." She spoke to herself as Shirley approached and looked it over.
"A Posthumous promotion to captain, he would have loved that" Shirley said as she placed her hands in her pockets to fight off the cold.
"Why's that, I thought he would have enjoyed the Medal of Honor more?" Barkhorn asked the quietly.
"Because we wouldn't be able to boss him around anymore" She smiled and this lightened Barkhorn's mood a bit. The two walk up to the casket, Barkhorn puts her hand on the cold wood.
"It's hard to believe all that's in here is a piece of metal" Barkhorn said.
"It was all they could find, what a way to go" Shirley said shaking her head side to side trying not to think about the painful experience. "I guess it had to be a powerful piece of magical equipment to keep him going for so long. We could all really learn something from it" Shirley said.
"Maybe it's for the best that it stay with John" Barkhorn said with a smile and giving the coffin a light tap before walking with her friend over to the group.
"I guess you're right, all that power was what started all of this in the first place. Best he keep its secrets safe until the world is really ready for something like that." Shirley said.
Minna was still grasping at the flag as the girls exchanged hushed words among one another. Erica walks over to her and puts her hands out in a gesture to receive the flag from her commander. Minna is hesitant but hands it over to the girl but smiles and puts it in her friend's hands. Erica smiles as the flag is exchanged, this brings warmth back to Minna.
"I think you should say some words, it would be nice" Erica said as she stepped away with the flag. Minna takes a few moments to think as she approaches the casket and extends her hand to it. She lets her hand slide down its side and grip the pole lightly, then releases it. The girls had gathered around waiting for what she was about to say.
"Today we lay to rest a hero…" Minna began. "This is not a word that we throw around lightly, it is a title that must be earned through much self-sacrifice. None enter this world a hero, it is more often an honor we are granted after we have left. That honor is what our friend was granted. Johnathan… John was a kind and caring person, always putting himself in harm's way to protect others. He shared the mentality of many of you here today. Wanting to fight to make the world a better place and he stood by that till the end. We all knew him well for the short time he was part of our unit… our family. He enjoyed the simple things in life and never complained. I remember nights when we would sit up in the watch tower and look at the stars. We made jokes and talked about what was out there, among the stars… and I remember telling him something at the time." Minna said recounting the experience. She chuckles and tries to hold back the tears.
"I guess John is one of the few people to prove me wrong on occasions." Minna laughs and shakes her head looking down still trying to hold it in as the girls smile seeing their commander recount good times.
"Twice… two times I can think of. The first was when I first met him, I was assured that the boy couldn't walk or even eat without assistance. But wouldn't you know it, I walk in a boy buttoning up his shirt ready to hit the road. It was a miracle, and I could have walked away at that moment. Saved myself any trouble but something made me want to see more, and I'll never regret that decision." She becomes quiet and looks down once again.
"Then there is the second time. On a night that we went star gazing John asked me what was going to happen when the hounds were finished chasing him. What would happen when we got him out of the situation? At that moment we were the few that knew what was going on… and I told him something along the lines of 'You won't go down in military history for the lives you saved'" Minna said as the tears started to roll down her eyes.
"Now I see that the two times I was proven wrong by him was when we first met… and when we last saw one another." She says as she begins to lose herself. Her words are coming across a bit harder and she starts to gasp in-between some sentences.
"Today we lay to rest a hero… a member of our family… a great friend" Minna finally gets the words out as the girls approach her. Sakamoto puts a hand on her friends back.
"That was very well said Minna" She told the girl as Minna wiped tears from her eyes. Looking around she could see that her words had brought the others, including Sakamoto, to tears as well. The casket was slowly lowered into the earth and dirt was laid on top of it. The undertaker continued to shovel until the dirt sat as a mound in front of the grave stone. After a while, one by one people would begin to leave the cemetery. All that remains are flowers left on top of the mound of dirt.
Back at the base Shirley and Lucchini are lazing about in the sitting area with not much to do. Lucchini is fooling around with Rorschach when Minna enters holding two frames. She walks over to the mantle above the fireplace and begins to place them there. Shirley and Lucchini rise from where they are to see what she is up to.
"Is that Johns flag?" Lucchini asked as Minna positioned the framed flag. It was in a triangular wooden box with a glass cover. She positioned it so it was facing outwards for people to see.
