June 15, 2024
Antarctica
Nighttime
'Please let the raid work,' Azalea silently said. "Are you sure
hanging by the window outside is a good idea?"
"Are you nervous?" Leigh asked. "You know, you could always let my
team take over Lydexter. We've got the warrants and everything."
"No, but I could probably use FBI assistance once in a blue moon,"
Azalea answered. She held up a pair of binoculars. "Isaac, Jeffrey, Kristy,
and Tina are back at camp base. Carmen's there too."
"Carmen? As in Carmen Sandiego?" Leigh asked.
"Yeah, but she no longer commits crime. I think she was devastated
when my family tree was almost wiped out, along with Acme." Azalea said.
"I'm sorry," Leigh replied. "Who were they?"
"Ivy and Thomas Hayes, along with countless relatives I've never
known," Azalea said.
"Ivy Hayes? You're one lucky kid." Leigh peered through a window.
"Coast is clear." She quickly pried the window open. "Get in, quick."
The two climbed through the window, untying the rope from around
their waists. "It's Lydexter's office," Azalea cried out.
"He's not in here. What do you want to do, search the office or go
after Lydexter?" Leigh asked.
"I'll go after Lydexter. Tina's trying to find evidence for
Lydexter's trial, if we ever get him alive. Isaac and Kristy are probably
kicking some ass right about now." Azalea said. "Sooner or later Jeffrey's
gonna see if Lydexter's had made any improvements on the second laser gun. We
stole the first one."
"Well, my team's probably looking all over for Lydexter. This place
is one huge labyrinth," Leigh said. "I'll join them. Good luck, Ivy."
"It's Azalea," Azalea corrected.
"Sorry. You just look a lot like your mother." Leigh apologized. Then
she left.
**********
Jeffrey and Tina donned on their sunglasses. "Ready, Tina?"
"Ready as you are, Jeffrey," Tina answered. The two picked up their
duffel bags and walked to the front entrance of the building. Security
personnel were there to greet them.
"Put your bags on the conveyor belt," one of them said. Tina and
Jeffrey did so. The twins also walked through the metal detectors and set it
off.
"Empty any and all metal objects from your pockets," a second
security guard said.
"You mean--these?" Jeffrey opened his trenchcoat to reveal guns
hanging from him. He grabbed two submachine guns and crossing his arms over
one another he opened fire, killing all but one guard, scaring him.
"Backup--I need backup!" he shouted into his radio.
Jeffrey fired several bullets into the guard shortly before several
armed guards showed up, taking cover behind the marble pillars.
"Lydexter's entourage, no doubt," Jeffrey said. He and Tina exchanged
looks, then bolted into opposite directions as gunfire erupted all around
them.
Jeffrey got out his guns and returned bullets as the marble pillars
started to crumble from the abuse they were taking from the guns. Tina ran up
and alongside the walls to dodge the firepower, then swiped a machinegun from
a guard's hand. "Eat gunfire death!" she shouted, riddling the guard's body
with bullets.
Jeffrey hid behind a marble pillar taking the abuse for him. He
discarded his two submachine guns and took out two fresh ones from his
trenchcoat. When the shooting stopped Jeffrey took advantage to shoot the
guards.
Tina kicked another guard's gun and gave the poor guy a KO. "I hope
that teaches you a lesson," she said, taking out another guard from behind.
Jeffrey tossed away his guns and killed the last guard with a swift boot to
the head.
The twins looked at the debris from the marble pillars. "Talk about
destruction," Tina said, picking up the duffel bag. The two stepped into an
elevator, right before one of the pillars collapsed.
**********
Leaving the office, Azalea saw a lone guard one floor below intently
looking for someone. "Sucker," she muttered softly to herself. Climbing over
the railing, Azalea positioned herself until she was above the guard. Then
she tackled him, catching the guard off-guard and stealing his laser gun in
the process.
"Looking for someone?" Azalea asked, pointing the gun in front of the
guard's face.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"Oh, geez, do I have to provide some ID?" Azalea sarcastically
remarked. "Cate Archer."
"I don't believe that!" the man cried.
"If you're looking for my ID, I left it in my other pants," Azalea
answered. "But in any case, you'd not figure what my name is. Where's
Lydexter?"
"Why should I tell you?" the man asked.
"You know, I do have your laser gun..." Azalea slipped out another
gun from her coat. "And I have a regular 9mm handgun modified to shoot
debilitating lasers into your body. Care to find out?" Azalea pointed both
guns at the man.
"Alright! Alright! Uncle!" the guard panicked. "Lydexter's down in
the lobby. You'll find him there!"
"Is that your final answer?" Azalea asked, still pointing the guns at
the guard.
"Yes! What kind of a half-wit do you take me for?!" the guard was
near full panic stage.
"Good. But first things first." Azalea put away the guns and then
proceeded to punch the lights out of the guard. "That should keep you out of
trouble for awhile."
