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. Tina 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!" Tina said. "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?" Tina 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!" Tina screamed. 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, Tina, 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?" Tina cried. 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. Tina 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 Tina, 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. Tina 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," Tina said softly. Then she picked up the gun Michael used to shoot himself. 'That's strange,' she thought. 'Plastic fragments?' She touched the blood that had pooled. Sticky, but oddly thin. Then realization came to her 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. "Jeff! Issac! Kristy!" she yelled. Jeffrey came into the lobby. "What's going on, Tina?" he asked. Then he saw Azalea and Michael on the floor in a pool of "blood." "OH MY GOD! LYDEXTER KILLED THEM!" he yelled. "Jeff, calm down!" Tina said. "Get C-5 coordinates to San Francisco. We don't have much time!" ********** Azalea found herself in an empty room. Michael was standing a few feet away, directly across her. "Michael...you made it," Azalea said. Michael approached Azalea, embracing her in a hug. "I did, baby sister." Then they broke the embrace. "Whose dream is this? Yours or mine?" Michael asked. "I don't know. Who's doing the dreaming?" Azalea asked back. "Where are we?" Michael looked at their surroundings. They were no longer in an empty room, but somehow the room had changed into a hospital room. A blonde man and an auburn-haired woman were there. The woman was on a bed, holding something. "It's a boy," the woman breathed. "We have a son." "What are we going to name him, Irene?" the man asked. "Mom? Dad?" Michael wasn't believing his eyes--was the couple in front of him his parents? "Mmm...Michael. Michael Zackary," Irene suggested. "Sounds nice..." the man trailed off. "Hey! You just switched my name around!" "Uncle Zack? What are you doing here?" Azalea asked. She got no answer. "Hey! Aren't you going to answer me?" Azalea reached out to touch the man--and her hand went right through him. Frightened, she quickly drew her hand back. "Is he a ghost? Or are we the ones who are invisible?" she asked, watching as a redheaded woman and a black-haired man walked in. "The baby's here!" the black-haired man exclaimed. "What time when he--or she--was born?" "Is it a boy or a girl?" the red-haired woman asked. "It's a boy, Ivy. Irene decided to name him Michael Zackary. I couldn't think up a good boy's name," the blonde man said. "He was born 7:16 PM." "He's got your eyes, Zack. But I wonder where the red hair came from. Neither you or Irene have red hair," Ivy remarked. "Mom!" Azalea gasped. Forgetting their state of mind, Azalea reached out--and the hospital room, people, baby and all--disappeared. "What's happening?" Michael asked. The room seemed to be shifting into--another hospital room. This time Ivy and the black-haired man was the couple. A woman--presumably the doctor--came in, carrying a pink bundle. "Congratulations, Mrs. Hayes. You have a healthy baby girl." The doctor handed the pink bundle to Ivy. "She looks like an angel sleeping," the man said. He looked at the clock. "5:12 AM." "Hm...I can't think of a name for her. What about you, Thomas?" Ivy asked. Just then an azalea blossom and an ivy branch was dropped onto the baby's head. "Congratulations, detective." a voice said. Thomas and Ivy looked up. "Carmen?" Ivy was surprised. "What's she doing here?" Michael asked, seeing a younger-looking Carmen approach Ivy. "What are you doing here?" Ivy asked, drawing the baby to herself. "Relax, Ivy, I'm not going to hurt your daughter," Carmen said. "So, what's the girl's name going to be?" "We don't know," Thomas slowly said, wary of Carmen. "How about Azalea Ivy? It sounds nice," Carmen suggested. "You don't have to take my word, if you don't like it. It was only a suggestion." Carmen left. "Carmen was the one who actually named me?" Azalea almost laughed out loud. "How strange." "What do you think of it, Ivy?" Thomas asked. "I think it's nice, even though it's only my name switched around," Ivy answered. "I wonder which one of us is going nuts right about now," Michael commented, watching the room shift again, this time to the interior of a house. "Zack? Ivy?" a woman's voice asked. This time neither cousin recognized it. The door opened to reveal a dark-skinned woman and a man in a gaucho getup. The woman gasped at the sight of blood everywhere. "No...Zack and Ivy..." she shook her head. The gaucho man went over to the bodies. "They're dead, Maria. No one survived," he said. "Armando, what about Zack's son? Ivy's daughter?" Maria asked. The two went upstairs into a room, where two cribs held two babies. "Thank god. They're alive," Armando said, picking up a baby dressed in a blue shirt and sweat pants. "That's me," Michael said. "And very, very hungry," Maria added, carrying another baby in a pink dress. "Ugh," Azalea remarked. "Can't believe Mom and would do that." "Armando, what are we going to do with them?" Maria asked. "We'll take them with us. We'll take them back to San Francisco. We'll raise Michael and Azalea the way Zack and Ivy would--give them the best education they would ever give them. Send them to college or maybe they'll even work for Acme one day." Armando's eyes had a sad, faraway look. "And we'll tell them the truth. We'll tell them what happened to their parents." "It's hard to imagine...one day, Zack and Ivy are alive, the next, they're gone," Maria said softly. "Come on, let's feed these two before they end up like their parents." "So that's Armando and Maria Carmen was talking about when we were at Trafalgar Square in London," Michael said. "But how did they die?" Azalea noticed that Michael was fading away. "Michael, is there something wrong?" "What?" "You seem to be...fading away. As if disappearing." Azalea squinted. "Funny, that's how you look to me," Michael answered. "Maybe my vision's just getting cloudy," Azalea said. She reached out to touch Michael, but he vanished. "Michael?" Azalea was alarmed. "Where are you?" "What? I can't see you!" "What's happening...?" Darkness enveloped where light once stood. ********** 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. "Azalea?" 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.' ********** Japan June 25, 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 16 years ago." ********** 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." ********** 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."