On the outskirts of Mina Carolina's hometown, a small city that had remained utterly unchanged in the face of the lesbian girl's untimely death, Lieutenant Anastasia sat in her cruiser, weary and worn after hearing from her superiors about the disturbing revelations given to them by the university officials.
"We have proof that it was premeditated murder after all," she thought, gazing out of her car up at the empty blue sky above. "As if I needed to hear that, after seeing all of the pocketknife wounds over Mina's corpse. But nonetheless, we needed to know that. This tipoff will prove to be vital, for sure."
"I need more than an allegation, though, to apprehend this bastard, Zach. While I won't dare deride that poor girl after what she saw in the park, we can't just use a vision as proof. What we need is…oh geez, at least transcripts of the plot to murder Mina! But how…"
Her pondering was interrupted by an approaching glow of sunlight on her left. Anastasia squinted as she turned to the driver seat window, and couldn't help but gasp as she beheld her visitor.
A massive, tall and blonde police officer, whose face was obscured by the sudden light came up to her window and bent down, smiling warmly at her. Anastasia felt a shudder of grief run through her body when she thought she recognized the man.
"Officer Arlert?" she asked softly, reaching out with a shaking hand. "Will?!"
The man's smile changed into a sad frown, and he took her hand in his own large palm, gently saying to her "Oh, Anastasia…I'm so, so sorry, but I'm not William Arlert."
Despite her personal rule of refraining from tears in front of strangers, Anastasia wept bitterly, the memory of her protector's loss still burdening her even after more than 10 years had passed. Even after she had been transferred from her birth city to the smaller, more rural town that lacked the warmth she was used to, Anastasia still ached for William Arlert's fatherly embrace and constant assurance.
"Please, hear me out, Anastasia," the stranger begged her, holding her hand tenderly, and holding her in place with his gaze, "I've come to tell you more about the murderer, Zach."
At that, Anastasia snapped to attention, and she snarled viciously, the desire to bring Mina's murderer to justice flaring within her.
"What that girl, Elise saw in the park wasn't just a vision, it was a revelation revealing who killed that poor girl. You have heard that Zach conspired with his girlfriend, Kayla, to murder Mina. I know how to acquire the proof you need to get the warrant to arrest him."
"Tell me!" she pleaded, gripping the edge of her seat with her free hand.
"I will guide my go-between into hacking Kayla's computer, and to deliver the fruits of his investigation to you at the police station. Coincidentally, this boy was the same person who brought to light the plot to kill Armin."
"I'm ashamed that I couldn't do anything to protect Will's son! But thank God those bastards were stopped."
Anastasia nodded up at him, and said firmly "Good. Perfect. This is the come-through my department needed."
She then asked him "Who are you, by the way? I've never seen you before."
The man grinned at her, and said "I am Michael, the Captain of the Special Division. It is my duty to assist people like you and Will Arlert when needed, and to intervene when protection is needed. Will knew a great deal about me, and I do believe that he mentioned me to you when he rescued you all those years ago."
"Wait, what? Will didn't…did he?"
Anastasia's mind was irritatingly foggy as she tried to recall the day she had been abandoned by her ungrateful parents, whom she had disowned for their bitter hatred. She couldn't remember Will ever mentioning an officer named Michael to her.
"I assure you, the justice that you, Helen and others have ached for will be delivered swiftly. It is time, and Zach will never see us coming. When the moment to strike comes, I myself will assist you in apprehending him."
"And I'm grateful for it," she told him. "Helen and I have longed to catch whoever destroyed Mina's life and punish them accordingly."
"Absolutely, I understand. That moment will come soon. Until then, Lieutenant."
With that, to her alarm, the man disappeared from sight in front of her, leaving her shocked and beyond confused. No trace of him could be seen around her, and Anastasia couldn't understand what had happened to him.
"I don't get it! Did I have some sort of vision? And what 'Special Division' was he talking about? I don't know any Division like that, in either city I've served in."
"And who is he? He told me that Will mentioned him to me long ago, on that day…but Will didn't actually do that. All he did was give me…"
Anastasia reached into her chest pocket, and withdrew the St. Michael the Archangel pendant that William Arlert had given to her on that weary day. The silver pendant was warm in her hand, and Anastasia gawked down at it as she pondered a new possibility.
"No way!"
Armin met Annie at the downtown café, and when he approached her, he noticed how oddly at peace his best friend seemed to be. The coldness that usually pervaded her expression had softened considerably, and when she saw him coming towards her, Annie had a small smile playing on her lips.
"You look really happy, Annie!" Armin said to her, and she nodded whimsically.
"You better believe it, Armin. My mind's been finally put at ease over Mina's death."
"Huh?"
Annie told him "I…I was visited by that dark woman you've seen guarding you at night. She helped me confront my guilt and self-hatred over feeling helpless to prevent Mina's murder. I finally allowed myself to do the catharsis I've needed for so long."
"Oh, good. But why just recently?"
"It's simple. I was furious that nobody seemed willing to prevent Mina's murder, and my accusation was answered when I least expected it. I know the full truth now, and I've seen with my own eyes at Mina is in a much better place now."
"Oh, Annie…"
Armin sat down next to her and said "I'm happy for you. It's just so unnerving, all of the stuff that's been happening lately."
"Tell me about it. Are you still upset over the nightmare you had recently?"
