Dylan stood still for a moment, trying to process what he had just heard.

"No, you're joking, right?", he doubled back.

"I'm sorry, no", Evelyn confirmed. "She flatlined again, except this time we couldn't save her. I promise, we tried everything we could"

"I.. oh, Lord, it can't be"

"I know this may be a little weird. We're trying to contact the family right now, so they can.. decide what to do now. It's proving complicated, apparently her name was been changed, her birthname wasn't Trinity at all, but we'll figure it out"

"I see... well, thanks for letting me know"

"No problem. Again, I'm horribly sorry for your loss. Take care"

Dylan quickly hung up the call, then put his phone on the sink counter. He sat down, holding his head in his hands, tears in his eyes.

How am I going to tell Ash? She's not even going to remember who Trinity was... oh, I should've saved you. You deserved to live, after all that. And why.. this is no way to die. Not for someone like you. A spark like yours isn't choked like this.

The tears were running down his face, soaking through the skin on his hands. He tried to think about the last time he saw her, but quickly stopped when he realized it was on that pod

"Anya, remember when I told you that I owed you and Brooke one, for what happened on the SKELD?"

"Yes?"

"Well this might be my final chance to repay my debt to them. And if I die in the process, so be it!"

"Don't be an idiot!"

"Leave me be, I'm not changing my mind!"

She knew... she knew she wouldn't survive and she still did it.

Trinity, who had stood up for Anya when she was being tortured. Trinity, who managed to save her love, only to lose them all over again. Trinity, who had always seemed immortal. Trinity, willing to give her life to protect Brooke when the faulty pod crashed. Trinity Grove, immortal no more.

He could almost picture her. The empty shell that was once her body laid gracefully under the white sheets. The tubes that kept her alive have all been removed. Her eyes are closed, and her face is relaxed. As if she's asleep. But it's an empty shell. A hollow tree. Empty.

"Dylan, are you alright?", Ashley called from the kitchen.

Knowing he couldn't stay in there forever, he stood up and walked out. He found Ashley still sittig at the table where he had left her, her now empty bowl in front of her.

"What's wrong?", she asked, worried by his saddened expression.

"You.. you don't remember a woman named Trinity, do you?", he asked.

Ashley thought about it for a moment, then shook her head.

"No, I don't.. I'm sorry", she excused.

"Well, she's.. was, a dear friend of ours", Dylan explained.

"Was?"

"The hospital called. She... she passed away"

Ashley sat siletly for a moment, unsure of how to react.

"Oh.. that's horrible. I'm sorry, it's just hard to mourn someone I don't remember", Ashley apologized.

"I know, I know", Dylan agreed.

"What.. was she like?"

"Trinity.. she was.. well, she was special. She was on the SKELD with us. She was strong, stubborn.. and she did not deserve this. She.. went through a lot"

"What happened to her?"

"She was in the crash with us, but she wasn't as lucky as we were"

"No, I mean, before that. Why do you think she went through so much?"

"Oh.. well, before the crash..."

Dylan thought about it. He tried remembering stories Trinity had told him that happened before the SKELD.

I can't tell her about Ad Astra...

"I remember she told me about it", Dylan recalled. "She told me about her family, who had kicked her out when she brought home her partner, Harper"

"Oh, that is awful"

"Mhm"

"And what happened to Harper?"

Dylan bit his tongue, not wanting to reveal what he saw. He knew that, to do that, he would have to explain the rest of it

"It's.. a long story. They were on the SKELD", Dylan explained.

"And then?", Ashley questioned.

"No.. please don't make me talk about it"

"Fine, fine"

A small moment of silence

"So, what now?", she asked.

"I don't know. We live on? I don't know what to do when it's like this!"

Ashely stood up and gave Dylan a hug.

"She sounds like she was amazing", Ashley said. Dylan nodded.

"She was, she really was", he agreed.

"But if she died, it just means it was her time, right? And that she's better now, right? Dying is never painless, so at least she's not suffering anymore"

"Yes.. yes, you're right"

"I'm sure they did what they could for her. It's just how it was meant to be"

"Yeah.. I guess so. Thanks, Ash"

"No worries"

"I think I'm just gonna call it a night, I need some rest. Is that alright?"