**********
A burst of machinegun fire sounded just as the elevator doors opened.
"Hit the deck!" Jeffrey shouted, shoving Tina to the floor and throwing his
body over hers. After the gunfire ceased, a dull thump sounded. "I think it's
okay." Jeffrey got up looked in the direction where the sound came.
"Jeff? Tina? You guys alright?" Michael came out of a corner, holding
an AK-47.
"Michael? But I thought you were back at the hospital..." Tina got up
and took a hard look at Michael. "What in the world did you do to your hair?"
"Bleached it?" Michael shrugged. "No matter. Where's Azalea?"
"Good question. Does Azalea know you're here?" Tina asked.
"I don't think so. I know how she looks like though," Michael said.
"We should split up. Lydexter could be all over the place," Jeffrey
butted in.
While the conversation took place, neither person noticed Carmen had
slipped in.
**********
Azalea checked the lobby of the building. "Now where the hell is
Lydexter?"
"Looking for me?" a voice asked.
Azalea turned around and gasped. 'Lydexter's blocking the only exit
out of here!'
"I know why you're after me." Lydexter said.
Azalea brandished her laser gun. "Don't come any closer!" she cried.
"You're nothing but a foolish young girl, Miss Hayes," Lydexter said,
stepping closer to Azalea. "Your threats don't frighten me."
"Oh yeah? Neither does yours," Azalea said, trying not to let her
fear show through.
"You certainly have spirit. Are you sure you're not possessed by the
ghost of your mother, perhaps?" Lydexter asked, taunting Azalea.
"Don't speak badly of my mom! You killed her along with my dad!"
Azalea said, her fury rising. "Neither of them deserved to die!"
"And you don't deserve to live, you scum of the earth," Lydexter
calmly replied, aiming his gun at Azalea. "Be prepared to die, young child."
"Get away from her!" Carmen shouted.
"Who's there!" Lydexter shouted back.
Carmen cocked her pistol to catch Lydexter's attention. "Don't make
me shoot you," Carmen said.
"So. I see I find myself aiming a gun at a loved one," Lydexter said.
"Put the gun down and I won't hurt the girl."
"If you shoot Azalea, I will kill you with one swift shot to your
skull," Carmen said. "And I mean it."
"Whatever your intention is, I'll double it," a voice said. Jeffrey
had arrived.
Lydexter quickly grabbed Azalea and put her into a chokehold. "Back
away, or I'll kill this girl."
"Let go of me!" Azalea protested. But she knew there would be no way
to defeat Lydexter alone with her skill in the martial arts--and she couldn't
get her gun she dropped when Lydexter seized her. Not to mention she was also
desperate to get a breath of fresh air--Lydexter was choking her.
"If anyone dares attempt to close in on me," Lydexter declared,
putting a gun to Azalea's head, "I will kill this girl and myself. I will not
be taken in alive."
"Leave her alone!" Jeffrey ordered. "She didn't do anything!"
A bullet came out of nowhere and took the gun out of Lydexter's hand.
"Do not attempt to pick up the gun, Jonathon Lydexter," a voice boomed over
the speakers. "Release my cousin and I will not hurt you in any way."
"It's that cursed boy," Lydexter said. He shoved Azalea to the floor,
the girl gasping for breath.
Before anyone could react, Lydexter took out a hand grenade and threw
it to the small, glass-enclosed space where the controls of the speakers were
located. The result was an explosion--not a small one, but enough damage that
no one could've survived if anyone was in that booth.
"Michael!" Azalea gasped.
Carmen looked at Lydexter with dagger eyes. "You're going to hell,
Lydexter."
"At least that's one less problem to deal with," Lydexter said,
infuriatingly calm.
"I think that wasn't over." a voice behind him said. "You didn't kill
me--yet."
"Zack?" Carmen was surprised. She didn't recall Zack being brought
back to life...unless...
"You thought you could kill me, Lydexter. But I came back from the
dead," the "ghost" of Zack declared. "And now I've come for you!"
"What a pathetic act!" Lydexter scoffed. He took out another gun.
"After I kill everyone in this room, I'll kill you, Michael Zackary Darren,"
he sneered. He aimed the gun at Azalea, who was still trying to regain wind.
"Goodbye, Azalea." He fired the bullet--
--and the moment he fired it, time seemed to have slowed down. Azalea
saw the bullet fly straight toward her, in slow motion. 'This is it,' her
thoughts raced through her mind. 'I'm going to die!' Memories came back to
her--being with Michael at the very beginning of this adventure, this
journey--but more than that. Ivy and Zack seemed to flash in front of her,
her martial arts classes, her fights with the three teachers at the Asylum,
being with Fredrika when she was a kid, seeing the Chief, finding out she had
family right next to her...
...When the bullet disappeared.
"What?" Jeffrey was surprised. "What happened to the bullet?"
