Phantom - Epilogue

Kasmine looked over her report one last time before hitting the send button, delivering the hundred-page document to their representative at the United Nations.

She let out a heavy sigh and collapsed onto her desk, startling her cat and angering her bird. “Ah, I want my actual office back,” she moaned.

While Ferris underwent major reconstruction and repairs, the headquarters of the Guardians had been temporarily moved to various free office spaces in the skyscrapers of the city from which they could see the construction site from.

“The remodelling should be done within the next few months, so please bear with it,” Teeq said, typing away at the speed of light on his own computer. “Fear not, Headmistress, you aren’t the only one who misses their own office.”

“Cheers for that.”

“You’re very welcome.”

Kasmine sigh and sat back up into her chair which was one of the few things she had been allowed to bring with her from the school whilst it was being rebuilt.

“I wish they didn’t have to make us reshape it so much,” Kasmine said.

“It can’t be helped; the UN wanted it to be more cost-effective than before,” Teeq replied, pushing his glasses up his nose. “The student village has been changed into blocks of flats, the guard barracks has to be entirely rebuilt and-”

Kasmine snorted and smiled bitterly. “How many applicants do you think we’ll have after something like this happened?”

“It’s not the first time that an attack like this has happened to Ferris and I’m sure it won’t be the last.”

“That’s the problem.” Kasmine scowled. “The first one was meant to be the last.”

Teeq stopped typing and looked at Kasmine as she stared off into the distance at the construction site. “Kas, do you blame yourself for what happened?”

Kasmine weakly smiled and looked back at him. “Teeq, I blame myself for everything that’s happened to my students this year.”

***

The soldiers finished loading the last of the coffins into the Guardians’ transport plane, placing them gently on top of one another and strapping them down.

After collecting and identifying the victims of the 2nd Battle of Ferris, transportation for the bodies home to their families had been arranged almost immediately afterwards by the Guardians. The plane which Ajax and Connor were waiting for, the plane which had Alexis’s body and head loaded into it, had ninety-nine other bodies in it and was ready to fly all over Europe to deliver the bodies to their families.

“You don’t have to come with me, you know,” Ajax said, his voice and face vacant of all emotion.

“I know,” Connor replied with a weak smile. “But I want to.” He put his hand on his friend’s shoulder and gripped it tightly. “Right now, this is all I can do for you.”

Ajax smiled weakly back. “Thank you.”

“Have they finished loading them?” Kiara asked, landing beside them, startling the two boys.

“How comes you’re here?”

“I’m sorry for coming unannounced, but I wanted to see you guys before you went. When’s the funeral?”

“Two days from now,” Ajax said. “…If you wanted to, you could…”

“Honestly, I want to, but…I have something else I have to do,” Kiara said.

“More important than this?”

She nodded sadly. “I’m so sorry about what happened to Alexis, but this is something important to me. I’m sorry and.” She spun on her heel and forced the happiest smile she could. “Please, both of you, come back.”

Before the boys could say anything, Kiara kicked off the ground and flew away from them.

After losing Laila and nearly losing everyone else in her life that mattered, Kiara had to go home and confirm it; she needed to know if they were still alive or not.

Eleanor, I swear that I’ll find you.

***

Ace stood outside of the airport gate, frozen in place and his eyes fixated upon Ajax.

He couldn’t bring himself to move; he couldn’t bring himself to walk towards Ajax, nor could he bring himself to turn away and leave.

I should be on that flight, he told himself again. …Alexis…I loved you…I should be there to…bury you. But…

Even as Ajax and Connor began to board, even when they were looking around the runway and the stairs behind them, even as they kept searching for Ace, Ace couldn’t do it.

He couldn’t face Ajax ever again.

If he hadn’t used his World Card, Alexis might not have died and Ajax wouldn’t have to live with the pain of knowing that he survived and left her there to die.

I…don’t think…I’ll be coming back here, Ace thought, walking away from the gate and towards the exit.

After all, I don’t deserve to be here.

