“Alex, they aren’t forcing me to fight alongside them. I chose to do this. And they are not just my teammates. Ameana’s death is devastating to them and to me.”
“I’m sorry but from what I heard that you two didn’t get along. In fact, I thought you hated each other.”
“We didn’t hate each other…we just didn’t always get along. And you know what, even if we had our moments, I miss her. She saved my life. And she gave everything she had and she still died. Why did she die?”
I didn’t realize I was screaming until a few Paras stopped what they were doing to see what the commotion was.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell,” I reply.
I head over to the marble bench underneath the tree. Alex follows me. He sits alongside me and takes my hand.
“It’s okay to be pissed with the way this all went down,” Alex says.
“Rage and Ameana should have made it to the end; Marcus and I didn’t but they should have…”
“Emerson, you are a part of a team that consists of teenagers that were killed by their loved ones. The first thing you should have learned from their Core is that nothing ends the way it ‘should’ here. Nothing…”
As much as Marcus tries to put it off, the time finally comes for the Passing of Ameana Jones. There are Paras from all over the world in attendance, in addition to hundreds of Angels. They gather gracefully along the mountains and sing a lovely song that floats through the crowd. The feathers gather underneath her body and begin to raise her body up in the air, slowly.
Since Rahell was killed, the Paras have a new Taker to transport the body of the fallen Angels. His name is Damien. He directs the body without touching it. He guides it and causes it to linger in front of Rage. He takes her hand and kisses it. He whispers something in her ear. I think he said, “I’m sorry.”
Her body then floats over to the rest of us. The way a Passing works is that if someone is holding on to the body emotionally, it will not float up into the sky and the Taker will not be able to transport the body. I don’t think Rage has let Ameana go but since he’s a demon, I don’t think he can stop it from moving.
The being who stops Ameana from moving on is Marcus. When Ameana’s body gets in front of him, he shakes his head. The body stays where it is and no longer raises. Damien tells Marcus that it’s time to let Ameana go. Looking at the pain on his face, Marcus is unable to do it. The body begins to lower itself on to the ground.
Marcus takes to the air, we attempt to go after him but the new Taker insists he be the one to get the First Guardian. He follows Marcus onto the top of the mountain range. We look up anxiously as the two of them talk. I don’t know what he said to Marcus but Marcus finally agrees to let Ameana go. Her body begins to ascend.
“So now, you’re really just gonna forget about us?” I ask Rage.
“Look I’m sorry, okay but I’m not good at the being good crap. For one thing I’m pretty damn close to burning this whole fucking place down,” Rage tells me.
“You can’t just leave like this,” Marcus shouts, growing angry.
“He’s right. You can’t just leave. There’s something you need to see,” someone says behind us.
We turn and see Tony-Tone in his finest suit minus his usual car salesman smile.
“I didn’t know you were here, Tony,” I reply.
“She was like family so yeah, I’m here,” he says trying to hide his sadness behind a casual shrug of his shoulders.
“What is it we need to see?” Rage asks.
“Ameana; she left a message for all of you. She had me make her a mixture that would create a 3-D image of her. She made me leave the room and then she recorded what she wanted to say. She said that if anything happened to her, I was to make sure the team saw it,” Tony replies.
We don’t waste any time, we head to the nearest unoccupied room in the castle.
“It’s called a Kurrent. You can’t ask it questions because it’s all prerecorded. But the image does recognize who you are because we’ve already programmed it to identify the team.”
Tony pours a multicolored mixture on the floor. As it seeps out from the vial it forms a perfect replica of Ameana. Rage’s jaw drops when he sees her. It’s like she’s real and alive again.
“Hello, Thomas,” she says walking up to him.
Tony explains that the Kurrent has a built in memory and knows what message was recorded for which team member.
“Ameana,” Rage calls out longingly.
“I guess I died but here’s the good part: I had you. Thomas, you saved me when I didn’teven know I needed saving. Thank you for loving Aaden and me. It may sound crazy but Iwould not change one damn thing. And when regret and grief surround you, know that Idied, happy because this time, unlike my Core, I died surrounded by love. Aaden, sayhello to Daddy.”
We look on as Ameana’s markings glow for what would be the last time. Rage gasps, as if he’s been punched in the midsection. His hands are shaking. He calls out his son’s name. Rage would give his life if he could touch her one final time. The image comes closer to him and smiles lovingly.
“Thomas, Aaden and I need a favor from you,” the image says.
Rage looks on, taken with the image of Ameana and her last request.
“Anything, I’ll do anything,” he replies as if she could hear him.
She smiles and speaks softly.
“Thomas, please take care of my team; my other family. Don’t walk away from them. They need you and you need them. Please stay with them: stay for me.”
Rage is too overwhelmed to speak. The image then walks over to Miku.
“Pretty, Thomas’s love healed me. Let Jay’s do the same for you. And don’t mourn me; Igot to do a lot of shopping.”
She then walks over and stands between Marcus and me.
“Human, I have spent a fair amount of time hating you. In fact, I had gotten quite good atit. But the other day, I realized if you didn’t reach for your soul mate, I would never have found mine: Thank you.”