"Where did the bullet go?" Carmen asked.
"Why haven't you died yet?" Lydexter looked down at Azalea, who was
also befuddled as well.
Michael opened his hand to reveal a bullet. "You blinked. All of
you," he said.
Azalea slowly stood up. 'He faked his illness?' her mind was in
shock. 'He came all this way to help us?'
In a flash, Azalea collapsed. This time she was not breathing. She
had suffered a hard blow from Lydexter's hand from behind.
"Azalea!" Jeffrey was shocked.
Fueled by rage and seeing his cousin getting knocked out, Michael
made a final attack on Lydexter, easily overpowering the oppressor. But
Lydexter, with amazing sleight of hand, forced Michael on the ground.
"What doesn't kill you," Michael gasped, anger evident, memories
taking him back to the tortures he suffered at the Asylum, after his latest
infraction, to the day Azalea walked into his life.
"Say your prayers, boy," Lydexter sneered.
"What doesn't kill you, old man," Michael said, calming himself,
"makes you STRONGER!!" He gave a powerful kick to Lydexter's torso, forcing
the former Headmaster to back off. Then he got up, walked to Azalea's body,
looking down at her lifeless eyes and body. Then he looked at Lydexter,
Jeffrey, and Carmen. He took out a gun. "Let this girl not die in vain!" he
shouted, pointing the gun to his head. "Let the people whose fates fell into
the hands of Lydexter not be forgotten!" he continued, the gun not wavering
an inch away from his head.
"Michael, what are you doing?" Jeffrey asked, not sure if Michael had
gone insane. Carmen wanted to ask the same thing but refrained.
"The innocent people may pay the highest price for the injustice of
others, but they are the ones who convey the most powerful messages of all!"
Michael finished. Then he pulled the trigger, killing him. The thief, the
oppressor, and the ally saw Michael's body fall over Azalea's body.
Jeffrey and Carmen looked at Lydexter, apparent evil coming over the
two former Acme agents. "Hey, don't look at me. He killed himself." Lydexter
said nonchalantly.
"You're nothing but a big disgrace," Carmen said, anger rising on her
voice. "To Acme, to loved ones, to the people you were supposed to protect."
"What are you going to do about it?" Lydexter asked.
"I have no pity for you. My hands are small, but they're mine, not
yours." Carmen looked at the lifeless Michael and Azalea. Then she looked at
Lydexter. "Get out." she ordered.
"Huh?" Lydexter was befuddled.
"I said, 'Get out,'" Carmen commanded through clenched teeth, her
anger growing. "Your face remind me nothing of the partner I onced worked
with nearly 40 years ago. At Acme. The same place you crippled. Do you
realize what you've done?"
"You're babbling, Carmen," Lydexter answered calmly.
"DAMMIT!" Carmen shoved Lydexter up the wall with considerable brute
force for a woman at 54 years of age. "You've added two more people to your
ever-growing list of the lives you've taken, you animal. Now get out. I don't
want you to ever set foot in this place ever again." the former thief ranted.
"I'll make sure you'll never be welcomed in any corner of this world as long
as you live." She released him, watching Lydexter back away from her. "I'll
make sure your name will be thorougly stained and synonymously linked to
every single person you've killed." Carmen threatened. "Now get out of here
before I punch the bloody hell out of you."
Lydexter gave one last contempt look at Carmen and Jeffrey, then
left, where he was taken away by the FBI.
Carmen looked down at the dead champions. "My light, my joy, gone."
she simply said. She dropped an azalea blossom and a branch of ivy over the
bodies, then walked away.
Jeffrey walked over to Michael and Azalea's bodies. "I wish I got to
know the two of you better when you were still alive, Aza, Mike," he said
softly. Then he picked up the gun Michael used to shoot himself. 'That's
strange,' he thought. 'Plastic fragments?' He touched the blood that had
pooled. Sticky, but oddly thin. Then realization came to him that Michael had
not actually killed himself.
And if Michael had not killed himself...that meant there was a small
chance Azalea was still alive. "Tina! Issac! Kristy!" she yelled.
Tina came into the lobby. "What's going on, Jeff?" she asked. Then
she saw Azalea and Michael on the floor in a pool of "blood." "OH MY GOD!
LYDEXTER KILLED THEM!" she yelled.
"Tina, calm down!" Jeff said. "Get C-5 coordinates to San Francisco.
We don't have much time!"
**********
San Francisco
June 16, 2024
Early morning
"Azalea? Hello?" Tatiana asked.
Azalea slowly opened her eyes, blinking in an attempt to clear out
the fuzziness from her vision. Tatiana and Anastasia were beside her.
"Tatiana?" Azalea's voice rasped, surprising her. "Where am I?"
"Don't try to talk, Azalea. You were almost killed by Lydexter.
Someone got you into the hospital here in San Francisco," Tatiana said.