***

After they had been discharged from the hospital, and in order to keep a close eye on Eric’s wellbeing, Connor had suggested that everyone who wasn’t going out of the city move into his house for the time being.

It was a large, six-bedroom house and, as Connor’s parents were very wealthy and generous, they were fine with letting them stay until the new term began and they had even offered to pay for their living expenses.

Jasmine, however, was not going to be staying in the house.

“How long do you think you’ll be gone?” Elthia asked.

“If I’m lucky, a few weeks,” Jasmine replied, closing her suitcase. “If I’m unlucky, a few months. Either way.” She hauled the suitcase off the bed and smiled at Elthia. “I’ll be back for the new school year.”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Of what?”

“Jasmine, you’re trying to find information on the people who attacked Ferris; isn’t that asking to get yourself killed?”

“Hey, how long do you think I’ve been in this business?” She bent down and put her hands on Elthia’s shoulders. “If it looks like it’ll be too dangerous, I’ll stop and come home immediately. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Will you be okay without me for a while?”

Elthia hesitated only for half of a second before nodding enthusiastically. “I’ll be fine.”

Jasmine had heard from Eric that Elthia was trying to become more dependant and stronger since the incident with T, but even Jasmine didn’t expect her to be acting so tough after that and the attack at Ferris.

In a strange way, Jasmine felt sad at seeing her act like that.

“Okay, well, be a good girl and I’ll come home soon with good news,” Jasmine said, dragging the case out of the room.

“Have a safe trip,” Elthia wished Jasmine.

***

Kaida finished unpacking the last box of her new clothes into her cupboard and let out an exhausted sigh.

The recovery teams at Ferris had tried to salvage as much of the students’ belongings as possible, but their team’s house had been completely eviscerated and few of their belongings had survived. When Connor’s parents had heard about that, they had bought everyone brand new clothes and gave them each a thousand pounds spending money to buy whatever else they needed.

“Connor’s parents really went overboard,” Kaida mused.

“Well, when you’re that rich I guess something like this is nothing,” Evony said. “What do his parent’s do anyway?”

“They run a lot of businesses in the north, stuff like hotels, large department stores and I’m pretty sure they own a hospital, too.”

“Jesus, how did they end up with that business empire?”

“I’ve never really thought to ask.”

“Hmm, maybe I’ll ask him about it some time. Oh, is Eric up yet? He hasn’t finished unpacking yet, has he?”

Kaida’s expression became pained.

After Eric had been brought back to the hospital after the fight in Germany, he had barely said a word to her and, whenever she tried to talk to him, Eric would always leave and not make eye contact with her. She knew that he was going through something truly awful again, just like with the mugging, but, this time, Kaida truly felt powerless to help him.

She didn’t even know why Eric couldn’t stand being around her and that hurt her.

“He’s gone to visit them again,” Kaida mumbled.

***

Since the attack, the Guardians’ area of the Imperial Royal Graveyards had become much more heavily populated.

Eric hadn’t visited them before the mass funeral for all those who had died during the attack but, as sad as it made him to see them, he had to admit that the graves were beautifully crafted, no doubt in respect and thanks to the brave people who had died. The new graves were freshly cut and polished marble with golden embroidered script and flowers on each which were carefully looked after by a group of dedicated and caring grave keepers.

Eric was visiting his second grave today in the cemetery.

He had already visited his Uncle Lares’s graveyard and he was now standing before the one that belonged to Laila.

She had no family to send her body to and so only a few people had even cared that she’d died.

“It’s not good for your health to come here every day,” Lich said to Eric, walking up to stand beside him.

Laila Chaaya. Friend, loved one and wonderful companion.

“No one knew what to put on her grave, so they gave her the most generic thing they could,” Eric whispered.

“A shame, truly,” Lich concurred.

The two stood in silence for a time, a gloomy feeling looming over them.

“Lich, thank you.”

“What for?”

“For allowing me to face Michael again.”

“I don’t think you should thank me for something that has destroyed your body.”

Eric smiled bitterly. “Perhaps, but even then, I gained something better from it.”

“Revenge?” Lich asked.

