(During Issue 10: WITCH returns to Earth)
In one fleeting moment, the entire prison of Meridian disappears by Elyon's will. In one instant, in one glance and in one word, at times it takes very little to completely change people's destinies…
"It's her! Elyon! The Light of Meridian!" says a Meridianite who comes out his house and points to their savior. The full retreat of the soldiers, the townspeople begin to see outside. They excite to come out when they realize it is their future queen who appeared before them.
"Did you see that! She destroyed the prison!" says another as the crowd begins to encircle her presence.
"Long live the Light of Meridian!" says another as they begin to carry her on their shoulders and once again march through the streets in joy. "Hurrah!" "Cheers for Princess Elyon!"
The moments become too fast for Elyon as she confusingly just joins them as she sits on their shoulders. She then glances around as she hastily jerks her head around her, as if she looks for someone. Then among the crowd farther away from them, she instead sees a familiar friend in a legionate uniform and in hood, who was one of the first people to open her eyes.
'If Eric were to see you right now…' Ray says to himself as he sees Elyon eye-to-eye, extends his arm out and makes a thumbs-up at her.
She smiles and waves her hands at them as she passes by and gets the hidden message. "Vathek! Raymondus! Thank you!" she happily calls out among the different yells and cheers of both prisoners and the townspeople alike.
'…he would be really proud of what you did!' Ray proudly smiles at her as she drifts away with the free and hopeful Meridianites throughout the settlements.
"Let's go Bartholomew." Vathek whispers to Ray as they both walk away to a hidden alley way. "I found Alborn and Miriadel, it's time to bring them to our shelters. You sure your rebels are going to meet at the 'Sanctuary'?"
"So sure." Ray replies. "I can't see one of ours or neither Eric or probably the free Grantaire among them so I guess they should have gone to the underground."
As Vathek enters the narrow alleyway, Ray sees a tall, green scaled and green braided hair Meridianite man and beside him is a light and pale tone woman galhot with thick curly turquoise hair.
"Alborn, we're ready." Vathek says to the male galhot who then uses his powers to open a portal on the ground by the dead end of the alleyway, such as Arminta did when Eric and Ray escaped to the underground passageways. They then enter the hole and descend down the spiral staircase as the hole on the bricked-wall forms back to its original place. Vathek at front then leads the way as he lights a torch all the way down to the sewers.
As they reach down the sewers where the running sewage water is next to them, Vathek clears his throat and starts the introduction as they walk to the 'Sanctaury' on foot in the torch-lighted sewage. "Bartholomew, I like you to meet Alborn and Miriadel, former legionate and commander of the Royal Guard, and captain of the army respectively."
"Good to see you." Ray waves his hand at them and shakes their hands.
"Alborn, Miriadel, this is Raymondus," Vathek continues. "a young legionate from the Sixth Legion from Earth. He's actually here to help with the rebels in Meridian."
"Aren't you one of that—what's his name again?—" Alborn tries to recall.
"Ashcroft?" Miriadel recalls.
"Ah! Yes!" Alborn then remembers as he had a conversation with Nigel when he arrived at their place. "You are one of his fellow legionates I presume?"
"Yes I am." Ray replies and continues. "By the way, I apologize in behalf of—Ashcroft. As he promised, we didn't make it in time to save you when you called. When we arrived at your home we learned that you were captured." He recollects them with guilt about how too late they were when they arrived that they were gone at their house.
"Don't be." Alborn says as he elbows Vathek as he makes a guilty face. "Isn't that right Vathek?" he snickers at him.
"You don't have to mention that again." Vathek gulps and shakes his head away.
"When we were on a trip to Aubry," Alborn explains. "Miriadel and I sense that there were intruders who barge in to our house. Thinking, it was one of Phobos' men, we teleported immediately and called Ashcroft for help. But when we arrived, we were caught by Cedric and Vathek as they reversed our human appearance back to our original forms on front of our dear Elyon…"
Ray says as he recalls Eric's theory. 'So they did left their car at Aubry and teleported!'
"…That depressed moment truly broke our hearts." Miriadel continues in a sad tone. "No offense Vathek, but I could still remember how disgusted she was when Cedric called us 'traitors'. She then couldn't even call consider us as her parents anymore. It was a horrible memory to remember for us."