"What about Carmen? Where is she?" Azalea asked, coughing violently.
"Don't talk anymore, Azalea. Carmen's not here," Tatiana said. She
furnished a pen and a piece of paper for Azalea. "If you want to ask me more
questions, you can write them down."
Carmen came into the room. She was surprised to see Azalea. "Azalea?
Is that you?" Carmen asked.
Azalea nodded.
"But I thought you died. You just collapsed. I thought Lydexter had
inserted some bioengineered disease that was time-delayed." Carmen was
baffled. "What about Michael?"
"I don't know," Azalea rasped.
Carmen looked away from Azalea and found Michael was in the same
room. "What?" Carmen was puzzled. "Is he even still alive?"
"He faked it," a voice said. It was Tina. "He used a plastic pellet
filled with red dye to fool Lydexter into thinking he had committed suicide."
She looked at Michael, his eyes closed. "Looks like he has a bad concussion."
"I'm surprised the hospital decided to room Azalea with Michael. And
it looks like he hasn't recovered since he managed to fend off Lydexter to
protect Ivy's daughter." Carmen said.
"Michael was in Antarctica?!" Tatiana was surprised. "But that's not
possible! He couldn't have recovered in time to go after Lydexter!"
"Maybe he was never really that seriously injured, or faked that he
was well enough to be released from the hospital." Carmen said. "Either way,
he managed to make it to Antarctica."
"What happened to Lydexter?" Tatiana asked.
"The FBI took him in. He's expected to be behind bars for the rest of
his life," Carmen answered. She looked out the window. "The sun's starting to
rise. The worst is over."
Azalea looked at the rising sun. 'It's as if all my dreams have come
true...Michael and I were there for each other all this time. Carmen must've
known in the end we'll be at the beginning with one another.'
**********
The Space Needle
Night
Carmen looked down on the lit city.
'It's beautiful tonight,' she thought.
"Enjoying the night view?" a voice asked.
"Chief?" Carmen saw the familiar pink screen. "What are you doing
here?"
"Just thought I'll join you for a nice evening view of post-Crash
Seattle, with all its glory of destruction," the Chief answered.
"Nice way of phrasing that." Carmen sat down and took out a bottle.
"Getting thirsty?" The Chief asked.
"No." Carmen popped the cork. "It's just for celebration on a full-
frontal assault well done in Antarctica." Carmen and the Chief watched the
cork fly into the distance.
"Great. How are you gonna cork it back?" the Chief asked.
"I have a spare one, Chief." Carmen said. "Besides, if you're
wondering if it's alcohol...it's not. It's apple cider and I'm gonna let
Azalea and Michael hog the whole bottle when I get back to the hospital in
San Francisco." She looked at the full moon. "Odd...it's a full moon
tonight," Carmen remarked.
"What's so odd about it?" the Chief asked.
"I committed all those capers on a full moon...when Zack and Ivy were
still teenagers," Carmen said. "I wish I knew what Zack and Ivy were like
when they were children...They were like my kids before the Crash."
The Chief and Carmen were quiet for awhile. "I just hope nothing ever
happens to Zack and Ivy's children. I just hope Zack and Ivy are now at rest,
now that Lydexter's gone." Carmen said. "More importantly, though...Michael
and Azalea are alive. They're safe, they're alive, they have nothing to fear
from anyone. Far longer than forever. Not now, not ever."
**********
Japan
June 17, 2024
Carmen put a peach blossom on Suhara's grave.
'It's been 14 years since you passed away, Suhara,' Carmen said,
silently to herself. 'Where in the world would you be if you were still
alive? Or have you reincarnated?'
Carmen looked at the sky. Everything seemed to be at peace. 'Maybe,
if you had reincarnated...you'll be famous again. You'll live your old life,
you'll be working at some law enforcement agency, you'll be teaching young
recruits the Zen way...just like you taught me, and later on to Zack and Ivy
before the Crash. You'll probably even show those young recruits the tea
ceremony.' Carmen stood up and looked down at Suhara's headstone. "You were
right, Suhara-sama. Last night I slept peacefully for the first time since
the world collapsed 15 years ago."
**********
Asylum for Troubled Teens
July 4, 2024
"Independence Day," Michael said.
"Freedom," Azalea answered.
"At least the economy is starting to come back," Michael answered.
"There'll be no more places like this." He looked at the abandoned building.
"It's ironic." Azalea said.
"What?" Michael asked.
"Home is where the heart is. We've been through so many orphanages
it's hard to tell which is home," Azalea answered.
"I know where our home is," Michael grinned.
"Where?" Azalea looked at Michael.
"San Francisco. Home IS where the heart is--San Francisco. That's
where we were born, where our family is." Michael answered. "But while Aunt
Linda, Uncle Keenan, and Isabel are our family, I'll always consider Carmen
as our mother."
"Yeah..." Azalea trailed off. "Me too, Mike."