"Eh, I feel better, but I'm still horrified," he told her, shuddering as he recalled the sight of his demonic doppelganger in the dream mirror. "Nothing could've prepared me for that image."
"Understandable. But at least you'll see your Uncle tomorrow."
"True."
Uncle Joey and Armin had agreed that they would meet for lunch downtown the following day, and his Uncle had hinted to him that he wanted to discuss a great number of things. Armin, too, was itching to talk to his Uncle about the romantic bond he had shared with his dad.
With spring in session, the trees surrounding downtown were wildly blooming, a myriad of blossoms flowering around them. Dancing petals adorned the scenery as the wind softly blew over the area.
Annie sighed and told him "Speaking of meetups, I…Bertolt wants to talk to me about everything. He managed to find me online, and apparently, ever since he encountered you in Wickson, he's been running all over this campus hoping to get the chance to make things up."
"I'm not surprised," Armin muttered. "When I told him that you were here, he freaked out and immediately went looking for you."
"I told him that I'd be willing to talk tomorrow, on the far edge of campus where nobody will bother us. I'm honestly worried over how much he's been beating himself up over what happened back then. He didn't come close to being half the bastard that Shane was to you. His guilt complex must be even worse than mine was over Mina."
"I suppose so. Then we'll have to let each other know how our talks to tomorrow!"
"Absolutely."
Helen sat in her house that evening, clutching her tea mug and shaking with mixed emotion as she went over the message that Elise, of all people, had left for her in her email.
"She saw Mina get killed in a vision! And it wasn't one of those trash girls from the high school, but the lead girl's boyfriend! I knew that Mina's murder couldn't have been a random incident, but for it to be a premeditated plot…what the fuck is wrong with people?!"
Elise had sent her an extremely long email detailing everything she had learned, including that Zach, her daughter's killer, was plotting with Kayla to kill Armin in the same way. Helen also read that her town's police department had been informed of the info by Levi, Sansburg Hall's RHD.
Officer Anastasia, the same woman who had delivered her daughter's corpse home that horrid night, had payed Helen a visit shortly after Elise's email. The policewoman had shown up on her doorstep, weeping at the revelation that both of them had been given.
"I-I…" Anastasia had tried to say through her tears as Helen welcomed her inside that night.
"I know," Helen told her, and that night, the two women had discussed what they had learned, and wished together for the murderer to be apprehended soon.
She sipped her tea, unable to calm down as she recalled Elise telling her that Zach wanted to do the same thing to Armin, whom Helen had feared came close to committing suicide after what the girls had put him through in Sansburg Hall.
"So this piece of shit wanted to kill Armin to? Thank goodness that this RHD is on top of things over there in that university, or I'd be going mad right now with worry. We have a violently homophobic potential serial killer on our hands, and I want this bastard stopped before he harms anybody else!"
Connie sat before his laptop, his hacking program opened before him, as the massive policeman stood by his side, watching stoically as Connie set about to hack into Kayla's computer.
He had been utterly taken aback when the man had appeared before him in his dorm room, and gave Connie the directive to hack into Kayla's computer to discover another sinister secret. The man had only introduced himself as Michael, and Connie had wasted no other time in setting about finding the coordinates of Kayla's pc.
With the program's assistance, along with the guidance of the man who knew her IP address and password off the top of his head, Connie had found Kayla's pc easily. Right after he hacked in, Connie went straight to her message history, and, as the policeman told him, scrolled far down until he found a conversation almost two summers previous between Kayla and Zach, Kayla's disturbingly sadistic boyfriend.
"H-holy shit!" Connie muttered as he glanced at the conversation before him, and Michael grimaced as they read through the messages.
Kayla: "It's set, then! Mina will be out on her usual park stroll tonight around 10. Go there around 9:45 and wait until nobody else is around, then strike that dyke down!"
Zach: "Gladly! I've waited for this for too long, and I can't wait to see the look on that faggot's face when she realizes that her time's up!"
Kayla: "And with Elise totally in the dark on all of this, nobody can get in my way!"
Zach: "This will be glorious, babe!"
Connie looked up at Michael, and barely managed to whisper "What the fuck?" as the horror of the conversation overtook him.
Michael shook his head bitterly and only said "I'm sorry, buddy. Unfortunately, I needed you to dig this up. In order to arrest that brat, we need proof, and this is perfect."
"What should I do next?" Connie asked, wiping away at his eyes as tears began to bud.
"Screenshot these messages, everything pertinent to Mina's death, and send them to the email address belonging to her town's police department."
The officer quickly gave Connie the address, and within just a minute, Connie had sent them the screenshots, along with a hurried message explaining everything.
He bit his lip, and looked up at the stranger, asking hesitantly "Will I get busted for hacking into her computer?"
In response, Michael told him "For this, and for ensuring that Shane wouldn't go unpunished for plotting to kill Armin, you'll get off scotch free, as people say. But kid, please keep in mind that hacking is illegal, and in almost all other circumstances, you could face a really serious penalty."
"Got it. What will you do next then?"
"I'm going to catch this brat by surprise, and hand him over to my protégé to deal with. I won't let him hurt Armin, or anybody else ever again, mark my word."
And with that, to Connie's alarm, the officer disappeared just as easily as he had appeared minutes before, leaving Connie to ponder over the nature of the visit.