I smile at the image before me. She then focuses on Marcus.
“Marcus, stop blaming yourself; it’s not your fault. You have done everything you can tohelp me. So now, I’m going to help you.”
She turns and addresses me.
“Human, ask Marcus what he did on his ‘Day of Grace,’” she says.
She smiles brightly and the color begins to fade from her face, soon the image starts to dim until it fades. Rage grabs Tony and pleads with him to get her back.
“I’m sorry, that’s the last of the recorded message; the Kurrent is over,” Tony replies.
“Well play it again,” Rage shouts, dying to get as much of Ameana and his son as he can.
“It can only be played once. That’s why she said to make sure you were all gathered,” Tony says.
Rage finally lets go of Tony and composes himself.
“Hey, what is the ‘Day of Grace?’” I ask them.
“Um…it’s nothing; Rage, are you staying or what?” Marcus asks. We all look at him anxiously.
“Yeah, I’m gonna stick around for awhile: Ameana wanted that so…yes, I’m staying.”
Just as we start to cheer, Bex enters the room. He looks troubled and alert.
“I’m glad you’re staying, demon; they may need you,” Bex says.
“Why, what’s going on?” Miku asks.
“Raphael called to say he’s on his way here with the final clue to finding the third Alpha,” Bex replies.
“Good, I’m ready to get this over with,” Marcus says.
We all agree. We then ask Bex where in the kingdom we can find Raphael.
“He never made it here. Lucy killed him.”
“Shit!” Marcus rages.
“That’s not all. As you know, Raphael was the keeper of the Alphas…”
“Wait Bex, what the hell are you trying to say?” I ask.
“Lucy is now in possession of the first and second Alpha.”
CHA
PTER FIFTEEN:
HIDEOUS
Miku is the first to speak. She tries to stay calm and gather as much information as she can. It’s good that she’s focused because Marcus is far too pissed off to communicate rationally.
“Are you saying it’s over? All of this was for nothing? Ameana, Reese, Rio, Mouse; they all died for nothing?” she asks Bex.
“Wait, if Lucy has the two Alphas, she’s already destroyed them. Shouldn’t there be…I don’t know lighting, darkness…hell?” I ask.
“That’s right. If Lucy destroyed the Alphas, we would know because the Council would be gone forever. So humanity would start to crumble. Why isn’t that happening?” Rage asks.
“From what we can tell, Lucy has changed her plans,” Bex says.
“Okay, let me get this this straight: Originally, she wanted to stop us from assembling the three Alphas so that the Council could not be formed,” I reply.
“That is correct,” Bex says.
“Now, if the Council isn’t formed in the time we have, which is less than a week at this point, the balance of good and evil will be thrown off. Once that happens, there will be no light. Angels would be stuck on earth forever and die out. Without the Angels to stand between us and Lucy’s wrath, humanity would be obliterated,” I sum up.
“That’s exactly what would happen,” Bex confirms.
“That was her original plan but you’re saying her plans have changed?” Rage asks.
“We believe so, yes.”
“Well what does she want now? Why hasn’t she destroyed the two Alphas?” Jay asks.
“Because she now wants the Council to be formed.”
“Why the hell would Lucy want the Council to come back?” Miku asks Bex.
“Because she got her hands on the Nycren.”
Rage looks at Bex with complete and utter fear.
“HOW THE HELL DID SHE GET THE NYCREN?” Rage shouts at Bex, livid.
“From what we have gathered, she made a deal with an anonymous being. They gave her all the information she needed to find the Nycren’s location,” Bex says.
“Okay, what’s the Nycren and why is it so bad that Lucy has it?” Marcus asks impatiently.
“We’re fucked, you know that right? The Nycren is the perfect weapon. It can’t be destroyed. And it can’t be stopped. We are officially fucked,” Rage concludes.
“Hey, can someone just tell us what the hell the Nycren is already?” I bark.
“Go ahead, Bex. Tell them how the Paras created a weapon far more evil than anything Lucy ever could. Tell them how you guys fucked up and how we are all going to die.”
“In the beginning, Omnis and Lucy kept in touch. In fact, they would meet on earth for a round of Gochen; a very complex version of chess. The pyramids, Sandstones and other monuments that humans consider ‘wonders of the world’ are really just abandoned pieces on a chess board.
“As you know, Lucy and Omnis had a disagreement about what to do with the souls of humans who died between the ages of thirteen and nineteen. But what you may not know is that Omnis and Lucy had another disagreement before that. This disagreement would result in the making of the Nycren; the most destructive invention in the history of the light. The argument would spark debate in humanity as well. The question was simply this: Is evil a product of nature or nurture?
“Omnis insisted that when a being has goodness, it can survive no matter what evil they encountered unless it was in the being’s nature to be evil. Lucy on the other hand was certain that everyone could be turned evil when given enough incentive. In other words, if a being was good but life was cruel and painful enough, that being would then be turned evil.
“In order to prove her point, Lucy started to wreak havoc on various beings to show that they too would greet the darkness once enough awful things had happened. Omnis wasn’t ready to concede to her, so the two had a ‘war of words’ for some time.