Antarctica
Nighttime
'Please let the raid work,' Azalea silently said. "Are you sure
hanging by the window outside is a good idea?"
"Are you nervous?" Leigh asked. "You know, you could always let my
team take over Lydexter. We've got the warrants and everything."
"No, but I could probably use FBI assistance once in a blue moon,"
Azalea answered. She held up a pair of binoculars. "Isaac, Jeffrey, Kristy,
and Tina are back at camp base. Carmen's there too."
"Carmen? As in Carmen Sandiego?" Leigh asked.
"Yeah, but she no longer commits crime. I think she was devastated
when my family tree was almost wiped out, along with Acme." Azalea said.
"I'm sorry," Leigh replied. "Who were they?"
"Ivy and Thomas Hayes, along with countless relatives I've never
known," Azalea said.
"Ivy Hayes? You're one lucky kid." Leigh peered through a window.
"Coast is clear." She quickly pried the window open. "Get in, quick."
The two climbed through the window, untying the rope from around
their waists. "It's Lydexter's office," Azalea cried out.
"He's not in here. What do you want to do, search the office or go
after Lydexter?" Leigh asked.
"I'll go after Lydexter. Tina's trying to find evidence for
Lydexter's trial, if we ever get him alive. Isaac and Kristy are probably
kicking some ass right about now." Azalea said. "Sooner or later Jeffrey's
gonna see if Lydexter's had made any improvements on the second laser gun. We
stole the first one."
"Well, my team's probably looking all over for Lydexter. This place
is one huge labyrinth," Leigh said. "I'll join them. Good luck, Ivy."
"It's Azalea," Azalea corrected.
"Sorry. You just look a lot like your mother." Leigh apologized. Then
she left.
**********
Jeffrey and Tina donned on their sunglasses. "Ready, Tina?"
"Ready as you are, Jeffrey," Tina answered. The two picked up their
duffel bags and walked to the front entrance of the building. Security
personnel were there to greet them.
"Put your bags on the conveyor belt," one of them said. Tina and
Jeffrey did so. The twins also walked through the metal detectors and set it
off.
"Empty any and all metal objects from your pockets," a second
security guard said.
"You mean--these?" Jeffrey opened his trenchcoat to reveal guns
hanging from him. He grabbed two submachine guns and crossing his arms over
one another he opened fire, killing all but one guard, scaring him.
"Backup--I need backup!" he shouted into his radio.
Jeffrey fired several bullets into the guard shortly before several
armed guards showed up, taking cover behind the marble pillars.
"Lydexter's entourage, no doubt," Jeffrey said. He and Tina exchanged
looks, then bolted into opposite directions as gunfire erupted all around
them.
Jeffrey got out his guns and returned bullets as the marble pillars
started to crumble from the abuse they were taking from the guns. Tina ran up
and alongside the walls to dodge the firepower, then swiped a machinegun from
a guard's hand. "Eat gunfire death!" she shouted, riddling the guard's body
with bullets.
Jeffrey hid behind a marble pillar taking the abuse for him. He
discarded his two submachine guns and took out two fresh ones from his
trenchcoat. When the shooting stopped Jeffrey took advantage to shoot the
guards.
Tina kicked another guard's gun and gave the poor guy a KO. "I hope
that teaches you a lesson," she said, taking out another guard from behind.
Jeffrey tossed away his guns and killed the last guard with a swift boot to
the head.
The twins looked at the debris from the marble pillars. "Talk about
destruction," Tina said, picking up the duffel bag. The two stepped into an
elevator, right before one of the pillars collapsed.
**********
Leaving the office, Azalea saw a lone guard one floor below intently
looking for someone. "Sucker," she muttered softly to herself. Climbing over
the railing, Azalea positioned herself until she was above the guard. Then
she tackled him, catching the guard off-guard and stealing his laser gun in
the process.
"Looking for someone?" Azalea asked, pointing the gun in front of the
guard's face.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"Oh, geez, do I have to provide some ID?" Azalea sarcastically
remarked. "Cate Archer."
"I don't believe that!" the man cried.
"If you're looking for my ID, I left it in my other pants," Azalea
answered. "But in any case, you'd not figure what my name is. Where's
Lydexter?"
"Why should I tell you?" the man asked.
"You know, I do have your laser gun..." Azalea slipped out another
gun from her coat. "And I have a regular 9mm handgun modified to shoot
debilitating lasers into your body. Care to find out?" Azalea pointed both
guns at the man.
"Alright! Alright! Uncle!" the guard panicked. "Lydexter's down in
the lobby. You'll find him there!"
"Is that your final answer?" Azalea asked, still pointing the guns at
the guard.
"Yes! What kind of a half-wit do you take me for?!" the guard was
near full panic stage.
"Good. But first things first." Azalea put away the guns and then
proceeded to punch the lights out of the guard. "That should keep you out of
trouble for awhile."
