Part II - Epilogue (2)

After the terror attack on Crystal City Academy, the war against the Elfen Kingdom reached a fever pitch.

Anti-elf demonstrations across the City. Elf bans in effect across most of the city's districts. The crystal rail stopped running trains into the Elfen Lands for civilians, only allowing those on official military business, or government employees working on crystalline infrastructure, to travel past the border. (Not that the trains could travel too far past the border anyway; the Elfen Kingdom likewise had their own ban on human entry into their territories, and barred any trains from getting too close.)

His co-workers, who had never expressed any sort of problems with elves, began making anti-elf jokes at any given opportunity. Off-hand, casual remarks about their ears. Calling them all sorts of awful names.

Cameron didn't like hearing stuff like that. But he never did anything about it. He just looked the other way, pretending not to hear it.

The City used the attack as an opportunity to ramp up propaganda, and to light a fire in the hearts of the populace. Army recruiters on every corner. We need to avenge our fallen brothers and sisters, they said. Innocent students and professors, killed by those despicable elfen cowards.

Candlelight vigils burned day and night at the Academy.

Rallies were held non-stop in the central plaza, where the Mother Crystal was.

Cameron even happened to walk by one such rally, one weekend afternoon, when he was out on a stroll.

A large crowd, gathered at the foot of the Mother Crystal. Listening in rapt attention to the man behind the podium, dressed in a military uniform, speaking impassionately to the masses. Extoling the virtues of humanity. Decrying the degeneracy of the elves.

And standing behind the man, all in a line—the Four Heroes of Crystal City.

It was the first time Cameron had seen them, in person.

"More like the Four Sadists," said the old man beside Cameron, shaking his head. "The war against the Elfen Kingdom has made heroes out of these monsters. Their notorious pasts swept under the rug. Well, I for one, remember when these four were out in the elfen countryside. Running amok. Killing indiscriminately, with joy. Terrorizing villages. Back then, they were just independent mercenaries, fighting whatever proxy war they could make a dime on. Then again … I guess they are mercenaries, still. Except now, for the City."

The old man pointed to the tall figure in black, her outfit a cloak of black feathers. Face hidden behind a beak-shaped mask. "There's Elmyra. The Crow Lady, they call her. Master of knives. Bounty hunter, assassin. Nobody's seen her true face, and lived to tell about it."

Beside the crow, a spindly figure, whose limbs and head were constantly twitching, contorted as they were in a spider-like pose. "That freak of nature right there is Arachnine. You see his long tongue? They say he can suck the blood right out of his victims with it. He moves inhumanly quick. Toys with his prey, like some insect. Disgusting, abominable thing."

Next in line was a hulking figure, gripping a giant hammer nearly double his size, effortlessly slinging it across the back of his shoulders with one hand.

"Olav, the Silent Ogre. Bloodthirsty. Mute. Within that blackened heart a penchant for mindless violence. Nobody has ever heard him speak a single word. They say he doesn't feel pain. Or if he does, he's never shown it. Not only can he wield that giant thing, he can swing it so hard, so fast, that there'll be no trace of you if you're unlucky enough to get in its way. At most you'll be a fine, pink-colored mist."

And finally: "… Anders the Wolf." A bald, grinning man sat atop a quadrupedal, lupine war machine, his hands gripping the controls. "Lone pilot of one of the most advanced war machines in the world. He's one of the only few people on this continent that can handle the toll it takes on his body and mind. Any ordinary man would be torn to pieces, or rendered insane. … They say the metal suit's connected to his mind, almost if they have some kind of telepathic link. … I don't know about all that, but one thing's for sure: I wouldn't wanna get caught between the jaws of that metal beast."

Cameron watched the rally for a while, before leaving.

As he left, he passed by a group of children with bats, beating a lifesize, papier-mâché elfen caricature that had been strung up in the plaza.

*

One night after work, at home, the crystalphone rang.

He picked up, expecting it to be some off-hours callout from work. Probably some technical issue in the network needed fixing.

"Hello?"

There was no answer, at first. But he could hear the sound of someone on the other end. Lightly breathing. Maybe a bit nervous. Hesitant.

Cameron asked again. "… Hello?"

Finally, the person on the other end spoke. "… Cameron?"

At the mere sound of her voice, twelve whole years after he last heard it, the memories came flooding back. Her face. Her eyes. Her smile. Her laugh. Her smug teasing, even if it hadn't been genuine. The smell of her hair. The ride on the crystal train to Lazumere. The night at the Mother Crystal. Winter illuminations. Cherry blossoms. Their coffee dates. Introduction to Basic Crystal Mechanics. Standing in front of the schoolyard map.

"… Miyu."

He thought he heard a sigh of relief, on the other end. "Cameron. … It's really you."

"… Yeah. It's me."

"You're okay."

"… Yeah."

Neither said anything for a very, very long time.

Cameron spoke first. "How, um … How have you been?"

"I'm … okay. I heard about, um … the attack on the Academy. And that got me really worried. Because you lived in the dorms, right? So … I dunno. I just … thought about you."

"Miyu … I moved out of those dorms more than a decade ago."

A small laugh from the other end. "Oh, yeah. I guess so, huh?"

"I didn't know they had crystal lines installed in Lazumere."

"Um, they don't. But there's a communal phone in Embervyl, so … We can go there to use it."

"Wow, you went all the way to Embervyl just to talk with me. I feel so honored."

Another laugh. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm just here for some taiyaki."

The way they had fallen back into their old rhythm. Cameron's eyes began to water.

… What did it even matter, what had been real, anymore?

"How did you even find me?"

"It wasn't easy. I had to talk to a bunch of different operators. They hung up immediately when they figured out I was an elf. … Eventually I got somebody willing to help me out."

"You know … I helped build most of this stuff."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I work at CryCom."

"Cry-what?"

"Crystal Communications? CryCom for short. It's um—a public corporation, so it's funded by … tax-payers, and we maintain the crystal lines and infrastructure, as well as build, uh … You know what, that's not interesting."

"No," she laughed. "It's really not. … But tell me more, Cameron."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I wanna hear more."