"Of course!"

Ashley stepped back from Dylan, with that well-familiar bounce in her step.

"Goodnight, Ash", he whispered.

"Goodnght, Dylan!", Ashley replied.

He left for his room and laid on the bed. But despite Ashley's comforting words, he still felt a deep pit in his stomach, knowing that Trinity was gone. The woman who seemed invincible, a source of comfort in that horrible place, gone. This thought kept him up for what felt like hours, until he was able to fall asleep.

It had been about a week since then. And even though the loss stung at times, it was getting better. Since she didn't remember Trinity, Ashley wasn't affected. Seeing her unchanged helped Dylan. She was a reminder that the world kept spinning, despite the loss.

One afternoon, as the siblings were coming home from a grocery run, Ashley opened the mailbox and pulled out two letters. She picked them up, and read the envelopes

"One for each of us". She quickly showed Dylan the envelope. Sure enough, his name was on it.

"Just leave them on the kitchen table, I'll read mine when I've carried these inside"

Dylan picked up two of the bags, while Ashley picked up the last one. They quickly dumped the bags in the corner of the foyer and each read their letters. Dylan's eyes scanned down the page as he read the letter.

Dear Mr. Yates
You have been invited as a special guest to the City Hall SKELD Memorial, to take place on the last day of April. We would like to invite you to hold a speech at the event. We will provide it, but feel free to request any changes to it. If you accept, please come to the Nephi Arena Stage on April 29th.

The two quietly finished reading, then looked up at each other.

"They want us to go to a memorial?", she wondered.

"Yeah.. oh, Lord, I can't do this". Dylan sat down and put the invitation back on the table.

"I mean, I'll go. Maybe I'll remember something"

"Ash, please, listen. You really don't want to remember"

"But I do! I need to know what happened to me!"

"I can't stop you, can I?"

"No"

"Fine. I'll come with you then"

"Why?"

"What if you collapse out there, and there's no one to help you?"

"You worry too much. But fine, if you want to"

So, two days later, the two pulled over outside the place and got out of their cars. A man in a brown trench coat walked up to the siblings.

"You must be Mr. Yates, yes?", he stopped in front of Dylan. He noded.

"That's right", he confirmed.

"Pleasure to meet you, sir. I'm Detective Jacob Owens. I was hoping I could have a word with you later"

"I'm sure we can work that out"

"Thank you, thank you", Owens thanked him, then nodded towards Ashley.

"Ms. Yates", he greeted her.

"Hello, Mr. Owens", she greeted back.

"If I could have a word with you too, that would be lovely"

"I'm sure that's fine. I should let you know, if it's about the SKELD, I have nothing to say. I don't remember a thing"

"Oh. Why's that?"

"I.. don't actually know. I just don't remember"

"Alright then. Anyway, that's for later, the mayor is waiting for you"

He then led the two around the stage. But once Dylan got a good look, he stopped for a moment.

On the edge of the stage, laid out in a row, were the portraits of every crewmate on the SKELD, with their names written under them. Looking over them, Dylan recognized them all. Green, Orange, Lime, Brown... even Harper was there

But one portrait in particular caught attention. A woman with darker skin, with black hair and amber curtain bangs. Her face was somewhat round, but there was a visible jawline. She looked at the camera from a three-quarter angle, cupping her chin in her hand. Dylan didn't even need to read her name.

"Trinity", Dylan whispered.

"Everything alright?", Mr. Owens stopped next to Dylan

"I just.. didn't expect to see them all here. I don't know why, I really should've"

"Of course"

Trying not to look at the portraits, Dylan stepped to the side of the stage, where he stopped up again. There was a woman there. Long, brown hair tied into a braid, running down the back of the wheelchair she sat in. She wore a brown blazer, her hands wrapped in black gloves. Dylan recognized her immediately, of course.

"Anya?"

She turned around hearing it and saw Dylan

"Oh, hey", she greeted him.

Only now did Dylan notice her missing leg.

"Your leg..", he whispered.

She looked down at her lap.

"Yeah. It's been hard, but that's my life now", she replied, halfheartedly.

"Is that why you're..", Dylan started, but stopped halfway through, unsure of how to formulate this question

"..in the chair? Yes. Hopefully I can get a fake one later on, though"

Dylan nodded quickly, before he spoke again.