**********
A burst of machinegun fire sounded just as the elevator doors opened.
"Hit the deck!" Jeffrey shouted, shoving Tina to the floor and throwing his
body over hers. After the gunfire ceased, a dull thump sounded. "I think it's
okay." Jeffrey got up looked in the direction where the sound came.
"Jeff? Tina? You guys alright?" Michael came out of a corner, holding
an AK-47.
"Michael? But I thought you were back at the hospital..." Tina got up
and took a hard look at Michael. "What in the world did you do to your hair?"
"Bleached it?" Michael shrugged. "No matter. Where's Azalea?"
"Good question. Does Azalea know you're here?" Tina asked.
"I don't think so. I know how she looks like though," Michael said.
"We should split up. Lydexter could be all over the place," Jeffrey
butted in.
While the conversation took place, neither person noticed Carmen had
slipped in.
**********
Azalea checked the lobby of the building. "Now where the hell is
Lydexter?"
"Looking for me?" a voice asked.
Azalea turned around and gasped. 'Lydexter's blocking the only exit
out of here!'
"I know why you're after me." Lydexter said.
Azalea brandished her laser gun. "Don't come any closer!" she cried.
"You're nothing but a foolish young girl, Miss Hayes," Lydexter said,
stepping closer to Azalea. "Your threats don't frighten me."
"Oh yeah? Neither does yours," Azalea said, trying not to let her
fear show through.
"You certainly have spirit. Are you sure you're not possessed by the
ghost of your mother, perhaps?" Lydexter asked, taunting Azalea.
"Don't speak badly of my mom! You killed her along with my dad!"
Azalea said, her fury rising. "Neither of them deserved to die!"
"And you don't deserve to live, you scum of the earth," Lydexter
calmly replied, aiming his gun at Azalea. "Be prepared to die, young child."
"Get away from her!" Carmen shouted.
"Who's there!" Lydexter shouted back.
Carmen cocked her pistol to catch Lydexter's attention. "Don't make
me shoot you," Carmen said.
"So. I see I find myself aiming a gun at a loved one," Lydexter said.
"Put the gun down and I won't hurt the girl."
"If you shoot Azalea, I will kill you with one swift shot to your
skull," Carmen said. "And I mean it."
"Whatever your intention is, I'll double it," a voice said. Jeffrey
had arrived.
Lydexter quickly grabbed Azalea and put her into a chokehold. "Back
away, or I'll kill this girl."
"Let go of me!" Azalea protested. But she knew there would be no way
to defeat Lydexter alone with her skill in the martial arts--and she couldn't
get her gun she dropped when Lydexter seized her. Not to mention she was also
desperate to get a breath of fresh air--Lydexter was choking her.
"If anyone dares attempt to close in on me," Lydexter declared,
putting a gun to Azalea's head, "I will kill this girl and myself. I will not
be taken in alive."
"Leave her alone!" Jeffrey ordered. "She didn't do anything!"
A bullet came out of nowhere and took the gun out of Lydexter's hand.
"Do not attempt to pick up the gun, Jonathon Lydexter," a voice boomed over
the speakers. "Release my cousin and I will not hurt you in any way."
"It's that cursed boy," Lydexter said. He shoved Azalea to the floor,
the girl gasping for breath.
Before anyone could react, Lydexter took out a hand grenade and threw
it to the small, glass-enclosed space where the controls of the speakers were
located. The result was an explosion--not a small one, but enough damage that
no one could've survived if anyone was in that booth.
"Michael!" Azalea gasped.
Carmen looked at Lydexter with dagger eyes. "You're going to hell,
Lydexter."
"At least that's one less problem to deal with," Lydexter said,
infuriatingly calm.
"I think that wasn't over." a voice behind him said. "You didn't kill
me--yet."
"Zack?" Carmen was surprised. She didn't recall Zack being brought
back to life...unless...
"You thought you could kill me, Lydexter. But I came back from the
dead," the "ghost" of Zack declared. "And now I've come for you!"
"What a pathetic act!" Lydexter scoffed. He took out another gun.
"After I kill everyone in this room, I'll kill you, Michael Zackary Darren,"
he sneered. He aimed the gun at Azalea, who was still trying to regain wind.
"Goodbye, Azalea." He fired the bullet--
--and the moment he fired it, time seemed to have slowed down. Azalea
saw the bullet fly straight toward her, in slow motion. 'This is it,' her
thoughts raced through her mind. 'I'm going to die!' Memories came back to
her--being with Michael at the very beginning of this adventure, this
journey--but more than that. Ivy and Zack seemed to flash in front of her,
her martial arts classes, her fights with the three teachers at the Asylum,
being with Fredrika when she was a kid, seeing the Chief, finding out she had
family right next to her...
...When the bullet disappeared.
"What?" Jeffrey was surprised. "What happened to the bullet?"