Eric shook his head. “I saw what happens when you allow revenge to consume you. In a way, I’m glad that I avenged her, and Lares, and everyone else that died that day, but, if I hadn’t faced Michael and seen where being driven and consumed by your emotions leads you, I might’ve ended up just like him.”

“…Eric, are you okay?”

“Honestly…I don’t know what I feel right now,” Eric whispered. “I…I don’t feel a thing right now. No pain, no love, no fear…nothing…All I know is I won’t ever let my emotions get the better of me again. Thank you, Lich, for allowing me to realise that.”

As Eric left, Lich watched him until he vanished from sight. Then, once he had left, Lich went over to Lares’s grave and smiled sadly at the message on it.

Lares Agrim: Loving husband, brother, uncle, and friend.

“Rest peacefully, Lares,” Lich said, kneeling before his grave. “I’ll protect him for you. After all, I have a promise to keep.”

***

The woman practically stumbled through the door, out of breath and desperately clinging to the door handle.

“Head Mistress!” She yelled before she coughed wildly.

“What is it?” Kasmine asked.

“You need to come with me right away, Ma’am!”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s the vault, Head Mistress. Someone stole something from the vault!”

Kasmine leapt out of her chair and immediately rushed to the school with Teeq. After blasting emergency sirens and cutting through the late-night traffic of Imperial, they had arrived at Ferris in ten minutes.

She climbed out of the car, slamming the door behind her, and the woman and Teeq quickly followed. They dashed through the security and within minutes were at the vault where Ares was standing guard as she had ordered, still at attention even after being on duty for sixteen hours.

“What do you mean someone stole something from the vault?” Kasmine demanded as she began to unlock the vault door.

“Yes, Ma’am. As you requested, we were doing an inventory check in the vault and found that all of the items were still there except for one,” the woman explained.

“When?”

“We’re unsure, but we believe that it might have been during the attack.”

“Ares, has anyone not authorised by me entered the vault?”

“No,” Ares stated.

Kasmine finished going through the security of the door and it slowly opened. She and Ares stormed into the vault and found that there wasn’t any visible signs of damage or forced entry into the vault.

There wasn’t even a single scratch anywhere.

“No evidence of tampering,” Teeq noted, scanning the room. His breath caught in his throat. “Does that mean-?”

“They didn’t tamper or damage anything because they didn’t need to,” Kasmine said with a fierce scowl. “Someone managed to get through the security systems for the vault.”

“That’s impossible!”

“In theory, at least,” Ares coldly said. “A traitor? Or something else?”

Kasmine closed her eyes and her hand reflexively curled into a fist, her nails digging into her skin. “The Brotherhood,” she growled. “Which item was stolen?”

“Um, it’s…that one, Ma’am,” the woman said, anxiously pointing at a door.

Kasmine’s eyes widened and she ran over to the door, unlocking it as quickly as she was able to and her heart sunk when she looked inside.

“No,” she whispered. She walked over to the pillar in the centre of the room and confirmed that there was nothing sitting on it. “No. No!”

Her cries echoed through the vault.

Someone had stolen it.

Someone had stolen the Death Stone.

***

“Phantom have lost,” the mage at the far end of the table announced.

Gathered around the large metal table were eleven others, all of whom represented different organisations and all of whom were very interested to see the destruction of the Guardians. They had been following Phantom closely and were disappointed to see that they had failed to destroy Ferris.

“Well, we did expect as much,” a woman in a crimson dress said.

“I’d thought they would have put up a much better fight,” the man in the suit next to her added.

“Regardless, comrades, we are faced with a risky but bountiful situation,” the mage continued. “As they are now, the Guardians are weak. The Grand General has been pulled off the frontlines, Ferris is currently undergoing massive repairs, and their Supreme Commander is working out of a high-rise building. They’re vulnerable, now more than ever.”

Another man dressed like a clown began to cackle. “I don’t think that statement will ever be true.”

“Should we strike Ferris and raid the vault?”

“Perhaps try to assassinate the Headmistress?”