"I'm sorry for asking, didn't mean to be rude-", he quickly apologized

"No, no, don't be", she quickly shrugged him off. "We haven't talked since.."

"Since..."

"Yeah"

In the meantime, Dylan turned towards Ashley, who had taken a step back and stood still, blank expression.

"Ash, what's wrong?", Dylan asked.

She turned towards Dylan, then back towards Anya.

"Why.. why am I so scared around you? Who are you?", she whispered.

Anya turned to Dylan.

"Ash, this is Anya", he introduced her. "And you don't need to be scared, she's our friend"

Ashley tried to calm down a little, then took a small step closer to Anya. Like a shy child greeting a stranger

"Hi", she greeted, still a little scared.

Anya was perplexed for a moment, but decided to greet back

"Hey, Ashley", she said.

There was another moment of silence.

"So, you guys got the letters too". Anya broke the silence.

"Yeah", Dylan replied. "Couldn't let Ash miss this"

Anya smiled.

Soon, the mayor approached the group. He was an older man, around Dylan's height. He wore a gray suit jacket, with a pale blue shirt under. He quickly reached his hand towards Anya for her to shake, which she did quickly.

"Ms. Mercia, I'm Malcolm Foster", he quickly introduced himself.

"Anya Mercia", Anya introduced herself back

Mr. Foster turned towards Dylan and reached his hand for him too. Dylan quickly shook it and introduced himself, too. But when it came to Ashley, she hesitated, and didn't take his hand. Dylan was confused, until he understood. She didn't want to reveal the missing fingers.

"Um.. she's not all that great with handshakes, hope that isn't an issue. This is Ashley, my sister", Dylan quickly excused.

"Of course, that's fine", Mr. Foster accepted and pulled his hand back. "So, first of all, I need to thank all three of you for coming. I know it may be difficult for you"

"Thank you, sir", Anya nodded.

"Oh, please, call me Malcolm. Being on first-name basis with someone as brave as you three, it's an honor"

Dylan quickly smiled.

"First name works fine", he replied

"Anyway", Malcolm continued, "we did have some speeches for you"

He handed them some cards. They each quickly read over them.

"I mean, this looks fine", Dylan mumbled slightly as he breezed through his cards.

"Agreed", Anya nodded

Malcolm looked towards Ash, waiting for her approval.

"This is wrong", she whispered. "I have no leg to stand on, I don't remember any of this!"

"Very poor choice of words", Anya mumbled.

"Ash, it's alright. You can still talk about it". Dylan reassured her.

"It feels wrong", Ash objected again.

"Well, if she doesn't want to do it, that's fine", Malcolm added. Ash handed him the cards again. "What say you, Anya?"

"I'll do it", Anya stated. "For them"

Dylan quickly understood she meant the crew

"I'll do it too", Dylan added. "But Ash..."

"She can sit in the audience", Malcolm assured him.

"No, you don't.."

"Everything's going to be alright"

Dylan saw no point in arguing, especially not with Ashley present.

"Fine, then", he conceded.

"So, let's go over this, alright?", Malcolm invited.

He handed the group a schedule of the event.

"It's all very simple", he explained. "I'll say a few words, someone who was at the base will say a few words, then I'll introduce you guys, and you'll read your speeches. Questions?"

Anya and Dylan turned to look at each other. Clearly, neither had any.

"Good. And I think that's about all you need to know. You come here tomorrow morning, alright?", Malcolm finished off.

"Of course", Dylan agreed.

"Perfect. If I could give you a more personal invite, could I interest you with some lunch? I know a good place around here. It's on me"

"Acrtually, sir, if that's alright, I was planning on talking to them". The detective stepped in from around the corner.

"No worries, Mr. Owens", Malcolm acconsented. "We can go afterwards, if you feel like it"

"Right. Mr. Yates, could you come first?"

Dylan stapped off to the side, and followed Mr. Owens. The two walked back to the other side of the stage.

"Mr. Yates, I know you don't want to, but we really do need to know what happened on the SKELD", Owens insisted. "I got the notes from Dr. Timbermore, but you stopped once you got to.. what was it? Ad Astra?"