"Where did the bullet go?" Carmen asked.
"Why haven't you died yet?" Lydexter looked down at Azalea, who was
also befuddled as well.
Michael opened his hand to reveal a bullet. "You blinked. All of
you," he said.
Azalea slowly stood up. 'He faked his illness?' her mind was in
shock. 'He came all this way to help us?'
In a flash, Azalea collapsed. This time she was not breathing. She
had suffered a hard blow from Lydexter's hand from behind.
"Azalea!" Jeffrey was shocked.
Fueled by rage and seeing his cousin getting knocked out, Michael
made a final attack on Lydexter, easily overpowering the oppressor. But
Lydexter, with amazing sleight of hand, forced Michael on the ground.
"What doesn't kill you," Michael gasped, anger evident, memories
taking him back to the tortures he suffered at the Asylum, after his latest
infraction, to the day Azalea walked into his life.
"Say your prayers, boy," Lydexter sneered.
"What doesn't kill you, old man," Michael said, calming himself,
"makes you STRONGER!!" He gave a powerful kick to Lydexter's torso, forcing
the former Headmaster to back off. Then he got up, walked to Azalea's body,
looking down at her lifeless eyes and body. Then he looked at Lydexter,
Jeffrey, and Carmen. He took out a gun. "Let this girl not die in vain!" he
shouted, pointing the gun to his head. "Let the people whose fates fell into
the hands of Lydexter not be forgotten!" he continued, the gun not wavering
an inch away from his head.
"Michael, what are you doing?" Jeffrey asked, not sure if Michael had
gone insane. Carmen wanted to ask the same thing but refrained.
"The innocent people may pay the highest price for the injustice of
others, but they are the ones who convey the most powerful messages of all!"
Michael finished. Then he pulled the trigger, killing him. The thief, the
oppressor, and the ally saw Michael's body fall over Azalea's body.
Jeffrey and Carmen looked at Lydexter, apparent evil coming over the
two former Acme agents. "Hey, don't look at me. He killed himself." Lydexter
said nonchalantly.
"You're nothing but a big disgrace," Carmen said, anger rising on her
voice. "To Acme, to loved ones, to the people you were supposed to protect."
"What are you going to do about it?" Lydexter asked.
"I have no pity for you. My hands are small, but they're mine, not
yours." Carmen looked at the lifeless Michael and Azalea. Then she looked at
Lydexter. "Get out." she ordered.
"Huh?" Lydexter was befuddled.
"I said, 'Get out,'" Carmen commanded through clenched teeth, her
anger growing. "Your face remind me nothing of the partner I onced worked
with nearly 40 years ago. At Acme. The same place you crippled. Do you
realize what you've done?"
"You're babbling, Carmen," Lydexter answered calmly.
"DAMMIT!" Carmen shoved Lydexter up the wall with considerable brute
force for a woman at 54 years of age. "You've added two more people to your
ever-growing list of the lives you've taken, you animal. Now get out. I don't
want you to ever set foot in this place ever again." the former thief ranted.
"I'll make sure you'll never be welcomed in any corner of this world as long
as you live." She released him, watching Lydexter back away from her. "I'll
make sure your name will be thorougly stained and synonymously linked to
every single person you've killed." Carmen threatened. "Now get out of here
before I punch the bloody hell out of you."
Lydexter gave one last contempt look at Carmen and Jeffrey, then
left, where he was taken away by the FBI.
Carmen looked down at the dead champions. "My light, my joy, gone."
she simply said. She dropped an azalea blossom and a branch of ivy over the
bodies, then walked away.
Jeffrey walked over to Michael and Azalea's bodies. "I wish I got to
know the two of you better when you were still alive, Aza, Mike," he said
softly. Then he picked up the gun Michael used to shoot himself. 'That's
strange,' he thought. 'Plastic fragments?' He touched the blood that had
pooled. Sticky, but oddly thin. Then realization came to him that Michael had
not actually killed himself.
And if Michael had not killed himself...that meant there was a small
chance Azalea was still alive. "Tina! Issac! Kristy!" she yelled.
Tina came into the lobby. "What's going on, Jeff?" she asked. Then
she saw Azalea and Michael on the floor in a pool of "blood." "OH MY GOD!
LYDEXTER KILLED THEM!" she yelled.
"Tina, calm down!" Jeff said. "Get C-5 coordinates to San Francisco.
We don't have much time!"
**********
San Francisco
June 16, 2024
Early morning
"Azalea? Hello?" Tatiana asked.
Azalea slowly opened her eyes, blinking in an attempt to clear out
the fuzziness from her vision. Tatiana and Anastasia were beside her.
"Tatiana?" Azalea's voice rasped, surprising her. "Where am I?"
"Don't try to talk, Azalea. You were almost killed by Lydexter.
Someone got you into the hospital here in San Francisco," Tatiana said.