“The Paras feared that Omnis’ love for Atourum, the original version of Lucy, was blinding him to the current evil spirit that Lucy had become. They cautioned Omnis that he would need to plan for the day when Lucy’s evil would need to be controlled.
“However Omnis didn’t like controlling Lucy. He was big on free will. So a hundred Paras gathered together and did what had never been done before: They went against Omnis’ wishes. They created the Nycren.
“The Nycren is a gathering of energy a thousand times more powerful than the Lyris. It’s a swirling mass of unrelenting that controls the being it inhabits. And with that power, they would take away the one thing they felt Omnis should never have given her: Free will.
“While the Nycren was made with the power of Paras, as you know many mixtures in our world draws its powers based on intent. So while the Paras created a massive energy of good, they intended to deceive Omnis by hiding its existence. That being that case, the very foundation of the Nycren was rooted in deceit and darkness.
“So later when the group of Paras unleashed the Nycren, and attempted to stop Lucy, she was able to feed into the dark hidden nature of the Nycren. So much so that she was able to take control of it. The Nycren became one hundred percent evil.
“She then casted the Nycren onto the Paras. Despite the powerful souls they had, they could not hold out against the evil of the Nycren. It seeped into their bodies and tapped into their souls. More importantly, it tapped into their minds. Lucy was able to turn the mind control device against its very creators.
“Once it entered the Paras, it took over. She had them do her bidding. They started wars. They committed genocides and all but tried to destroy humanity. In the end, Omnis had no choice but to destroy his own Angels. That was the darkest day in our history. He also punished our kind for what he said was hubris. So he took away the power from all Paras. It was called the endless night. It’s the Paras’ version of the Dark Ages."
“Omnis had the Angels hide the Nycren somewhere on earth so that Lucy could not get to it. Every cycle there is an Angel that watches the Nycren to ensure its safety. We believe Lucy had help in finding the keeper and killing him."
“Lucy has been smarter and quicker than we anticipated. She realized she could not stop your team from getting the Alphas and reassuming the Council. But what she could do was something far more dangerous. Unite the Council and place them under her control with the Nycren. That way in the end, she doesn’t have to destroy the world, the Council will do it for her.”
After Bex tells us the story he is met by complete silence. Marcus is the first to speak and I’m sure Bex would rather he didn’t.
“You invented a force that takes away free will and you allowed Lucy to control it?” Marcus rages.
“At the time we didn’t know that she could control it,” Bex says in defense of the Paras.
“You went against Omnis, and you didn’t know something bad would happen?” Miku asks.
“You say that as if your kind never went against the rules. If memory serves correctly it was Julian, a Guardian, who put us in this situation to start with. Had he not fallen in love with the human’s mother, this would never have happened,” Bex replies hotly.
“Para, keep my mother out of this,” I warn him.
“I apologize. I only mean that we have all faltered at one point or another. Yes, the Nycren was an awful error in judgment but alas it is done.”
“So that’s it? Lucy gets her hand on the ultimate weapon and we are screwed?” Miku asks.
“And you guys didn’t even tell us this weapon was out there? Man, you guys are forever do’n us dirty,” Jay replies.
“There is no reason to panic. Lucy does not have the third Alpha. If your team finds it before her, she won’t be able to unite the Council. And even if she did get her hands on the third Alpha, Marcus is the only one who could place the pieces together.”
“At least that’s one in our favor: Lucy needs me in order to place the pieces together to form the Shoma,” Marcus replies.
“And there is ano
ther one element on our side, however improbable,” Bex says.
“What is it?” Rage asks.
“The Nycren can be turned back over to good; at least in theory.”
“And how would that happen?” Marcus asks.
“It’s said that when the Nycren inhabits its victim, it seeks out something more powerful than hate or love. If it doesn’t find it, it then gives in to Lucy’s demands and allows her to take over,” Bex informs us.
“What is it looking for?” Miku asks.
“No idea. Whatever it is, it is more powerful than Lucy.”
“We can’t turn the Nycren back to our side if we don’t even know what force it seeks out,” Rage says.
“Rage is right. Trying to control the Nycren sounds impossible. What we need to do is find the third Alpha. Then we can focus on finding where Lucy has hidden the other two,” Marcus concludes.
“Yes, I think that would be best,” Bex agrees.
“Tell me Raphael was able to communicate with you before he died and you know the clue,” Marcus says.
“Yes, we found it in a journal of his,” Bex tells us.
He shows us a page from a leather bound earth-tone journal. Raphael drew three pieces of fruit; An apple, an orange and a peach. Each one of them has a different address underneath it.
“One leads to truth; the other two lead to the Taker.”
“Okay, so anyone have a connection with the fruits?” I ask.
“Nope, I have no idea what it means,” Rage says.
“A fruit with addresses under it? So we pick the right fruit and we go to that address. But we pick the wrong fruit and the address we go to will lead to our death?” I ask.
“Looks like it,” Marcus says.
“C’mon, yo does anyone know about these fruits? Was it like a childhood thing, a secret apple obsession? What?” Jay asks.
Miku turns to him and kisses him with a startling desire. We are all taken aback, most of all Jay.
“What was that for, lil mama?” he asks, grinning as he holds her in his arms.