"You're the worst, Vathek…" Ray teasingly and annoyingly says.
Vathek in more humiliation staggers farther from them in shame as he still holds the torch. "Yet it's because of them that they showed me some enlightenment while I guard and conversed with you in your cells."
"You still considered Elyon as your daughter? Even though you're not related?" Ray asks them once again.
"When we and Galgheita came here, it was all for the mission." Alborn explains. "It was to take Elyon to Earth and be her foster parents to protect her during a military coup. Yet as the years go by, we watched her grow and develop to become who she is now. We become so attached to her that we really think we're a real family! To the point we still even used our Earth names, Thomas and Eleanor, to each other. She may not be related to us, but we felt as if we were raising her as our own daughter and a part of us."
"And a while ago, she even searched and called me for the first time after months of hoping…" Miriadel says.
"She called you?" Ray asks. 'Is that the reason why Elyon turns her head around as if she's looking for someone? She was finding her…'
"'Mom'" Miriadel replies as joyful tears flow from her eyes. "She called me 'Mom'."
(During Issue 10: WITCH interrogated by agents)
"Nigel…"
Nigel quickly hides his tools, moves away from the black car and he turns around to see Officer Lair's police car parks on front the black car, at the opposite side of Elyon's house. "Officer Lair, we meet again after a few hours. Why are you here?"
"The agents told me that they found the 'five girls' in Elyon's house so I drove here to fetch my daughter. The agents are also interrogating the girls again as of the moment in that house." Officer Lair says as he goes out of his vehicle and approaches to his side. "And what were you doing a while ago when I arrived? Were you trying break into the agent's car?"
"So you caught me after all huh…" Nigel snickers as he shows him a screwdriver and some metal shaped locksmith tools on front of him. "You're not arresting me for theft are you?"
"If it weren't for the safety of the Guardians and my daughter I would." He says as he examines Nigel's tools. "You came all this way to follow the agents?"
Nigel breathes a heavy and tiresome sigh. He bends on front of the car as he continues to break the car lock. "I've been finding them this whole morning and this is where I found them. To sum up, I've biked all the way at Taranee's, then here, at Cornelia's, then back here again where I finally found their rented car."
"Rented car? At the Hale Residence?" Officer Lair surprisingly repeats. He then watches around to guard as Nigel tries to barge in the car door. "So you also knew what happened to their former car?" he chuckles.
Nigel then does a slight chuckle. "Plants sprout from the asphalt and fasten itself around the car engine in such a ridiculous way? Only the Guardian of Earth could do that to stop them from following her." Earlier as Nigel arrived he too inspected the hood of the agent's car.
"You know how it all happened?" Officer Lair asks. "All I heard when they called to me is they need to rent another car and to also inspect the car they had." He says as he pats on the new black car that the agent's now use.
Nigel points to a purple compartment van across the side of the road with the sign 'Olsen's Petshop'. "They used that van to escape Cornelia from her house to Elyon's. The Guardians are needed and called again as usual. When you gave the agents the rented car, they followed once again and drove out here—Flames!" Nigel says as he stands up and hides his tools in his jacket.
"What's the matter?" Officer Lair says.
"It'll be another day when I have to figure out how to open these doors. How about you? Did your 'informant'skills served you well?" Nigel asks as he irritatingly shoves his hands in his pockets.
"I have already sneak into the records office and I place another fake yet realistic document of their existence before dawn."
"Already?! That was fast for an informant like you!" Nigel exclaims surprisingly and dismays with a sigh. "I guess I should bring the other locksmith toolkit I have…" he says as he takes his bike out from a nearby tree.
"Another locksmith kit? Are you sure you're not a real life thief?" Officer Lair stares at him with doubt in his eyes as he crosses his arms.
"If I were then I should've stolen those files in the back of the car." Nigel says as he points out the files and folders at the back of the black car, seen through the clear glass car door. "I hate to be honest confronted by a cop like you but these were my brother's apparently. By context you already know what I mean."
"I sure do." Officer Lair relaxes and replies as he relates to Daniel Ashcroft's unruly and bad attitude. "And I hope you aren't like your brother."
"After the community service and being a legionate, it seems as if I don't have time to." Nigel replies as he goes off his way.