"What about Carmen? Where is she?" Azalea asked, coughing violently.
"Don't talk anymore, Azalea. Carmen's not here," Tatiana said. She
furnished a pen and a piece of paper for Azalea. "If you want to ask me more
questions, you can write them down."
Carmen came into the room. She was surprised to see Azalea. "Azalea?
Is that you?" Carmen asked.
Azalea nodded.
"But I thought you died. You just collapsed. I thought Lydexter had
inserted some bioengineered disease that was time-delayed." Carmen was
baffled. "What about Michael?"
"I don't know," Azalea rasped.
Carmen looked away from Azalea and found Michael was in the same
room. "What?" Carmen was puzzled. "Is he even still alive?"
"He faked it," a voice said. It was Tina. "He used a plastic pellet
filled with red dye to fool Lydexter into thinking he had committed suicide."
She looked at Michael, his eyes closed. "Looks like he has a bad concussion."
"I'm surprised the hospital decided to room Azalea with Michael. And
it looks like he hasn't recovered since he managed to fend off Lydexter to
protect Ivy's daughter." Carmen said.
"Michael was in Antarctica?!" Tatiana was surprised. "But that's not
possible! He couldn't have recovered in time to go after Lydexter!"
"Maybe he was never really that seriously injured, or faked that he
was well enough to be released from the hospital." Carmen said. "Either way,
he managed to make it to Antarctica."
"What happened to Lydexter?" Tatiana asked.
"The FBI took him in. He's expected to be behind bars for the rest of
his life," Carmen answered. She looked out the window. "The sun's starting to
rise. The worst is over."
Azalea looked at the rising sun. 'It's as if all my dreams have come
true...Michael and I were there for each other all this time. Carmen must've
known in the end we'll be at the beginning with one another.'
**********
The Space Needle
Night
Carmen looked down on the lit city.
'It's beautiful tonight,' she thought.
"Enjoying the night view?" a voice asked.
"Chief?" Carmen saw the familiar pink screen. "What are you doing
here?"
"Just thought I'll join you for a nice evening view of post-Crash
Seattle, with all its glory of destruction," the Chief answered.
"Nice way of phrasing that." Carmen sat down and took out a bottle.
"Getting thirsty?" The Chief asked.
"No." Carmen popped the cork. "It's just for celebration on a full-
frontal assault well done in Antarctica." Carmen and the Chief watched the
cork fly into the distance.
"Great. How are you gonna cork it back?" the Chief asked.
"I have a spare one, Chief." Carmen said. "Besides, if you're
wondering if it's alcohol...it's not. It's apple cider and I'm gonna let
Azalea and Michael hog the whole bottle when I get back to the hospital in
San Francisco." She looked at the full moon. "Odd...it's a full moon
tonight," Carmen remarked.
"What's so odd about it?" the Chief asked.
"I committed all those capers on a full moon...when Zack and Ivy were
still teenagers," Carmen said. "I wish I knew what Zack and Ivy were like
when they were children...They were like my kids before the Crash."
The Chief and Carmen were quiet for awhile. "I just hope nothing ever
happens to Zack and Ivy's children. I just hope Zack and Ivy are now at rest,
now that Lydexter's gone." Carmen said. "More importantly, though...Michael
and Azalea are alive. They're safe, they're alive, they have nothing to fear
from anyone. Far longer than forever. Not now, not ever."
**********
Japan
June 17, 2024
Carmen put a peach blossom on Suhara's grave.
'It's been 14 years since you passed away, Suhara,' Carmen said,
silently to herself. 'Where in the world would you be if you were still
alive? Or have you reincarnated?'
Carmen looked at the sky. Everything seemed to be at peace. 'Maybe,
if you had reincarnated...you'll be famous again. You'll live your old life,
you'll be working at some law enforcement agency, you'll be teaching young
recruits the Zen way...just like you taught me, and later on to Zack and Ivy
before the Crash. You'll probably even show those young recruits the tea
ceremony.' Carmen stood up and looked down at Suhara's headstone. "You were
right, Suhara-sama. Last night I slept peacefully for the first time since
the world collapsed 15 years ago."
**********
Asylum for Troubled Teens
July 4, 2024
"Independence Day," Michael said.
"Freedom," Azalea answered.
"At least the economy is starting to come back," Michael answered.
"There'll be no more places like this." He looked at the abandoned building.
"It's ironic." Azalea said.
"What?" Michael asked.
"Home is where the heart is. We've been through so many orphanages
it's hard to tell which is home," Azalea answered.
"I know where our home is," Michael grinned.
"Where?" Azalea looked at Michael.
"San Francisco. Home IS where the heart is--San Francisco. That's
where we were born, where our family is." Michael answered. "But while Aunt
Linda, Uncle Keenan, and Isabel are our family, I'll always consider Carmen
as our mother."
"Yeah..." Azalea trailed off. "Me too, Mike."
