Epilogue
October 27th, 2038 - 12:00 AM
There had been no investigation. By the time police had arrived to the Studios, the only trace the demons left behind were simple dark stains. There was no evidence, and no-one was willing to look further. Michael, Kyra, Jack, and Sara were rushed to the hospital following their escape, and Mai was considered to be another victim to the old house - another source for urban legends to come.
To the official reports, the situation were young adults getting up to things they should have. Perhaps they were drinking, and maybe a Halloween adventure went wrong. Despite the disappearance of Mai Daviau, the four were never charged for any crime, not even for trespassing.
Despite days passing by, the four survivors bore scars of their own. Nightmares haunted their minds of the demons hiding in the heart of the ruined Studios. At night, their minds often associated the sounds of the wind and rain as the beast approaching. All knew that the scars would with them for the rest of their days; a lasting reminder of foolish mistakes and the arrogant thoughts of how nothing could hurt them. How wrong they were.
Every year after, they gathered in the courtyard of the Studios - the heart of their terrors and fear. They never entered. To be entirely fair, none knew if they could enter. None knew if they had the will to risk repeating history.
For twenty years, they continued this cycle. They would gather to face their fears, never to cross. They would gather to mourn a lost friend, and the mistakes of days long past. Despite the sorrow, these days were one of the things she enjoyed most. They were the closest she ever got to her friends.
This year marked a change. This year, Jack and Sara were not among the group, leaving only Michael and Kyra. She could see the engagement rings from vantage in the window. It was faint, but her eyes had become so much more than they once were. She couldn't help but smile, glad for her oldest friend, although she still wondered about the other two.
Then he looked up. Blue eyes met eyes that were once brown, now faded to grey. She tensed as recognition etched its way across Michael's features. Kyra followed her fiancé's gaze. She saw Kyra's own features morph into surprise.
'A-Alice…?' she read Kyra's lips from her vantage. A bit of disappointment tinged her mind. She was not ashamed that her appearance resembled her mentor's and friend's. It had ever since the day she awoke in the capsule within the colossal building surrounded by the ink. Ink poured down from the machine above, aiding in forming her into what she was destined to be.
They had rescued her. She was surprised, confused at first. They had escaped quickly. She remembered Alice's worried expression and her part of her words. The Ink Demon was near. They were in the lair of the beast and had to escape.
Over the following weeks, memories swished around like water in the turbulent sea. At first, she remembered only faint traces of her past, but over the twenty years that passed, she remembered more and more. Watching her friends from afar aided in that process, as did the help from Alice, Tom, and Henry - when the latter was in a lucid state, rather than being trapped within his own past.
The disappointment she felt at not being recognised for herself started to fade as she read Michael's lips. 'No... Mai!' Kyra's eyes widened in shock. Mai smiled sadly in greetings to her old friends, but the smile swiftly fell as she saw them running. Not running away, but running towards the place of their fears and nightmares. Running towards the place that haunted them for twenty years.
Worry etched its way across Mai's features as fear followed in hand. "No… No, no, no-no-no-no!" Turning, she sprinted out of the room. If they entered, they would be at risk once more - didn't they realise that? If they entered, she wasn't sure they could be protected! "Alice! Tom!"
Before Alice could respond or Tom could appear, Mai heard a single, terrifying sound coming from the floor below. It was a sound she never wanted to hear again. It was the single sound that signaled the start of their nightmares, and of the trouble to come. The door below creaked open once more.
A/N
And with that, the conclusion of It Flows Ever On! Thank you so much to everyone who had left reviews, who had given me some feedback via PMs, or even just enjoyed the story! As the epilogue hinted, there will be a sequel down the line. Already have quite a few ideas jumping around to play with, hah! That said, it may be a little while yet, as there were a couple other stories I've also been eager to play around with for a while yet, starting with a story from the Miraculous Ladybug universe to hopefully come next!
Regardless, I hope you've enjoyed!
-Phoenix/Atoxkal