"Yeah, I thought this would be a nice place to preserve his memory" Minna smiled and then placed a framed photo of the boy beside the flag. It was a photo from when he had first enlisted in the military, he was wearing his uniform and smiling to the camera.
"And last is this" Minna said reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small box. She opened it to reveal the Medal of Honor that had been awarded to John in his death. She placed it beside the photo.
"It's sad that John didn't have family to take these" Lucchini said.
"That's not true… We are his family" Shirley said looking at the items in front of the three of them. She smiles and returns to her seat.
"Excuse me?" a small voice asks from outside the doorway. The three look to see Sanya standing there holding something in here hands.
"Oh, hey Sanya, whatcha got there?" Lucchini asked the girl as she approached.
"When I saw what you were doing I remembered John had left something behind in my room a long time ago" she said holding out the cylindrical item and handing it to the commander. "I was wondering if we could put this up there as well. It was his old core, the one that kept him alive when he first came here" She said. Minna smiles to the girl and places it up there with the rest of the frames.
Sanya smiles back and walks over to the piano bench to take a seat. She looks at the mantle and breathe a sigh of relief. Shirley walks over to the girl and sits down next to her.
"How you feeling Sanya?" Shirley asked.
"I… don't know. After we had a fight we didn't have much time to talk before he died… Do you think he was still angry at me?" Sanya asked in a quiet and concerned manner.
"Sanya… You don't have to worry about that. John was never angry at you. In fact he wanted to stay friends more than anything." Shirley said lightly shaking the girls shoulder.
"Really?" She asked.
"He told Barkhorn and me himself if you want a second opinion" Shirley winked at the girl, Sanya smiled.
"Thanks Shirley, that had really been eating me up these past couple days" Sanya said.
"Don't mention it, Jeez what's with people around here and bottling everything up. We just need to relax" she said as she spun around to face the piano and cracked her fingers.
"Now then, do you know this one" Shirley asked as she started to hit the high keys and play part of a song. Sanya laughs as joins her friend and begins to play the rhythm of the song on the lower keys.
A few days had passed since the funeral and Barkhorn had some time to spend off the base so she decided to bring some flowers up to John's grave. It would be the first chance she would have to visit the grave by herself. She felt it would really bring closure to have some time alone with just her thoughts. After picking some flowers she drove down to the cemetery and pulled up the hill. She had to get out of the car and walk the rest of the way. She opened the door and then stepped to the side to allow Rorschach to hop out of the car. She had been properly training and caring for him in John's absence and had become very attached to the Dalmatian. The fall weather had gotten cooler as Barkhorn had changed into some thicker clothing to come out. Stepping over some leaves that made an audible crunching sound the two walked out through the sea of graves. They were all in straight lines as Barkhorn would read a name to herself every now and again.
When she approached John's grave she was surprised to see someone was standing over it. This person was wearing a long tan jacket and boots as well as a red scarf. She was unable to see who it was as she approached the person from behind. As they do Rorschach trots up to the boy growling but when he gets closer he stops and actually puts his paws on the boy's leg. His tail wagging back and forth. The boy bends down and with his left hand strokes the fur of the dog, not taking his eyes of the grave.
"Uhm… excuse me? Did you know the deceased?" Barkhorn asked. The boy chuckled and Barkhorns eyes sprung open at the sound of this. A breeze drifts through and moves leaves with it, as this happens Barkhorn observes the right sleeve of the boys jacket start to bellow in the wind up to his elbow. With his left hand the boy tuffs at his hair to pull it back. He slides his hand over the top of his head and down the back, running his fingers like a comb to make himself presentable.
"I guess you could say I knew him… Sorry to disappoint you, But he's not the guy buried here" John said turning around to face Barkhorn eye to eye. The girl drops the flowers as some of the petals fall off upon hitting the ground, blowing away in the wind. Barkhorn is unable to form words as her skin turns pale. John has a grim look of regret on his face.
"I'm so sorry it took me so long… I have a lot of explaining to do if you'll just listen" John says approaching the girl. She walks up to him as well and slowly puts her hand out to touch his chest. Her hand is stopped by the flesh and bone she feels and she knows this is real. She begins to tear up and puts an arm around him. John is taken back by this as she buries her head in his chest and starts to punch his chest lightly with her other hand. She bats at him over and over again. He puts his hand around her and embraces her. Closing his eyes as she slowly stops punching him and just gives him a hug, sobbing into his jacket.