“No, we should use this time to further our own plans now that their defence net is weakened.”

“Comrades!” The mage yelled, silencing them. “As we are right now, we have no choice but to move to phase two of our plan. Dealing with the Guardians come after that.”

“I disagree,” the man across from him in a purple suit said. “We’ve been presented with a rare opportunity where we can strike at the leading members of the Guardians and we can do so easily. Their forces are weakened and scattered; our army is strong and united. Now, more than ever, is the time for the Trinity to come out of the shadows and strike!”

The others around the table murmured in agreement.

The mage at the end of the table solemnly nodded and ordered, “Mobilize our forces! We strike tonight!”

The large steel doors of the warehouse flew towards them.

They scattered from the table and one of the men caught the doors and casually tossed them over his shoulders to the far corners.

“We’re under atta-!”

Hundreds of black lightning bolts soared through the open doors flying at them. The mages raised their barriers to protect their allies, but they weren’t fast enough and three of them, including the man who had caught the doors, were struck and killed by dozens of bolts. The bolts stopped and two large black spirit dragons flew through the open doors, roaring and their claws wound back.

They soared at the mages and cut through five of them, slicing them in half. The surviving mages threw all sorts of attacks and powerful magic at the dragons but the dragons didn’t sustain any damage. The four surviving mages gathered in the centre of the room, standing back to back, their auras ablaze, and they kept a close eye on the dragons as they circled them.

“What the hell’s going on?” The mage in the purple suit yelled.

He pushed his palms towards the nearest dragon to him and a tornado flew at the dragon. It ripped the floor and roof apart, but it passed through the dragon seamlessly, destroying the wall behind it. He hissed and raised his hands above his head. Thunder cracked and grey clouds appeared high in the sky. He thrust his hands at the dragons, one at each of them, and golden bolts of lightning hit them.

The dragons, however, were not harmed.

“What?”

He was about to launch his next attack when a bolt of black lightning landed on his temple, causing him to drop dead onto the floor.

“Oh, I didn’t expect anyone to have survived,” a playful voice called.

A girl with long flowing black hair walked into the room, an intense obsidian aura glowing around her, and a cheerful grin on her lips. The last three mages could barely see through the mist that had slowly seeped into the warehouse through the open doors but they knew that the girl’s aura was far, far stronger than any other they had ever seen.

“Who the hell are you?” The woman in the crimson dress demanded.

“Huh?” The girl stopped and titled her head. “Does it matter? You’re about to be dead, so why would I bother introducing myself?”

“You bitch!”

The mage beside her growled and, in an instant, he transformed into a suit of Drakhan armour. It was a light brown colour with glowing gold eyes. He roared and smashed his fists together, sending a small shockwave rippling through the warehouse.

Another, smaller, girl leapt out from behind the Necromancer, large, black spirit dragon claws over her hands, and she ran at the Drakhan. The Drakhan drew its fist back and threw it at the smaller girl’s face. However, the small girl spun around it and cut the Drakhan in half.

“What?” The purple suit screamed. “Even God Armours can’t cut through Drakhan armours that easily!”

The small girl, covered in the blood of her kill, glared at them with eyes that chilled their very souls.

“Hmm, well, another disappointment,” the first girl said, letting out a small sigh. “Noire.”

The small girl, Noire, ran at the remaining mages. They raised a dozen runes each and fired solid beams of red energy at Noire, but Noire took the brunt of the attacks head on and kept on running.

“How?”

Before the mages could attack again, two black dragon tails emerged from Noire’s lower back and pierced the mages in the chest, killing them instantly. Noire withdrew the tails and the mages’ lifeless bodies crumpled onto the floor.

“Good work,” the Necromancer said, causing her little sister to smile bashfully. “Now, shall we head back?”

The last person to die in the room, the Drakhan that had been cut in half, watched them leave, his vision and strength fading and realised the unfortunate truth.

While he and his allies had been strong, they were nothing compared to the might of two of the most powerful people in the world, people’s whose strength they could never hope to match.

The Achlys Twins.

The End.