Author's Note: Well, I've started this one really late this week. I've been pretty busy trying to keep everything else up, so I won't be surprised if this doesn't get up until Monday. Still, I have some more storyline for everyone. Good Recommendation is to listen to Hotaru's Theme Song from Sailor Moon for this episode, because that really suits the mood. Anyway, enough babbling.

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   "We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another." - Luciano de Crescenzo.

Cahln Langley Cemetary
Cluster One, Australia
November 17th, 2093
The Present

   "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of Jhuah Lan Lee..." began the preacher, dressed in ceremonial black robes.

   The group of well-dressed people gathered around the wooden casket, some of them crying. Anyi was dressed in a plain black dress, sitting near the front of the group on a white chair. The sun was beginning to set behind the large buildings to the west, leaving a sparse number of rays to beam upon the grassy hill. The cemetary hadn't changed much over the decades and was still one of the few undevelopped pieces of property left in Cluster One, outside of bio-domes. X could see all of this from the black limousine. He and Zero were leaning against the car, waiting outside the funeral. It had been a little over a week since the incident which nearly claimed Anyi's life. They quickly brought her back in the jet, X following First Aid instructions he had in his basic memory. She had stayed in the hospital while the cleanup of the excavation site was conducted. Now with all of the reports filed, it was time to bury the only casualty of the incident. Anyi had insisted on coming, which was alright since it would take place after her much needed bedrest. Now the only question left on X's mind was why the attack had even taken place.

   He and Zero had argued about it for a few days, but were unable to come to any conclusions. They managed to 'hide' some of the evidence which was present at the site and were going to determine it's origin if possible. Tipped Ballistic Rounds were simple enough to get a hold of, if it was a military operation. Unfortunately, all evidence pointed to the fact that it was not a military operation at all, even though the job was just as professional. The Seamus-7 Rifles definitely backed up that claim. The event itself had been left out of the media, but no formal investigation was conducted after the reports were filed. This was also rather strange, but X knew for sure that the site would be restricted permanently. X began to worry for Anyi's life, if she would even continue working for X and Zero in what could easily become a much more dangerous situation.

   "Hmmph, I somehow doubt that a reploid would get this kind of attention if he was dead," snorted Zero. X knew it was true, in fact only a handful of the reploids during the wars even got a decent memorial service, the Maverick Hunters made sure of at least a few. X surmised that probably only about three reploids had gravestones in this particular cemetary.

   "I never did enjoy this part of war either. I just want to go home now, I haven't been back for a long time," sighed X.

   "Where have you been recharging for the last week then?" asked Zero in surprise.

   "After the recharge with the backup generator on the jet, I've mostly just been waiting in the hospital or walking around at night."

   "...Yeah, I was on auxiliary power too for a few nights. Coming back home to Cluster One has been a little disorienting," said Zero.

   "What do you mean?"

   "Well, for instance," started Zero, "Remember that place where we used to have breakfast for the first few months after having taste installed?"

   "Yeah...Candy & A Current Bun? I haven't been there in a long time," mused X.

   "Yeah, well, now it's a Chinese restaurant."

   X just nodded in surprise. It wasn't so much that it had changed, but rather that he never really took notice. It made sense that Zero would notice these changes much more since he had been gone on his little journeys for five years, keeping in touch every once in awhile over the Internet. In fact, he had seen Zero for the first time in about three years at Dr. Caine's funeral. Zero's travels still remained a complete mystery to him.

   "You know, Cluster One looks pretty cool from space," said Zero.

   "That reminds me, why did you want the jet anyway?" asked X. The jet had only been a recent purchase by them both, all transactions done over the Internet. Zero just shrugged and smiled.

   "Because I could afford it and I like flying," said Zero. X just smiled. Zero had never struck him as an impulse buyer, and certainly not for such large items.

   'I guess after so much journeying on ground has left him looking to the sky into space,' he thought.

   "I'm worried about Anyi," said X blankly. Zero just stood straight up and stretched.

   "I dunno, she seems to be recovering from the cold," said Zero with a shrug.

   "It's not that. I don't think she knows how to handle what just happened in her mind. She just keeps asking about the work," said X.

   "Hell, I don't even know how to handle it even still," Zero grinned, "Just give her a few. Besides we managed to salvage some stuff for her later."

   X smiled. X went with Anyi to the hospital while Zero went back to the Antarctic to pick up whatever they could manage before any military interference. Dr. Aldayr insisted on recovering all the technical notes and the Holo-Images from the laboratory. Most importantly though, they managed to recover Anyi's work and the capsule with the strange woman. X hoped that everything came out intact, but they would determine that after the funeral.

   "I wonder what will find?" pondered X aloud.

   X looked back up at the burial and saw the casket descend into the ground. He picked himself up from against the hood of the car and walked up the hill to get Anyi now that the funeral was over.

