"Uh, sir--" Azalea began, but was cut off by the head.

"What in the world did you do to this place?! Where's Zack and Ivy?"
the head demanded.

"It's the year 2024! Acme's gone!" Michael shouted.

The head paused for a minute. "You mean...no one in Acme is in
business anymore?"

"Acme's been shut down for the past 15 years, sir. All the detectives
have disappeared, died, or sent to exile. We don't have a clue why it
happened," Azalea said.

"Wait...who are you?" the head asked.

"Michael."

"Azalea." She paused. "Sir--"

"Chief."

"Whatever. Chief, who exactly where Zack and Ivy?"

"Sorry, can't tell you that unless you have a good reason why."

"Zack was my dad."

"Ivy was my mother. They never told you they had us, did they?"
Azalea asked.

"Well, both did mention they each had a child in 2008. But no names
were ever given." The Chief answered. "Zack and Ivy were the best detective
team Acme ever had, as brother and sister. They spent their whole lives
together trying to catch Carmen Sandiego until Acme got word of their deaths.
They were two best friends anyone could ever have..." the Chief trailed off,
his expression changing from happiness to sadness.

"Chief, what's wrong?" Michael asked.

"It's just that...this reminds me of the time when Carmen had
supposedly died in the Himalayas. I was saddened that Carmen had died, and
during one point in this case I told Zack and Ivy I would be devastated if
anything happened to them, and Zack had replied, 'Nothing's going to happen
to us.' But now that times has changed and Zack and Ivy are gone..." a tear
fell from his computer face.

"You never had a chance to say goodbye or grieve over two of your
best agents before Acme shut down 15 years ago," Azalea said. "I'm sorry."

"You know, there's one thing we should do, Chief. We need to find
whoever killed Dad and Aunt Ivy. I think it'll help you and our family ease
the pain," Michael said.

"Yeah, me too, Michael. Carmen knew Mom and Uncle Zack back then, and
you were close to Carmen, Chief. Maybe you'll help us find her because she
was alive at the time Mom and Uncle Zack died and the crash," Azalea added.

The Chief sighed and activated a blue portal. "This is the C-5. You
can use it to transport anywhere in the world."

"Is it safe?" Michael asked.

"Well, there are a few kinks to work out, but generally it's safe."

Azalea picked up her laptop. "Chief, I hope you don't mind, but your
temporary home is going to be my laptop, and I'm afraid I'll have to shut it
down in order to take it with me. Will the C-5 still work without the
computer turned on?"

"The C-5 can work without the computer turned on. And no, I won't
mind being shut down in your computer." the Chief said.

"Okay, then." Azalea shut off the computer and slipped it into her
backpack. Then she and Michael stepped into the portal.

**********

Madrid, Spain

"Sara! It's been a long time," a raven-haired woman said.

"It has been, Carrrrmen," the elderly lady replied. "You look like
you haven't aged much since the crash."

"You're already in your early sixties but you still have that
accent," Carmen answered.

Before Sara could answer the C-5 opened and two teens stepped out.
"Hm, maybe the Chief's gone nuts," the boy said. "I highly doubt Spain would
be on Carmen's list to flee from Paris."

Carmen approached the two teens. "Excuse me, but who are you?"

"I'm Michael," the boy answered.

"Azalea. We're looking for someone who might help us find out who
killed Zack Darren and Ivy Hayes. The Chief told us a former thief named
Carmen Sandiego could help us, but in the States there were stories that
Carmen had either died or fled Paris to somewhere under a false name," the
girl said.

Carmen was surprised that her name had survived to this day. "Sara,
I'll talk to you later. Help yourself inside the house."

Sara shrugged and went inside. Carmen turned her attention to the two
teens. "You might not believe me, but I'm Carmen Sandiego."

Azalea widened her eyes. "Are you joking?"

"No." Carmen took out a wallet with an old picture of her and the
Chief when she was a detective. "This was me back in 1985 when I was a
detective. The Chief is in its robot form." Azalea and Michael saw the
picture.

"Then you have to know who Zack and Ivy were," Azalea said.

"Zack and Ivy were the best sibling team Acme's ever had. I admit,
even after Ivy and Zack had families of their own the two were still sharp as
ever, never losing their will to fight what was right." Carmen took out a
photo of Zack and Ivy at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. "This is the last
picture of them together, a few weeks before they died. The Chief never had
time to grieve over their deaths before being shut down. Then followed the
Wall Street crash, turning America from superpower to third-world country.
Acme was later bombed and destroyed."