"Please.. don't make me talk about it", Dylan tried dismissing him.

"I'm sorry, but it's been almost two months, and we need to know what happened"

"No, you don't. Anyone who isn't here is dead, and that's it!"

"Listen, if you tell, we can catch the people who did it, and we can help make sure they never hurt anyone else"

"There.. there were other people on board.."

Dylan stayed still for a moment, looking down at the ground.

"Fine. I.. it's selfish of me to stay silent", he conceded.

Mr. Owens pulled out a notepad and a pen.

"Please, do go on", he instructed.

"We were on the Ad Astran ship", Dylan started. "I don't exactly know how I got there, I.. passed out. When I woke up, I was in this locked, empty room, with no way to keep track of time"

"Who else was with you?"

"Nobody, I was alone!"

"Alright then. Please continue"

"Well.. after what felt like about a day, they pulled me out of my room, and.. Ash was there, too"

"Who's 'they'?"

"I don't know! I never saw their faces, they wore masks"

"Sorry, sorry. Go on"

Dylan took a small break. Tears were starting to form at his eyes

"They hurt her. Just to make me watch", he revealed

"I know this may be hard, but... what exactly did they do to her?", Owens insisted

"They... no, please, don't make me do this.."

"It's alright, it's alright. I can ask Dr. Timbermore about the injuries"

Dylan sat still. Eyes closed, taking deep breaths.

"Everything's alright", Owens tried reassuring him. "We're almost done. Do you know what they did to the others? Brooke, or Anya, or.. or Trinity?"

"I do know", Dylan whispered. "They all came later, though. First Trinity, then Alicia, and Anya and Brooke came together"

"Alicia Allison?"

"Yes. They kept us together.. did the same to Alicia and Trinity as they had done to me. There was a hostage for each of us. Harper Cawn for Trinity, and Alicia's son. And apparently they took some blood from Brooke, or something of the kind.."

"Blood? Do you know why that is?"

Dylan nodded.

"They ran an organ trafficking operation", he explained

"Oh, that is.. something, alright. At least it may make it easier to track them"

Dylan stopped and thought for a moment before he spoke again.

"Sir, please, listen to me", he implored. "It's about Ashley. I'm scared something might happen to her, at the memorial"

"I can assure you, nothing's going to-", Owens tried to dismiss him.

"No, no, that doesn't help.. listen, do you think there's any way someone could.. watch her?"

"You want us to stalk her?"

"Lord, no! You know what, forget I asked"

"Right"

Owens browsed through his notepad, checking his notes.

"One last thing", he asked. "It's about your sister, actually. Can you confirm her memory loss?"

"What do you mean?", Dylan questioned. "If it's true that she lost her memory? Yes, she did"

"Right, then I think that's it. I'm awfully sorry for making you talk about something so awful"

Owens sunk his notepad into his bag.

"I think I have what I needed", he quickly added. "Hope it wasn't too demanding"

"It's.. its fine", Dylan quickly excused. "Just.. promise me you won't tell my sister any of it. It's better for her if she doesn't remember this"

"This will stay within the police, for us to do our investigations"

"Thank you"

Dylan and Mr. Owens walked back around, to the others in the group.

"Mr. Owens, did you want to talk to the others too?", Malcolm asked.

"Just Ms. Mercia, if that's alright with both of you". Owens' eyes darted between the two.

They both agreed. Anya rolled her wheelchair to follow Mr. Owens as they headed to the other side of the stage. Dylan and Ashley were left alone with Malcolm.

"Sir, if that's alright, we'd like to leave". Dylan gripped Ashley's arm.

"Everything alright?", Malcolm questioned.

"Just not feeling so great. Still a little hurt. From the crash, you know"

"Oh, of course. Again, pleasure to meet you"

The siblings left, and headed back home. They spent the afternoon relaxing, and then went to bed. It seemed as if Ashley fell asleep quickly enough, while Dylan couldn't.

What now? Of course, tomorrow, the memorial. The speech. But after that? I can't keep Ashley like this forever, she's bound to know someday. But I won't be the one to tell. I don't have the heart to. No, she's better off not remembering it.

The thoughts kept whirling, like a hurricane, until Dylan eventually fell asleep, ready for tomorrow's event