   ***

Cahln Langley Cemetary - North Hill
Cluster One, Australia
November 17th, 2093
The Present

   Anyi stood up to follow everyone leaving. She didn't really understand the process of the funeral, it seemed to be a mixture of cerimonial rites from both Christian and some other religion. She did understand that it was now over. Her mind was still cluttered with all of the emotions she had in just that one day, a week ago. While in the hospital, X stayed with her and explained what had happened. She cried for a little bit when she understood that Jhuah Lan died. She didn't really know him that well, but felt obliged to come to the funeral. She couldn't believe that the operation to recover the laboratory was now a lost cause. Everything inside the site was destroyed with only a few details left from what they managed to recover before the military came in and shut the site down. Now she didn't really know what to feel. Everything she had experienced in that one event went through so many emotions that it took her the entire week just to handle it. X told her that the fight only lasted about ten minutes, but to her, it was a forever experienced in the blink of an eye.

   "You were with my son before he died," the old voice croaked.

   Anyi looked up from the burial site, startled by the frail sound. She saw a fairly old lady in a black dress. Her greying hair above the thick glasses over her slanted eyes. Her tanned skin was slightly wrinkled. It took Anyi a moment to find her voice at seeing the grieving Ms. Lee up close.

   "Y--Yes, I knew him," Anyi replied.

   "I wish to find what happen to my son outside reports.. He mention you in voice message a few days before death," croaked the old lady with a thick accent. "Here is my card, come see me."

   Ms. Lee then walked off to leave Anyi standing there with a card in her hand that had "Yaven Enterprises" written in gold lettering across the top.

   "Hey Anyi, you ready to leave now?" asked X, coming up to the top of the hill. Anyi put the card in her purse and turned around. There was X in his tuxedo with the blue highlights, just like she saw him the first time they met. Anyi looked at the gravestone of Jhuah Lan before replying. She smiled weakly and nodded,

   "Yeah, we can go now."

   ***

Cahln Langley Cemetary - Drydock Road
Cluster One, Australia
November 17th, 2093
The Present

   The wind picked up at the bottom of the hill, bringing a swirling cloud of dust up around Zero's ankles. He brushed the dirt off of his jacket and then brought his hand up to brush his short red bangs back from his face. Looking back up, his eye caught a glint of sunlight reflecting a purple sparkle 57.36 meters away from around the crest of the hill. He brought his hand to the back of his neck and felt the absence of his ponytail, bringing back the past. He remembered the day from so many years ago. The sun continued it's descent as Zero walked in the direction of his attention.

   Zero felt like he was stepping into his past, something he had tried so desperately to avoid for the last few years. Unfortunately, he had known that the end of his journey would have begun with this place. The grass and sprouting plants did little to comfort him as they were crushed beneath his dress shoes. Getting closer, he realized that someone was kneeling in front of a gravestone. The rest of the cemetary was empty of life, the wind picking up this strange person's hair. Closer now, Zero realized that this was the purple glint. This strange person kneeling over the gravestone. The locks of curled purple hair fell over the dark blue leather of the far stranger. Zero began to feel uneasy, the cold feelings clawing their way up his throat.

   "...Hello?" Zero asked once he found strength in his voice. The stranger acknowledged by standing up, but did no more. Zero could clearly see the gravestone, but didn't need to read it. The necklace in the stranger's hand told him more than he needed. The white heart-shaped pearls were draped between the gloved fingers of this strange person. Zero came up from behind, the sun lighting his back and leaving his entire face in darkness.

   The stranger turned around to face him. It was a woman with long purple strands of hair falling over her face. She was wearing some a Catholic priest outfit except it was made of a very dark blue leather. Zero could immediately tell from his Thermo-Imaging scan that she was indeed not human, however the leather outfit prevented him from further analysis.

   "Who are you?" whispered Zero, feeling dread creeping across his chest. The stranger smiled, her eyes lighting up. Seeing the bright blue eyes began to scare Zero for no ascertainable reason. He felt his face crinkle as he began to cry.

   "Hey, Zero!" yelled the voice from behind. Zero turned quickly to see Anyi and X coming up from behind.

   "We were looking for you man, where did you go?" asked X. Zero turned from X to the stranger to see nothing but the gravestone marked "In Loving Memory 'Iris', She Will Be Cherished Forever". Tears began to take their course down his cheek as the sun set upon his back.

   "...Just finishing a journey," whispered Zero slowly.

   ***

   Author's Comment: The shortest episode award goes to this one. Yeah, yeah, this one is nowhere near as exciting as the last three. Well, sorry, but it's gonna take a little more time to set up what I need to set up. There may be no emotion in this one, but it sets up a lot of backstory which needs to be known for later. Don't worry, I'm sure many of you will be interested in the next one I have planned, so stay with me until then.

Michael Raymond Vendittelli (LimousineDriver)