"We've heard all that. But maybe you'll know what triggered their
deaths," Michael said.

Carmen sighed. "That, I don't know."

Azalea opened her laptop and started it up. "Chief, you feeling any
claustrophobic?" she asked.

The pink screen opened up in front of Azalea, Carmen, and Michael.
"I'm doing fine--just need to get used to being claustraphobic, I suppose..."
His eyes popped out when he saw Carmen. "CARMEN SANDIEGO! Thank god you're
alive!"

"Chief, I'm glad to see you," Carmen answered, smiling. "I've missed
you as well."

"Is VILE still up and running?" the Chief asked.

"No, Chief. I was forced to disband it. I don't even know if the
majority of my henchmen are still alive, besides Sara," Carmen replied.

"Oh..." the Chief's face fell.

"What's VILE?" Michael asked.

"The Villains' International League of Evil, or VILE, was a
organization network of thieves Carmen formed after she left Acme in 1989.
Acme spent all those years afterward to shut down VILE and arrest Carmen."
the Chief said.

"But you never got the chance because of the crash," Azalea said.

"You're correct, Azalea," Carmen said. "You know, you look so much
like Ivy...especially the eyes."

"Ivy was my mother," Azalea answered back.

"That's certainly a surprise," Carmen said. "Why don't you all come
in? It's starting to get dark."

**********

"I never expected you to flee to Spain during the crash," the Chief
said.

"Then where?" Carmen asked, after checking on Michael and Azalea.

"Maybe London, Austria..." the Chief said.

"Chief, what happened to Zack and Ivy?" Carmen asked.

"From what Azalea and Michael told me, they're dead. Zack's Michael's
father. How those two survived is anyone guess." the Chief said.

Carmen sighed. "I can't believe one of the places I used to call home
is gone."

"Don't get sappy about it, Carmen. We'll fix it." the Chief said.

Carmen looked at the Chief. "Chief, I'm not as young as I was
anymore. Come to think of it, I'm already 54 years old."

"Whoa...you ARE old...I keep forgetting it's 2024 and not 2009..."
the Chief said.

"15 years is a long time, Chief. Especially for a CGI head like you
who's been stuck in a CD."

"I guess...but you look so young!"

"It's a secret," Carmen answered. "Now, I think it's time for you to
go to sleep, it's late."


A ghost of a man and woman saw Carmen and the Chief. "My god, Ivy,
Carmen's so old..." the man said.

"I'm surprised Armando and Maria found our kids, Zackary," the woman
answered. "And Carmen does not look old, Zack."

"I don't mean old as in looks. I mean old as in age-wise," Zack
retorted.

"Yeah, right."

"Do you think the Chief and Carmen can hear us?" Zack asked.

"I don't think so." Ivy answered. She started floating away.

"Ivy, where're you going?" Zack asked.

"I want to see Azalea," Ivy replied, going straight through the wall
and into Azalea and Michael's room.

"Who do you suppose killed Mom and Dad?" Azalea asked.

"Probably someone who didn't like them," Michael replied.

Zack and Ivy listened to them. "Azalea looks so much like you, Ivy."
Zack said.

"And your son Michael bears a resemblance to you, little bro," Ivy
answered. "But it's amazing we've actually seen our own children grow up..."

"What do you mean?"

"When parents die, people say they'll never get to see their children
play, grow up, succeed, you know, blah blah woof woof. But I know that's
wrong."

"Too bad we can't talk to Carmen and Chief. We'll only scare them to
death."

"I know...it's a shame Maria and Armando were killed as well simply
because they were trying to help raise a friend's children."

"You know, would it be wrong to help solve one last case for Acme?"

"What are you up to know, little bro?"

"I want to help my son and niece find out who killed us. It'll help
the Chief cope his loss. Remember what he said to us when we were in Italy
working on Carmen's contest when she had 'died'?"

"He said he couldn't bear it if anything were to happen to us. Yeah,
I know, little bro. He's in a lot of pain for 15 years."

"I want to help the Chief ease his pain as well. But not take it
away. That would be a lie."

"I see what you mean, Zack. But for now, let's leave the two alone."
Ivy answered, fading away. Zack followed suit, and it was as if they were
never there at all.